Introduction
The problem of immigrant labor is largely exaggerated, to my mind. It is not a problem of farming, shortage of labor force, or getting cheap products; it is a problem of people who cannot work as hard as immigrants do to obtain good jobs. The topic of immigrant labor has been discussed since the agricultural industry faced the problems of farm labor shortage. “Since World War I, the Congress has allowed the use of temporary foreign workers to perform agricultural labor of a seasonal nature as a means of augmenting the supply of domestic farmworkers” (Levine 1). As you can see, single permission caused a problem which is under discussion.
Immigrant labor is a common phenomenon for modern farms on the territory of the United States of America. However, “while we see a representation of part-time (PT) work from US-born workers, most immigrant workers work full-time (FT).” (Harrison 2). It means that the US-born farmworkers do not always want to be full-time engaged, while the immigrant workers obtain such jobs as direct work. It means that all problems concerning the shortage of farm workers can be solved by inviting workers from neighboring countries for works that local workers do not want to fulfill to the full capacity.
Lazy workers of farm labor shortage
We encounter a problem of whether to support the local workers in their desire to fulfill a part-time job or to support the local farm owners who do not want to experience the shortage of labor force every time they have to gather the harvest. As a rule, we pay little attention to such aspects as who grew the products we eat; who owns the farm it grew on; who picked it; who processed it (put it into cans, or cleaned it for the produce sections, or slaughtered and prepared the meat we eat); how did it get from the farm to the store or market where we bought it. This information does not seem interesting to us as consumers, though we should know the principles hoe the immigrant labor force can influence prices or quality of products.
However, it is important to mention that “Immigration legislation sometimes has been crafted to take into account the purported labor requirements of U.S. crop growers” (Levine 2); that is why the problem of the shortage of labor forces can be solved in different ways. The first way consists in involving immigrant labor forces and not paying attention to the fact that the US-born workers do not want to work full-time year-round. The second way is to wait for US-born workers to fulfill their jobs, suffer losses, and increase prices for products to cover those losses. A good farmer would choose the second variant as the most appropriate, though it is necessary to avoid involving unauthorized immigrant labor forces.
“Unauthorized aliens, arguably, have been displacing legal workers from jobs in the agricultural industry. Farmworker advocates assert that crop producers prefer unauthorized employees because they have less bargaining power about wages and working conditions than other employees. Growers counter that they would rather not employ unauthorized workers because doing so puts them at risk of incurring penalties. They argue that the considerable presence of unauthorized aliens in the U.S. farm labor force implies a shortage of legal workers.” (Levine 3)
As you can see, all immigrant farmworkers are hired on a general basis and are paid wages for their job. “This overall finding does not preclude the possibility of spot shortages of farm labor in certain areas of the country at various times of the year.” (Levine 4) The possibility of hiring immigrant workers depends on the demand for extra labor in the agricultural sector.
In this respect, “the demand for labor is nearing or has outstripped the supply of labor, firms will in the short-run bid up wages to compete for workers (Levine 11). So, the earnings are expected to rise and it this fact will possibly cause the increase of prices for products of farm origin. As consumers, we are not interested in the farm labor shortage because it would inevitably influence the prices of farm products for the worse.
“What has recently changed is that other areas of the USA that are not as directly connected to the major migrant worker streams and that also have a dependence on full-time year-round farm workers (e.g. dairy) are now hiring Hispanic farmworkers in greater numbers than ever before.” (Findeis 9)
The dairy farms in Wisconsin are hiring immigrant workers based on full-time year-round jobs; it means that the farm owners are interested in relying on regular workers and do not want to depend on the seasonal shortage of farm labor force.
Let us imagine the full cycle of two definite products, for example, milk and potatoes. Milk is a product that is in popular demand all year round; it is produced on a dairy farm, such as the Wisconsin dairy farm, and delivered to the markets and stores in the network of a district. Potatoes present that kind of farm products which are in popular demand as well as milk, though it is produced in a definite season.
We should remember that there are “individuals engaged in planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops or tending livestock” (Levine 6); those fieldworkers who are engaged directly in farming can be hired depending on the season (one cannot plant potatoes in winter), while those who tend livestock should maintain their job regardless of the season (they are secretaries, bookkeepers, or managers). So, we can observe a tendency that full-time year-round workers are predominantly immigrant workers who want to be engaged on a full-time basis.
Conclusion
The problem of the immigrant labor force does not seem to be serious until a thorough consideration. It turned out that immigrant farmworkers are engaged in full-time year-round works, whereas the US-born farmworkers are engaged in part-time season works. It is said to happen because of the farm labor force shortage, though we can observe only spot season shortage which does not influence greatly the market, supply, demand, prices, or consumers.
The agricultural sectors which require full-time year-round workers mostly deal with products that are produced all year-round. Ordinary milk requires regular workers, unlike potatoes which demand season workers. That is why we can see some changes in the prices for different kinds of products of the agricultural sector. The aspect of immigrant workers helps to reduce prices for seasonally produced goods of the agricultural sector. Consequently, it is necessary to involve US-born farmworkers in sectors that require part-time workers instead of complaining about changes.
Works Cited
Findeis, Jill Leslie. The Dynamics of Hired Farm Labour: Constraints and Community Responses. New York, NY: CABI, 2002.
Harrison, Jill, and Sarah Lloyd, and Trish O’Kane. Overview of Immigrant Workers on Wisconsin Dairy Farms. Madison, WI: Program on Agricultural Technology Studies, 2009. Miscellaneous Publications No. Web.
Levine, Linda. Farm Labor Shortages and Immigration Policy. Congressional Research Service, 2009.