McMillan: Inmates short-term option for farmers desperate for help (Montgomery Advertiser)

[struggle4progress]

1:35 AM, Oct. 7, 2011

The head of Alabama's agricul­ture department is pointing farm­ers desperate for workers toward a potential labor source: Correc­tions department inmates.

Some farmers have said that the state's tough new immigration law will cause unpicked produce to rot in the fields.

John McMillan, commissioner of the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, said Thursday that he and officials from the Governor's Office, the Industrial Relations office and the state Department of Corrections are looking at short- and long-term solutions to a potential labor short­age ...

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20111007/NEWS02/110070314/McMillan-Inmates-short-term-option-farmers-desperate-help?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Frontpage|p

[tridim]

1. Just slip Warden Norton some cash here and there and he's golden.

[xchrom]

2. A new era in human rights abuses has begun.

Just like the old era.

[struggle4progress]

3. State Sen. Billy Beasley files bill to repeal Alabama immigration law

Published: Friday, October 07, 2011, 5:15 AM

MONTGOMERY -- Alabama Sen. Billy Beasley has filed a bill to repeal Alabama's sweeping immigration law, saying it is causing severe workforce shortages and problems in state courthouses and schools.

"The people in the agriculture community are not happy with it because they can't get workers. The folks in the courthouses are not happy with it. The folks in the school business are not happy with it," said the Democrat from Clayton.

Beasley said three other Democrats have signed on as co-sponsors of the proposed repeal, and he hopes more legislators will support the measure.

"I think there is a large contingent of folks who didn't realize what it was going to do," Beasley said ...

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/10/state_sen_billy_beasley_files.html

[jwirr]

4. I've been working on the chain gang has new meaning.

[mysuzuki2]

5. I read recently that not too long ago in some southern states

that at harvest time farmers would literally "put in an order" with local law enforcement for workers. The police would then round up afro americans on trumped up charges. They would be sentenced to a jail term and "rented out" for a suitable payment. See, there are always options!

[alp227]

6. So really why do US citizens avoid this work?

Is it because it's just TOO HARD? PAYS TOO LITTLE? I saw a TYT on this topic, and American citizens couldn't last for 6 hours there even $10.50/hour. This case could explain why republicans want to bust labor regulations and unionizing rights.

[Confusious]

7. Getting there could be a problem

I've driven a lot around this country, and fields are located a ways from the cities, where most Americans live. 10.50 an hour with today's gas prices isn't going to be much.

[alp227]

8. sounds reasonable, what about US citizens in the rural areas where farms are

I'm sure they don't wanna just be sitting around listening to right-wing talk radio (heh heh stereotype) all day or chatting about their lives in the rural bubble.

[Confusious]

9. There are few, or fewer, people living in rural areas

Then the manpower required to pick crops. I've driven through Illinois, as an example, and both sides of the highway for a couple hundred miles is nothing but corn.

What if that was blueberries, or apples, or whatever it is that requires pickers.