Arizona farmers are experiencing a crisis due to the recent departure of over 500,000 campesinos (migratory farm workers). Jose Diaz Balart, reporting on Telemundo (7/21/10) interviewed farm owners asking them exactly what they plan to do with tens of thousands of acres of (chili) peppers waiting to be harvested.A lively comments section asks if Americans would work for the same price that the campesinos make? Is it good for our country that these jobs and substandard wages break Federal law just like the largely undocumented migratory farm workers who do them?
One farmer stated, "We don't exactly know what we are going to do. All our workers have left because of fear around the new SB1070 law. We are putting out the word to Employment Development departments all over the country, but we doubt any self-respecting American is going to be willing to work for what we pay."
Balart asked the gentlemen being interviewed, "How much do you pay?"
The farmer responded, "We pay $2.00 per bushel."
Balart asked him "How long does it take for the average farm worker to harvest a bushel?"
The farmer replied "The best and fastest workers can fill a bushel in 2 hours. You see all these peppers have to be picked by hand. No one has gone and invented a pepper harvesting machine so it has to be done manually."
Balart then asked the farmer "How many African Americans do you have working for you?"
The farmer looked surprised "African Americans?" He smiled,"You ain't gonna be seeing any African Americans doing these jobs. Not because we wouldn't hire them, (but) because they just never apply for these jobs."
Balart says to the farmer, "So in reality you are basically paying around $1.00 per hour of work for people on the farm. Is that a fair assessment?"
The farmer responded indignantly "That is the way its always been done, but years ago we gave them all a raise... They used to get a dollar a bushel, but we decided to double it to keep them working for us."
Balart responds, "That was mighty generous of you to do that. What about other Americans? We have (millions) unemployed, what do you have to say to them?"
The farmer responds "Well tell them to all come to Arizona...It's back breaking work... It's very hot... But they could at least get a job."
Balart responds "But what you are paying is less than the federal minimum wage. How do you justify that?"
The farmer responds "Well, somebody's got to do it, it has to be done by people... We can't pay them minimum wage and expect to make any money on this harvest. People are complaining all the time that they don't have a job, that there ain't any work. Well now here you go. We need to fill hundreds of thousands of jobs. People should seriously consider moving her and working for the hundreds of farms in desperate need of workers... Otherwise all this food is going to go to waste."
Barring Federal Court injunction, Arizona's "Papers Please" law takes effect on Thursday, 7/29/10.
Earthquake, tsunami,
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