Vermont dairy farms count on illegal immigrants

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hz0maF2xJNU9sj4SRD2kqVkd3eJQD98597M00

By WILSON RING – 1 day ago

HIGHGATE, Vt. (AP) — A room off the milking parlor of a sprawling farm near the U.S.-Canada border offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the changing face of Vermont's dairy industry.

A Spanish-language soap opera plays on a small TV atop the refrigerator. Bags of corn flour for tortillas are piled high in a basket across the room from bunk beds. "Dios bendiga esta casa" (God bless this house) is scrawled above the door of the room, home to a Guatemalan man and a Mexican couple.

A pregnant Mexican woman still in knee-high rubber boots is visited by Nancy Sabin, a volunteer who finds dairy farm jobs for Hispanic workers. On this afternoon, she brings thrift-shop baby clothes.

"If it wasn't for the Hispanics," Sabin says, "there would be no family farms. There would be no farms, period."

This is the open secret behind the black-and-white Holsteins, rolling hills and postcard images: Unable to attract local workers for the grueling job of milking cows and working the farm, Vermont, the nation's 14th-largest dairy state, props up its dairy industry with perhaps thousands of immigrant laborers, many of whom are in the U.S. illegally.

"Everyone knows some of these people are illegal," says Vermont Agriculture Secretary Roger Allbee. But, he says, "The system is broken. There's the need for labor."

FULL story at link.

[NYC_SKP]

1. Contrary to meme, these are jobs Americans WILL take, and have taken historically.

In high school I worked in a meat packing plant, in agriculture, and many other jobs that fall into that category of "jobs Americans won't take."

Americans will take them if they have living wages.

We were played, the left said "leave these people alone" while the right said, "close the borders", but looked the other way.

Meantime anyone rich, left or right, got richer and the working class continues to disappear and the undocumented workers continue to be victimized.

Cheap labor in China for those products that can be shipped, cheap labor here for those services that cannot.

Yes, the system is quite broken.

[jwirr]

2. Yes, my ex was a farm hand when we were married. He moved on

to better employment but that is where we started. We were paid a monthly wage, given housing and often produce from the farm. That of course was years ago.

[Creena]

3. How true.

In helping out a friend with farm animals, I learned many Americans are more than willingly to take a agricultural job if the wage is fair.

It's not that Americans don't want the job, it's the fact they want a fair wage and proper treatment. Far too many businesses see an undocumented individual as not deserving either, and thus, chose that route.

[mamaleah]

4. Mostly yes

My mother used to pick strawberries with her mother in the summer. They certainly did not earn enough to live on, even at 10 hours a day. But they made enough for "pocket money" as my mother put it. And for those who were trying to make a living out of agricultural work, it was not a living many of us would call proper. It was a pretty low income life, free of any frills. What we consider a living wage today is quite different from our parents or grandparents definitions. My grandfather was fond of reminding us that if we had a bed to lie our heads on, we had it good.

This part of the article caught my eye: A pregnant Mexican woman still in knee-high rubber boots

We now live in a world where in many places there are parking spots for pregnant women right next to spots for wheelchairs in many parking lots. I do not know any woman who would work in a field while pregnant.

I do believe more Americans would be willing to take agricultural jobs if they paid better, but not that many. We have somewhat become a culture of slackers. Hard work means you had to miss your morning break to enter more data into a spreadsheet. In fact, such an injustice might garner you a free drink from a buddy later on if you play it up enough. ;)

As a culture, we are not "desperate" enough to work this hard. I think even if you paid people $30 an hour to work on a farm you'd get lots of people who work maybe half a shift before quitting.

[NYC_SKP]

7. I enjoyed the strenous jobs I've held, but wouldn't have wanted them for life.

Underground construction for example, shoveling gravel in trenches.

I'd do five scoops right handed, five scoops left.

I did this in the summers, not for everyone, but there are plenty who would rather do that than sit around.

And more than a few who would take that over an indoor cubicle job!

[madokie]

6. Yep the system is quite broken

[anonymous171]

8. Exactly. It was a bipartisan effort to drive down wages. nt

[droidamus2]

5. Interesting

I moved to Vermont from California 3.5 years ago. I don't live very far from Highgate. When living in California (obviously much closer to Mexico) it was obvious there were a lot of hispanics working in the area construction, yard work, day labor, etc. I am not denying that there may be some hispanic workers here in Vermont but if it is wide spread they are certainly well hidden. Of course I don't spend much times out in the fields so I could be wrong.