WP, pg1: U.S. Border Town, 1,200 Miles From The Border

[DeepModem Mom]

U.S. Border Town, 1,200 Miles From The Border
Georgia's 'Carpet Capital' Relies on Immigrants
By Dale Russakoff
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 17, 2006; Page A01

DALTON, Ga. -- Jerry Nelson steered his grocery cart out of the Wal-Mart on a recent night, fuming about globalization, Southern style. "Another great night at the Mexican Wal-Mart," he groused to no one in particular.

The mass migration of Latinos to this corner of northwest Georgia known as the carpet capital of the world has changed the character of everything from factory floors to schools to superstores. On this night, Wal-Mart's ubiquitous TV monitors alternately promoted arroz and rice, aparatos and electronics.

Like many working-class natives of this once lily-white area, Nelson blames the changes on the carpet industry, which he insists lured the Mexicans -- and more recently, other Latinos -- to keep down wages and workers' leverage in this nonunion region. "We all know who the culprit is: Big Business. That's who's running our country," he said.

But the immigration-driven transformation of work in the United States is not simple, and Nelson played a role in the story, too. For decades, displaced farmers were the backbone of carpet mills. Nelson's mother left a farm in Appalachia to work in one until age 82. But Nelson didn't follow her. Neither did his wife, Georgia, also a mill worker's daughter. "We wanted more than our parents," said Jerry Nelson, who spent most of his career as a heating and ventilation contractor.

Another indispensable force was a federal immigration system that went limp in the face of urgent demands for labor, whether in the Vidalia onion fields 270 miles to the southeast or the Atlanta Olympic Village 90 miles to the south....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/16/AR2006071600665.html?nav=hcmodule

[raccoon]

1. Interesting article. I've heard that Siler City, NC, has a population

about 40% Hispanic. I don't know that area, but my guess is it's because of chicken processing plants.