Earlier reports suggested Americans are unwilling or unable do manual labor that appeals to immigrants and migrant workers; Bloomberg Businessweek reports the lack of interest from American workers in vacated processing and farming positions may be due to unrealistic employer expectations and an inefficient market.
Chad Smith, owner of an 85-acre tomato farm outside of Birmingham, told Bloomberg he has tried to hire locals but many quit because they cannot "work fast enough to make the money they thought they could make." Does this mean they are not as capable as immigrant and migrant workers? Cedric Rayford, of Gadsden, Ala., who responded to a radio ad for farmhands, does not think so. "They gotta come up with a better pay system," Rayford tells Bloomberg, suggesting farmers move to hourly pay instead of paying per basket picked. Typically farmhands make about $2 per 25-pound basket filled, Elizabeth Dwoskin reports for Bloomberg.
Randy Rhodes, president of Harvest Select, a catfish processing plant in Uniontown, Ala., that processes about 850,000 pounds of fish weekly, lost many of his Guatemalan workforce following the crackdown on illegal immigrants, Dwoskin reports. Rhodes, who's tried to recruit Alabamans, understands why they don't want to slice catfish in a cold, wet room for minimum wage, but he says offering higher wages is not an option. Even as the largest processor of catfish in Alabama, he says he cannot compete with overseas competitors who pay even lower wages. (Read more)
Chad Smith, owner of an 85-acre tomato farm outside of Birmingham, told Bloomberg he has tried to hire locals but many quit because they cannot "work fast enough to make the money they thought they could make." Does this mean they are not as capable as immigrant and migrant workers? Cedric Rayford, of Gadsden, Ala., who responded to a radio ad for farmhands, does not think so. "They gotta come up with a better pay system," Rayford tells Bloomberg, suggesting farmers move to hourly pay instead of paying per basket picked. Typically farmhands make about $2 per 25-pound basket filled, Elizabeth Dwoskin reports for Bloomberg.
Randy Rhodes, president of Harvest Select, a catfish processing plant in Uniontown, Ala., that processes about 850,000 pounds of fish weekly, lost many of his Guatemalan workforce following the crackdown on illegal immigrants, Dwoskin reports. Rhodes, who's tried to recruit Alabamans, understands why they don't want to slice catfish in a cold, wet room for minimum wage, but he says offering higher wages is not an option. Even as the largest processor of catfish in Alabama, he says he cannot compete with overseas competitors who pay even lower wages. (Read more)
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