Farmers to Washington: We need guest workers
Local growers remind Congressman Tim Bishop a stream of immigrant labor is vital
7 comments below
Pindar Vineyards manager Pindar Damianos tying vines with his crew in Peconic on Monday. Local farmers are calling for effective guest-worker legislation in any federal immigration reform bill.
North Fork farmers had a chance to voice their concerns to U.S. Congressman Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) at a meeting Saturday in the Long Island Farm Bureau offices in Calverton.
"What do we do for farm labor in the long term?" asked Joe Gergela, the group's executive director, recounting an hour-long discussion with Mr. Bishop. "Let's suppose a path to citizenship was established as a component to immigration reform. People would eventually graduate from the lower sectors of the economy and get educated and get better jobs.
"So where do we stand five, 10 years from now?"
Despite this year's strong labor pool, the local farm community is calling for a strong guest worker program, in which unskilled workers could come to the U.S. seasonally and then return to their home countries.
"It's very important to us," Mr. Gergela said, assured that the congressman would bring the message to Washington.
"This is an example of really one of the underlying fallacies of the forces that argue against immigration," Mr. Bishop said. "Here is a case where there's a sector of our economy that is enormously dependent on this work force, they cannot recruit native people who were born here in sufficient numbers, yet they can recruit immigrants.
"And so if we fail to reform our immigration system, we will hurt a significant sector of our economy."
Citing a study undertaken by Dowling College MBA students and released in November, Mr. Bishop said some 800 farms in New York could go under and about 22,000 native jobs related to the farm sector could be lost if the country undertook an enforcement-only immigration policy.
He said the major sticking point on the failed immigration bill of 2007 was what to do with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already in the country. Mr. Bishop favors a path to citizenship, with conditions.
On the prospect of passing immigration reform this year, and how such a bill could impact the country's farm sector, Mr. Gergela said, "People have to decide. Do we want to import workers? Or import food?"
mwhite@timesreview.com
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7 comments found
: 4/6/2009
"give the workers their right and stop exploiting them" wise words from 99problmes http://tinyurl.com/cdlvx4
migrant workers : 4/4/2009
i think they should be legal before coming to this country. with how hard the economy is right now they are taking jobs away from the legal taxpaying residents. i have to abide by the law why dont they??!! there is way to many illegal immigrants in suffolk county, let alone how many are in southold town....
this is crap : 4/3/2009
afraid you will not have enuf people to exploit? maybe if you housed them and fair school etc. taxes were paid it wouldn't be so bad. but it has only been the fairly recent past that used illegal immigrants - before that we has US citizen migrant workers. landlords and employers who violate the laws should be punished enuf for it to no longer be financially beneficial to do so.
: 4/3/2009
The farmers should be held accountable for their illegal actions. They have been hiring illegal aliens for several years now. Because they took the cheap way out and hired illegal aliens their problem should not be the citizens burden. If they paid a fair wage and povided benefits they would not have a problem hiring long term hard working employee's.
Where are the American Citizens?? : 4/2/2009
Why aren't those who opposed the immigration reform standing in line and doing these jobs? Where is FAIR ? and the Bigots who screamed that poor food pickers are ILLEGAL? Why aren't they doing these jobs? 50% of our food is now imported and its going abroad, soon we wont be in control of our own food production? Wake Up AMERICA. What is the difference between a Undocumented Immigrant and a Documented Immigrant? A DOCUMENT. No Human is above another, All Humans are Gods creation, all Humans are equal in Almighty Gods Vision.
Send us more Mexicans! : 4/2/2009
I think it's great that these nice people come up here and mow my lawn. I pay them well, and they work MUCH better than any white guys, who all walk around with a sense of entitlement, and overcharge at every possible opportunity. God bless the Guatemalans, Salvadorans, and all the rest. They have made this place a better community in which to live. Plus, they are great family people, church-goers, and awesome soccer players.
We already have a system for Guest Workers : 4/2/2009
If you would pay a living wage and certain benefits to your workers you would not have a problem getting or keeping employees.
