SRW’s 4-1/2 cents:
Arturo Rodriguez, President of the United Farm Workers (only the 2nd guy after Cesar Chavez), was on the Colbert Report tonight. Huh. He issued a challenge to folks saying that the reason we have and seriously NEED illegal immigrants (OK, I’m paraphrasing) is because Americans won’t do those jobs working in the fields. So – someone over there came up with the brilliant idea of creating the “Take Our Jobs” campaign. Any of we Americans that want a job and don’t want an extra illegal immigrant working in our fields can well, take a job from an illegal immigrant. Whaddya know.
Here’s what the website says: Agriculture in the United States is dependent on an immigrant workforce. Three-quarters of all crop workers working in American agriculture were born outside the United States. Last week, President Obama gave recognition of the vital role immigrant farm workers play in feeding America. Like the President we all know that deporting all undocumented farm workers would cause the collapse of the agricultural industry.
It is for this reason that the UFW has just launched the Take Our Jobs campaign. This national campaign is aimed at hiring U.S. citizens and legal residents to fill jobs that often go to undocumented farm workers. The effort spotlights the immigrant labor issue and underscores the need for reforms without which our agricultural industry could be crippled.
Interesting. I’m not happy having an illegal immigrant being 3 numbers ahead of me in the emergency room, getting into traffic accidents without insurance that I gotta pay for, not paying their fair share of taxes and me eventually maybe having to pay for welfare benefits for folks who didn’t play by the rules (as examples) but I do like lettuce, spinach and tomatos and think most of us Americans are FAR too whiny, spoiled rotten and don’t want to do that kind of hard and dirty job – at least for more than a day. (BTW – although I’m not proud of admitting this it’s a sure bet that I fall into all those categories.)
Here’s the campaign site: TAKE OUR JOBS
What do y’all think about this whole deal? Discuss it with us over in the Water Cooler.
3 Comments
What you don’t mention is that many of these jobs pay less than minimum wage (they tend to pay according to how much is harvested), have no benefits, and frequently have terrible working conditions. Over exposure to heat and toxic chemicals are common. These jobs are also very temporary, which means the workers must follow the crops. Housing and sanitation are minimal at best. Jobs like these also require parents to be separated from children, as there is no possiblilty for an education, or even any kind of day care.
It’s not that Americans are afraid of hard work, but that they aren’t willing to put up with less than legal working conditions for less than legal pay. Illegal aliens are too afraid of being deported to complain to the authorities, and so they get exploited.
You must remember that the low pay and lack of benifits stems from the low cost of your food, the farmers only get a small percentage of what you pay in the store
I hope that every American, regardless of where he lives, will stop and examine his conscience about this and other related incidents. This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. All of us ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated, but this is not the case.
I know the proponents of this law say that the majority approves of this law, but the majority is not always right. Would women or non-whites have the vote if we listen to the majority of the day, would the non-whites have equal rights (and equal access to churches, housing, restaurants, hotels, retail stores, schools, colleges and yes water fountains) if we listen to the majority of the day? We all know the answer, a resounding, NO!
As for the undocumented workers, as was attributed to Ronald Reagan “It’s the Economy, Stupid”. When the economy is good you say let’s all celebrate “Cinco de Mayo, my brothers” but when the economy is down “it’s all your fault, you damn immigrant”. This too will pass, the real problem is the narcos, arms and people smugglers and that’s what the focus should be on.
Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free. In a time of domestic crisis men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics and do what is right, not what is just popular with the majority. Some men comprehend discrimination by never have experiencing it in their lives, but the majority will only understand after it happens to them.