Loss for one is another's gain Applicants line up to fill jobs left empty by Swift plant raid

[seriousstan]

GREELEY - The line of applicants hoping to fill jobs vacated by undocumented workers taken away by immigration agents at the Swift & Co. meat-processing plant earlier this week was out the door Thursday.

Among them was Derrick Stegall, who carefully filled out paperwork he hoped would get him an interview and eventually land him a job as a slaughterer. Two of his friends had been taken away by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and he felt compelled to fill their rubber boots.

"Luckily, they had no wives or family they left behind. But it was still sad. They left their apartments filled with all their stuff. I took two dogs one of them had. The other guy had a cat I gave to my sister," he said.

Greg Bonifacio heard about the job openings on television and brought his passport, his Colorado driver's license, his Social Security card and even a color photograph of himself as a young Naval officer to prove his military service.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5215724,00.html

[NMDemDist2]

1. so much for the "they do the jobs Americans won't" huh? n/t

[brer cat]

4. Ding, ding, ding! n/t

[MADem]

6. The ones with good papers will be paid more, I'm betting--like say, minimum wage! NT

[saigon68]

55. Most of them will be back in days

With "New" papers once the ink is dry.

[OhioChick]

7. Exactly. n/t

[Taoschick]

20. Illegal labor depresses wages

A smaller labor pool will result in higher wages.

US citizens and legal aliens shouldn't have to compete with illegals in the job market. I'm not sure why so many politicians don't seem to "get it".

[raccoon]

31. They do not want to get it. nt

[Megahurtz]

33. Because they would rather abuse people, legal and illegal,

to get their precious Cheap Labor.
In other words, because they're disgusting self-centered Cheap-Ass Bastards.:grr:

[Critters2]

39. Providing cheap meat for other disgusting self-centered

cheap-ass bastards.

One more reason I don't eat meat.

[Taoschick]

41. Illegals are used

To pick and process veggies as well. Are you going to give them up? ;)

[Critters2]

42. I purchase locally-produced veggies from family farms

In the summer I belong to a Community-supported farm. I get HEAPS of locally-produced veggies from them all summer. I pickle and/or can a good many of these for use during the winter. I also buy locally produced grains (oatmeal, etc) and flour from family farms, which I freeze for use in the winter. Things I can't get in these ways--bananas, for instance--I buy sparingly and only organics at that, because chemicals harm both the environment and workers.

Just made a tasty salsa from canned tomatoes last night, and am planning to make some pesto out of locally-produced basil tonight--to take as a dip to a party Saturday.

So, I'm doing my best to avoid exploiting workers for my foods. You?

[Megahurtz]

46. I know what you mean,

it's CorpAmerica at it's finest. :sarcasm:

[warrens]

23. Check out the details in the story

It appears that many of them will not get jobs. It's physically grueling, and a 59 year old is unlikely to be hired.

[iam]

58. It's just another lie

in a looooong string of conservative lies. Liberalism is Liberty! Conservatism is Fear, Hate, Greed and Ignorance.

[notadmblnd]

2. A line out the door?

they're only doing jobs Americans won't do.. Riiiiight.

[Cobalt-60]

3. There aren't any good jobs left

They're drive to the door of this exploiter by Bushco's extermination of gainful employment.
I hold degrees in IT and Engineering, yet I'm forced to defend a chump pay nugget of servant sector cr*p as of it were a real job.
I can sympathize with these cats.

[Le Taz Hot]

13. Welcome to the club.

My husband and I are in the same boat. THESE are the only types of jobs left. I know I got an education for a reason. :sarcasm:

[snooper2]

16. not true...

what type of degrees do you hold? If you know anything about telecomunications, VoIP(SIP/MGCP, codecs G711, G729a), MPLS, ATM, Frame, MLPPP,(Cisco/Juniper) I could find you a job paying over 60K-70K in no time. If you know anything about Solaris, Sequal Server, Microsoft Database, Oracle, Unix, or know how to write in programs like Java, I could again find you a job paying well over 60K-70K in no time as well.

Companies have been hiring again over the past year and a half for these fields, at least in the Dallas Metroplex.

[Cobalt-60]

50. My main telecom strength was in the OC192

I went to the Nortel school for OC48 and OC192.
I'd have to say ATM is top of the chart.
I don't know about Texas though,
the Freepers might get meh!
Thanks for the tip, I'll scan for Dallas jobs.

[hedgehog]

53. So Americans with college degrees have become the new migrant

workers: forced to move every few years to where the jobs are rather than being able to put down roots and build communities.

[noonwitch]

27. I had to work at K-Mart when I first graduated from college

It took me a year to find a social work job in the Reagan years.

[Cobalt-60]

51. I did some K-Mart time

It was summer and autumn of 1978, including the horror of the Christmas season.
Right out of college my first gig was not detailing a new Mars Mission as I had hoped, but rather bean counting in the accounting department of the old Globe Democrat.

[MADem]

5. They left their apartments filled with all their stuff.

And it's unlikely anyone will help them get that stuff back, or sell it for them. They've lost their stuff for good.

And, on a related note:

Families gather at church for word on detainees, but so far details scarce

GREELEY - Scores of Guatemalans were told Thursday that their loved ones caught up in an immigration dragnet have been sent to Texas. They got the information from a Guatemalan consulate representative from Denver during a community meeting at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church, which has become a place of hope and comfort for many waiting for word of family members.

Several Guatemalan workers arrested in Tuesday's raid at Swift & Co. have been transferred to detention facilities in El Paso and Houston...Since they left for work at the meat processing plant on Tuesday morning, they haven't had any contact with their spouses or relatives who were arrested by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Some were taken into custody for identity theft and others had no authorization to be in the United States.

The meeting, which took place in the church's basement, drew a capacity audience of about 375 families and government officials from several Latin American countries. There were also representatives from the Hispanic Ministries of the Archdiocese of Denver and the United Way, and immigration lawyers.

The meeting was closed to the public, and several community activists were turned away. ...Yolanda Bustillo, a native from Panama, went to the meeting to help find her friend, a native of Guatemala, who also was arrested.

Bustillo's immediate concern was how she was going to deal with her friend's 14-year-old son who was left behind in Greeley. Her friend is a single mother. Another friend, Marcos Ixcoy, said he was the child's guardian. ....
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5215722,00.html

[diamidue]

26. This bothers me

It sounds too much like "disappearing" people. In fact, the whole crackdown was just a little too heavy handed for me. It seems that it could have been better thought out.

And as for new applicants lining up to get the vacated jobs, I'm adopting a wait and see attitude. I want to see what the score is two months down the road.

[judaspriestess]

44. Wow illegal Guatamalans

you mean they are not all 'Mexican'???? :eyes:

[NorthernSpy]

8. and a big, fat Told You So! to the illegal immigration apologists...

Yes, the illegals DO take jobs from Americans. And yes, the illegals DO drive down wages.

And no, we don't have to put up with it.

[michreject]

10. And yes we have to put a stop to it.

Americans want to work. Give them a chance.

[diamidue]

28. No one is apologizing for illegal immigration

but your statement is overly broad. For example, in CA, farmers still cannot find enuf farm help.

.."Some pear growers faced a serious shortage of workers and raised wages in Lake County earlier this year, said Jack King, of the California Farm Bureau Federation in Sacramento.

The higher wages still didn't draw enough workers, he said".

http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_4830350

This article seems to suggest that it is the construction industry that is offering illegals the best jobs. And it seems to me that a lot of Americans would jump at a chance to do that work.

[Critters2]

35. How much higher were these wages?

Employers need to pay what the work is worth.

[mainegreen]

37. About 6 months ago here on DU they were! nt

[Critters2]

38. Yep! I was called a racist because I advocated higher wages

to attract American workers--or any workers. I just want workers paid a fair wage.

And that earned me the "racist" label.

[mainegreen]

40. Evidently I'm a member of the KKK. :P

:rofl:

[Critters2]

43. I thought I smelled something burning. nt

[Le Taz Hot]

52. They cannot find "enuf" help

because they continue to go to the farm labor brokers who only hire illegals instead of going to other LEGAL sources. As I posted below, this last summer, my husband was DESPERATE to find a job and he was turned down for farm labor work because he didn't speak Spanish. The EXACT same thing happens in the packing plants.

Look, I've lived in the Central San Joaquin Valley for 31 years now and the system is set up to hire undocumented workers. So, CHANGE THE EFFIN' SYSTEM! Go to colleges/universities, high schools, the EDD, day labor agencies. They keep saying the illegals are doing jobs Americans won't do but who the HELL do you think did it before we opened to borders??? Puleez! When I lived here as a kid that was the way we earned our summer money.

[depakid]

32. Actually, part of what this shows is that the laws are already there

on the books, they're just not enforced. Wanna make some progress- go after the corporations- fine them heavily for repeated violations and repeal NAFTA and CAFTA so that Hispanic immigrants have more opportunities at home.

[redqueen]

47. oh, no! you must be one of these 'apologists' i've read about!

:eyes:

Good points, and thanks for bothering. Lately I see no point, really.

[alarimer]

60. Then fine the companies that hire them

Swift should have their equipment confiscated and sold to someone who will obey the law.

Don't blame the people who want jobs; blame the EMPLOYERS>

[saigon68]

9. even a color photograph of himself as a young Naval officer

A veteran who served and maybe fought for his country is now slitting throats of cows and "pulling hides" for the minumum wage.

YOU GOTTA LOVE THE CHIMP'S amerika

http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/report/volume13/chapterf.htm

Clearing of shanks and neck, and removal of hide

2.38 The hide was removed using an electric or pneumatic hide puller, powered flaying knife or curved hand knife. Hide pullers could be upward or downward pulling. When a downward-pulling hide puller was used, cuts were made inside the shanks of the rear legs, allowing the hide to tear so that it could be peeled off downwards, leaving the clean carcass behind. When an upward-pulling hide puller was used, incisions were made around the neck and inside the shanks of the forelegs so that the hide could be peeled off in an upward direction. The downward-pulling hide puller caused less contamination of the carcass, so was the preferred option. 19

2.39 The hide was sent to the tanners to be processed further. Some hides were sent to gelatine manufacturers (see Chapter 8).

[4dsc]

11. Let's see how long the American's last

these jobs really suck in case anyone here would like to apply for one. American's for the most part don't want these types of jobs GUARENTEED!! And did you see that line all the way to the door! WHOOPEE!! Plenty of room inside to grab an application!!

[acmavm]

14. I know people, in fact am related to a couple, who worked in the

packing plants and the meat processing plants for YEARS. You don't have a clue.

[Coventina]

15. Please learn the correct use of the apostrophe.

Your grammatical errors make it difficult to take what you say seriously.

[acmavm]

25. Better yet, how long before the poster learns to spell the

word guarantee?

AS IN:
Is their warranty null and void because they can't spell guarantee?

[seriousstan]

17. I wonder how we got meat before the illegals? Or roofs, masonry work, construction work

or any of the multitude of jobs that are currently being done by illegals.The Unions understand

In 1969, the UFW organized a march through the Coachella and Imperial Valleys in Central California to the United States-Mexico border to protest growers' use of illegal immigrants as strike breakers. The thousands of marchers were joined by the Reverend Ralph Abernathy and U.S. Senator Walter Mondale. In 1970, Chavez was jailed for defying a court injunction against boycotting. While imprisoned, he was visited by Coretta Scott King and Ethel Kennedy.

Through these dramatic moves the UFW won many important benefits for agricultural workers. It brought comprehensive health benefits for farm workers and their families, rest periods, clean drinking water, sanitary facilities, even profit sharing and parental leave. The UFW has also pioneered the fight to protect farm workers against harmful pesticides.

[hedgehog]

34. Gee, do you think having sanitary facilities and clean drinking water

might have anything to do with keeping E. Coli off the lettuce?

[depakid]

36. If you look throughout history

You'll see that each of the jobs you've mentioned have traditionally been filled my immigrants- construction to a lesser extent.

I applaud the unions for their good work and think that if we're really interested in strengthening the unions (and the workers) hands, we ought to be working toward the repeal of Taft Hartley and demanding that the next Dem administration reform the NLRB. That would achieve a lot more positive results that scapegoating undocumented workers.

[Le Taz Hot]

18. My husband, with 2 college degrees,

tried applying for farm labor this last summer. We were DESPERATE. Couldn't get hired. Know why? HE DIDN'T SPEAK SPANISH. That is the absolute truth.

[SemperEadem]

29. that is the way it is with an office cleaning crew

if you dont' speak Spanish, you won't get hired.

[Kat 333]

59. What a Joke

My dad started working in a packing house in Omaha when he was 15 (before unions). He retired after 35 years due to illness. You may not care to do this work but please don't sound so republican with a remark such as the one you made.

[Vinca]

12. The Swift Co. workers should go on strike until they return

wages to their previous level.

[treestar]

19. How many people in the line are legal?

Finding the one or two of them in the line doesn't make them all legal.

Also follow up and let's find out if they TAKE the job, and on the same terms as the illegals did.

Or if any of the alleged illegals are eventually determined to be legal after all, or even citizens, who will inevitably get the job back with damages, as the law provides.

[High Plains]

21. The Swift plant near me was hiring BEFORE the raids.

You can almost always get a job in the packing houses because of the turnover in this shitty work.

It seems like roughly 10% of the workforce in the Swift plants was illegal.

Is there any evidence whatsoever that the undocumented workers were paid less than the others?

These inhumane raids are not the answer. A guest worker program and/or an increase in the immigration quotas is.

[NorthernSpy]

24. nice try, but Swift was aware of the ICE plans...

Swift knew.

Not only had Swift spent the preceeding months dismissing illegals, they also began raising wages. If you don't believe me, perhaps you'll believe the union reps:

Several union officials said Swift, which has denied knowingly hiring illegal workers and has not been charged, improved its wages, benefits and bonuses before the raids.

"They're trying to staff up their plants and they've been raising their wages the past few weeks," said United Food and Commercial Workers spokeswoman Jill Cashen.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Immigration_Raid_Hiring.html


and this piece by Ruben Navarette:

Did company officials know that they had so many illegal immigrants working for them? Believe what you like. But consider this: Swift & Co. executives have said they tried to work with immigration officials to prevent the raid and that -- once they became aware of ICE's interest in their work force in March -- conducted internal interviews of employees. More than 400 workers left the company. According to Swift's general counsel, at one point, ICE asked the company to stop the interviews, which probably alerted workers that a sweep was coming.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061221/OPINION/612210303/1002

[Critters2]

48. Not only all of that, but Swift negotiated the date with ICE

ICE originally wanted to do the raids on Monday, but Swift was going to have Japanese businessmen touring its corporate HQ and the Greeley plant. They talked the feds into doing it the next day (which turned out to be the Feast of Our Lady of Guadelupe).

[bjb]

30. 10% ??

When 95% of your employees can't speak English, there is a pretty chance they are illegal with forged documents. Swift loves these workers. When the wages went down to half of what they were paying American workers, why is it the price of meat never went down???

[High Plains]

45. Who said 95% of Swift's employees can't speak English?

Wages in meat packing plummeted 20 years ago, when the meat packers broke the unions. It wasn't because of immigrant labor. I remember watching the scabs go to work at IBP. They were mainly red-blooded white Americans.

[Critters2]

49. Immigrant labor enabled the corps to lower wages even further,

and are still used to keep unions out, or to keep them weak.

[PassingFair]

56. There's the part that ALWAYS hangs me up.

P-R-O-F-I-T-S

The cost of bacon, chicken, etc. hasn't gone DOWN.

When migrant labor pools do construction or lawn
care, the homeowner doesn't pay LESS.

The CONTRACTOR POCKETS the PROFIT.

I still say the EMPLOYER needs to be held accountable.

If the fines don't phase them, throw them in jail.

[NorthernSpy]

22. great commentary by Steven Shulman!

Shulman points out the opinion-makers' sympathy gap: dislocation and job-loss seem to matter only when they involve deported illegals.

Almost exactly two years ago, the Swift meatpacking plant in Greeley laid off 800 workers.

Unlike the furor over the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, raids at Swift, there was little outcry. No one called it a "day of shame,"as Kim Salinas did in a recent commentary (Soapbox, Dec. 16) about the ICE raids.

(...)

The deportation of these workers is legal, justifiable and not especially punitive. It has caused outrage simply because it represents the enforcement of the law. This controversy is about politics, not "human rights."

The political agenda of Salinas and her pseudo-progressive allies is open borders. They oppose any effort to stop mass illegal immigration, and they twist the truth to further that agenda.

(...)

The claims of open borders advocates about the economic need for illegal immigrants and the violation of their human rights are utterly without factual foundation. They are made to whip up fear and guilt in the service of a political agenda that the large majority of Americans strongly oppose.

More good stuff at http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061221/OPINION04/612210333

[crikkett]

54. OMG from Naval Officer to Slaughterer...

:scared:

[treestar]

57. If anyone remembers the Wal-Mart bust from three years ago

http://money.cnn.com/2003/10/23/news/companies/walmart_worker_arrests/

Of course the media never did follow through and we don't know how those American cleaning crews that replaced the aliens worked out. ;-)