Tensions rise as Latinos feel under siege in America's deep south

[marmar]

Tensions rise as Latinos feel under siege in America's deep south
As illegal workers flee the threat of police checks, southerners are uniting to fight the laws dividing communities and killing economies which rely on immigrants to thrive

Paul Harris
The Observer, Sunday 21 August 2011


The mobile home that Nancy Lugo and her two children live in might not seem like much to many people.

It sits off a dirt road, by a slow-moving creek, on the outskirts of the tiny Georgia town of Uvalda. It is surrounded by thick forest and fields full of the local speciality: Vidalia onions.

But for Lugo, 34, it is a symbol of a better life in America. Here in Georgia, far from her native Mexico, Lugo has a solid job, sends her kids to school and loves the rhythm of rural life. "It is peaceful. I am happy here," she said.

The patch of land she bought for her trailer was vacant before she came. But she dug a well and sank septic tanks, carving a home from the wilderness in a grand American tradition. She got a job. She paid her taxes. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/21/racist-immigration-law-in-deep-south

[dkf]

1. Yet, within a month, she was rehired. No one had wanted her work

"The Georgia Agribusiness Council estimates the labour shortage has left so many crops unpicked and rotting that it has cost $1bn. The industry currently has 30% fewer workers than it needs and, contrary to accusations that illegals take American jobs, no one is stepping in."

What does this say about unemployment and the unemployed?

I am really torn on this subject. I see that illegal immigrants are taking jobs, but I also see that the unemployed refuse to take these jobs. So do we give up on the unemployed doing this type of work?

[onethatcares]

2. it's pretty hard for an IT guy/girl to pick onions

for two bucks a bushel. they'd last about three hours then the sun would come up and they'd find out there are no bathrooms or breakrooms or water coolers. Nothing but pick/pick/pick until the lunch break, then it's pick/pick/pick til sundown 6 days a week.

I worked and still work construction and wouldn't want to pick fruit or vegetables for any amount of money. the end doesn't justify the means for myself.

[Mimosa]

8. Great explanation for people who don't know what physical labor is about.

In the farmlands those old WPA project photos are still relevant.

Only now the complexions are darker.

[Mimosa]

Remember Dorothea Lange?

[dkf]

12. Is it a class thing where some refuse to do any type of manual labor?

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. It is the slave like conditions and low pay

that lead to people not wanting those jobs. Paying fair wages would make that head of lettuce go through the roof. This is not a modern problem. US Agriculture RELIES on cheap labor. In fact, many of these ilegals were recruited by people like Tyson in Mexico.

http://rwor.org/a/046/1_mayo.html

The Federal Government in Mexico has gone after them by the way.

[Critters2]

14. Less than 7% of the money Americans spend goes to buy food, the lowest of any country that

keeps such data:

http://civileats.com/2011/03/29/mapping-global-food-spending-infographic/

[Critters2]

4. They're underpaid. And oftentimes OSHA and other regulations are ignored.

Americans spend a smaller percentage of our income on food than most of the world, and we like it that way. Don't ask us to pay workers a fair price for picking our lettuce!

[dkf]

7. Underpaid compared to no income at all?

I can see being underpaid compared to an unemployment check, but what happens after that runs out?

If you haven't worked for 5 years do you still consider some jobs underpaid?

[eShirl]

9. yes

another word for it is exploitation

[LanternWaste]

13. I also imagine calling those jobs underpaid is just as valid as calling it coercion...

"f you haven't worked for 5 years do you still consider some jobs underpaid?"

I imagine so. I also imagine calling those jobs underpaid is just as valid as calling it coercion and/or exploitation. However, I also imagine many people are quite tolerant of the exploitation and the coercion-- as long as they themselves are not the one being coerced or exploited.

[Spider Jerusalem]

10. Agricultural work is a lot less easy than people seem to think

it's not actually unskilled labour for one thing (you have to know what you're doing to not ruin the fruit and veg you're picking or the potatoes and onions you're digging up or whatever) and if you're not somewhat acclimatised to working in the midday sun then you won't last very long either. Undocumented migrant workers came to agricultural areas specifically for the farm work there; expecting an unemployed local population without the skill set needed to take the jobs is a bit much (not to mention that most Americans are probably not acclimatised to the summer heat thanks to air conditioning).

[Luminous Animal]

11. I would also like to point out that few of these jobs are advertized.

It's not just the low pay, it is the illegal and inhumane working conditions. Many, if not most, U.S. citizens would complain to the relevant regulatory agencies when encountered by the conditions that these migrant farm workers work under. Most farms count on brokers to bring in the workers and these brokers are not looking for U.S. workers. They are looking for workers who are afraid to complain lest they be deported.

[Mist]

5. I think we should work against the "third-worlding" of America, including incredibly low wages. nt

[jwirr]

6. An excellent article about a complex problem. I have no problem

with the path toward citizenship for people who have been here for years. We have done it before.

There are so many elements to this issue that it is hard to come up with an answer. Many small businesses in the rural area cannot pay the kind of wages that larger businesses can. They do not have the customers. i.e. Many restaurants are half empty much of the week. Their big day is Sunday when families go out to eat after church.

As to the farmers - have any of you been in the stores lately? Prices are skyrocketing. I watched a father with his two children look at the price of milk and walk away. Maybe some of you can afford higher prices. But people like me who are on minimum fixed incomes are out of money by the third week in the month and that includes the food stamps and NAPS/WIC. After that we make do with what is left in the house to eat. I agree that fair wages should be paid to these workers but how are the poor going to eat - are we going to increase food stamps? By the way I doubt even with fair wages that most Americans will be willing to stoop over picking onions or many other crops for long hours of the day in 100+ degree heat. I have done it and then only for a couple of years. It is miserable work.

So this problem is not going to find a simple answer. What I am hoping is that those legislators learn something when the markets in their states implode around them. They are the ones to blame for not looking for a good answer to this complex problem.