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Georgia farmers “don’t know” – yeah,
right. |
 By Patrick Osio,
Jr./HispanicVista.com
- March 6, 2006
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- A recent
Associated Press article reported that on February 22, 2006, 55
Georgia Vidalia sweet onions, corn and soybeans farmers plus other
agricultural employers met with the Department of Labor for a seminar
on migrant farm workers hiring policies. The farmers said they’re
making extra efforts to follow the letter of the law. As a group they
hire over 1000 workers, who by their admission are mostly Mexican
immigrants, but as one said, "A guy comes to your office and brings
his Social Security and his Green Card, it figures he's legal. But I
don't know if it's real or not."
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- If you believe in fairy tales, you won’t have a problem swallowing
that B.S. They know who is and who is not legal or they must have
short memories, so let’s remind them.
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- In 1997, the then INS raided the Vidalia fields nabbing several
hundred illegal immigrants. The farmers didn’t care because harvesting
was over. Those nabbed were sticking around for their final paycheck,
which because they were deported, never got.
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- The INS got smarter, in 1998 launching operation “Southern Denial”
at the height of the harvest season. Within minutes the offices of
local Congressmen and the late Senator Paul Coverdell called the INS
demanding the immediate stoppage of the raids that were,
“indiscriminate and inappropriate use of extreme enforcement tactics….
Interfering with honest farmers….”
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- On behalf of the today ‘we don’t really know if they are legally
or illegally here,’ Senator Coverdell struck a deal with the INS. The
workers were provided with temporary visas allowing them to stay –
sounds like amnesty. The farmers agreed to avail themselves for future
growing and harvesting seasons of the H-2A agricultural guest worker
visa program that has been in effect since 1964 (Amended in 1986),
which they agreed to do, but after the 1998 seasons disregarded.
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- These “we want to comply with the law” farmers, since they were
protected by Congressmen such as Charley Norwood, who today clamors
for fences and military presence at the US-Mexico border, knew there
would be no more raids.
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- In 1999, these would have us believe law abiding farmers claimed
the guest worker visa program was too burdensome and they did not
agree with the Department of Labor’s (DOL) “prevailing wage” that
should be paid to farm workers.
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- The minimum wage in Georgia is $5.15 per hour. Farmers insisted
field workers should be paid 75-cents for a 60-pound bag of onions
about 7 bags (420 lbs.) to earn the $5.15 per hour. The DOL said it
should be 80-cents for a 50-pound bag about 6.5 bags (325 lbs.) to
earn the minimum wage or $6.72 an hour for 420 lbs.
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- In Mexico, wages are not pegged to the hour of labor rather by the
day. Blue collar workers and agricultural field hands are paid around
$6 a day working 48 hours a week but paid for 7 days, thus earning
around $42 per week. The wages do not provide for the bare necessities
for a family of 3 persons, let alone 4 or more. To these folks,
earning $247 a week for 48 hours (@$5.15 hr) in Georgia represents
around a 600% pay increase and possibly extra if they harvest more by
working 10 hours a day, six days a week as most do. Easy to understand
why they travel.
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- But by their willingness to work for $5.15 an hour, the Georgia
farmers are able to state that the “prevailing wage” is that amount
and that they cannot find Americans to do the same work for
“prevailing wage.”
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- Faking not knowing has been easy because the present requirement
is simply to send a form to the government attesting they have been
shown papers indicating either citizenship or legal residency – be
they real or fake.
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- But starting in 2007, legal residents will have to present near
impossible to forge Green Cards.
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- One “we don’t know farmer” at the seminar was quoted by the AP
saying, "If they start requiring us to send them (government) a
register of the Green Cards, we're in trouble, I'd have to go out of
business."
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- Some of the other farmers said they are “considering” enrolling in
the H-2A temporary agricultural guest worker program. One of them said
it would mean paying higher wages and raising the price of his crop.
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- How quickly they seem to suddenly know their workers were
undocumented, remember there has been a “guest worker” program in
existence for 42 years and will have to pay higher wages.
- __________________________________________________________
- Patrick Osio, Jr. is Editor of HispanicVista.com (www.hispanicvista.com).
Contact at Posiojr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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(The opinions expressed by Patrick Osio, Jr. are
solely his and do not necessarily reflect those of HispanicVista.com,
editorial board of advisors or it’s contributing
writers.) |
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Patrick Osio, Jr. has written a short but intensive manual on the
Mexican perspective on numerous issues between our two countries. The
manual is an in depth primer on the culture and protocol for better
understanding Mexicans that in turn allows establishing personal and
business relationships, and how to avoid the most common faux pas that can
ruin relationships and business deals.
About the author
Table of
Contents
Excerpts from the
manual
The manual is
available through Electronic delivery for $9.95 making it possible to
download the manual for save on your hard drive, printing its entirety or
particular sections while reaping considerable savings over printed
copies. |
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