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motoged
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It is interesting reading both sides of the situation regarding farm workers. Whoever JJJ is, he seems to be providing some relevant info beyond just
personal "jabs".
Why don't more folks get offended by David Marsden's thinly veiled threats and personal insults?
Cartoon to follow shortly....
Don't believe everything you think....
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DianaT
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Quote: Originally posted by motoged  | It is interesting reading both sides of the situation regarding farm workers. Whoever JJJ is, he seems to be providing some relevant info beyond just
personal "jabs".
Why don't more folks get offended by David Marsden's thinly veiled threats and personal insults?
Cartoon to follow shortly.... |
It didn't take long and the "cartoons" are very offensive and downright crazed.
And I agree that JJJ has provided relevant information on the side of the workers.
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JoeJustJoe
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San Quintín has been compared to the maquiladora factories that sprang up along the Mexican side of the US border, except in the San Quintín valley,
the commodity is food.
This is one of the best articles that explains what's going on in Baja and why the Farmworkers are striking, and it also talks a little about what
role the US plays in all of this.
_________________________________________
Why Mexico’s Farmworkers Who Harvest Our Food Are on Strike
The green Driscoll’s label on the organic berries that I buy each week are a comforting symbol of a family-owned company that got its start in
California. Sometimes the berries are marked “Product of USA,” but more often than not, they are labeled as originating in Mexico. That is because
Reiter Affiliated Cos., which sells berries through its affiliate BerryMex under the Driscoll’s label, grows much of its produce in Mexico. On its
website Reiter claims to be “the largest fresh, multi-berry producer in the world and the leading supplier of fresh strawberries, raspberries,
blueberries and blackberries in all of North America.” Now, the farmworkers picking many of those berries are on strike, demanding a change to the
brutally impoverished conditions under which they live.
The strike, taking place in San Quintín, in the Mexican state of Baja California, came just in time for Farmworker Awareness Week. As many as 50,000
mostly indigenous workers have stopped harvesting produce for more than a week in protest of labor law violations. They have carried out bold actions,
including blocking traffic on a major highway. About 200 workers were reportedly arrested over such actions and have complained of mistreatment at the
hands of police. What they want is for their basic needs to be met, such as obtaining health care, getting overtime pay and vacation days, and being
paid wages higher than the dismal $8 a day that most of them earn.
David Bacon, a longtime labor journalist and photographer and author of “The Right to Stay Home: How US Policy Drives Mexican Migration,” has visited
the fields of San Quintín. He told me in an interview on “Uprising” that “all of the ranches ... are producing for the U.S. market, they don’t produce
for the Mexican market at all. In fact,” he added, “they were started to supply the U.S. market especially with tomatoes and strawberries at a time
when the only place in the United States that was growing and harvesting them was Florida.”
Years ago the sparsely populated San Quintín area was converted into an industrial agricultural center by growers who imported indigenous workers from
southern states such as Oaxaca. Bacon compared the dozen or so ranches in the area to the maquiladoras, or factories, that sprang up along the Mexican
side of the U.S. border. He described the conditions of the labor camps where workers live as “really awful and terrible.”
Starting in the 1970s many of Baja California’s workers began to cross the U.S. border through California into the Central Valley, and even to states
like Washington. “These are all connected communities,” maintained Bacon, which is why the San Quintín strike is big news among farmworker communities
in the U.S. such as Washington’s Skagit County.
Sadly, it is not very big news elsewhere in the U.S. When the strike began last week, the Los Angeles Times was the only English-language media outlet
in the country to initially cover it. (Since then, a week later, The Associated Press and others have begun to report on the strike.)
L.A. Times reporter Richard Marosi deserves great credit for being one of the few mainstream reporters focusing on this under-covered issue. His
December 2014 multipart exposé “Product of Mexico,” was the result of an in-depth investigation of the treatment of Mexican farmworkers at the hands
of growers who distribute to U.S. markets. Marosi described “rat-infested camps,” some without functioning toilets. Workers routinely have their wages
illegally withheld, and many face debt after being gouged by the overpricing of necessities sold at company stores. Pay is so low that it amounts to
less than one-tenth of what U.S.-based farmworkers earn.
“The contrast between the treatment of produce and of people is stark,” wrote Marosi. The lack of U.S. media attention is partly why the mistreatment
of the workers who pick our produce continues, says Bacon, because mainstream media tend to have a blind spot when it comes to Mexico, as well as to
the struggles of working-class people overall. “We eat the fruits and the vegetables that these workers are producing,” explained Bacon, “[but] the
workers themselves are invisible.”
But San Quintín’s farmworkers are refusing to remain invisible any longer. Using their collective leverage, they have stopped picking produce—at the
peak of the harvest season—until they can negotiate better conditions and wages for themselves. Already there are some shortages in the U.S. market
being reported. Time is of the essence for negotiations to be completed as strawberries, cucumbers and tomatoes start rotting unpicked in the fields.
After the mistreatment of San Quintin’s workers came to international light last December, growers pledged to fix the problems and created the
International Fresh Produce Social Responsibility Alliance. But their promises for better housing, decent wages and health care have not yet
materialized.
Bacon related that the workers “are negotiating with the state government,” rather than the growers directly, “because many of the conditions that
they are complaining about are actual violations of Mexican law.” They want the government simply to enforce existing laws and force growers such as
BerryMex, Del Cabo, Rene Produce and others to improve working conditions. They also want charges against those protesters who were arrested to be
dropped. Marosi, who is in Baja California reporting on the strike, told KPBS, “They’re saying if there’s no progress, then they’re going to continue
striking, and no one’s ruling out blocking the highways again.”
It is telling that the federal government in Mexico has completely ignored the strike. President Enrique Peña Nieto, according to Bacon, has
“substantially weakened Mexican labor laws” through his major labor reforms after the last election. The reforms have helped employers hire temporary
workers at lower wages and have been used as a “magnet to attract investment.”
Here in the U.S., the situation is not much better. Bacon clarified that “the workers in Baja California are part of a larger indigenous farmworker
community that also exists in California.” The treatment of U.S.-based workers is only marginally better.
Poor treatment of the workers who pick our produce is no accident. It is a predictable outcome of a system designed to have a bottleneck controlled by
fewer and fewer corporations, in which production is moved to the cheapest and most convenient locations and then exported where needed. Food is no
longer a necessity—it is a commodity. And farmworkers, whether in Mexico, the U.S. or elsewhere, are exploited like any other workforce producing
high-tech gadgets, mining precious metals or sewing designer clothing.
Fortunately, it has now become trendy to “know where your food comes from.” Ultimately it is the U.S. public eating the produce that Mexico’s striking
farmworkers pick. We have to acknowledge that much of our food is harvested by the hands of people struggling just to survive. Bacon summed it up,
saying, “we have to stop treating these workers as though they are invisible, as though their lives don’t count.”
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/03/27/why-mexicos-far...
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wessongroup
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Why would one expect food production to be any different than "cars" .. et al
And another issue which has not been brought up, or perhaps I haven't seen it ...
Worker Safety, and negative environment impacts from Farming operations producing food and fiber .... which were also part of the UFW political
argument to achieve their goals for the workers in the field and was based on "FACTS" developed through science .... in the early 70s
A result of the banning of DDT in 1972 ... with and the substitution of Organophosphates in the production of Food and Fiber in the United States ...
Believe Mexico still produces DDT ... but, not for use on their crops ... .Crops grown in Baja are sampled by both the FDA and CalEPA for illegal
pesticide residues ... growers typical don't like to use something which will cause them to lose their production for that season nor the possible bad
press they will bring to other "Growers" .... and/or the Industry
Poor wages doesn't usually have the overall political impact, that negative impacts to Health and the Environment has ... exceptions noted
Say Pete ... invest in the stock market ... It really helps the folks on the bottom rung of the ladder .. so to speak 
[Edited on 5-24-2015 by wessongroup]
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JoeJustJoe
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It's interesting to note that what's going on in San Quintin, with farm workers labor unrest, is also going on here in the USA. Not so much in
California, because California, now has some strong labor laws, and I think the farm workers, are paid fairly well, but I may be wrong in some
locations.
I'm talking about in Washington State, and the Sakuma Berry Farms, where there has been labor unrest, strikes and protests for years. I was shocked to
learn on the Sakuma Berry Farms, they have child labor, and the farms are exempt from some basic labor protections.
The farm workers at Sakuma wanted $14 dollars an hour, but they settled for $12 dollars an hour, depending on a few variables like how many baskets
of fruit they pick or if they make their work quotas.
I guess that's pretty good, considering what the farm worker make in Mexico. But like in Baja, where the growers claim there is opportunity to make
between $5 dollars and $9 dollars an hour. In Washington on the Sakuma farms, they claim the farm laborers can make up to $27 dollars an hour! Of
course, if the workers are like Superman, maybe they can, but for everybody else, it's not next to impossible, it is impossible.
However, there are still lots of problems at Sakuma, for example, since the union has been pushing for the $14 dollars an hour, Sakuma, went out and
used and abused the H-2 Visa Program, claiming it couldn't get enough workers at it's farm, when that wasn't really a problem, because they had
seasonal workers Mexican immigrants, with papers who worked for them for many years, and really it was part of a union busting strategy to get rid of
the troublemakers, and keep wages low. One of the main reasons Sakuma settled with the farm workers, is so they could bring in guess workers from
Mexico, because under the H-2 visa program, they can't bring in workers, under strike conditions.
And where there is labor unrest on farms, it seems Driscoll's is always mentioned, because the Sakuma farms is one of Driscoll's main suppliers.
This really is not Baja related, but I thought I would post it anyway, to give a preview what people living in Baja can expect in terms of labor
unrest, because this labor problem up in Washington has been going on now for a few years, and I think we can expect the same thing to happen in Baja.
This labor problem will probably go on for years.
It's hard to say who is winning the labor dispute in Washington, but clearly the farms workers pay and conditions are slowly getting better. So I
think there is real hope in Baja.
________________________________________________
From a Facebook page that wants readers to Boycott Driscoll's & Sakuma Berry Farms for unfair labor practices.
Farmworkers are some of the most underpaid and hardest working and yet are exempt from the most basic legal protections, including child labor
law. They work and live in terrible and unsafe conditions. For simply asking for better conditions, breaks and a higher piece rate pay, management has
retaliated by splitting up family housing based on gender, hiring security guards and creating a hostile work environment. Sakuma has broken
agreements with workers and stopped negotiating completely.
Familias Unidas por Justicia (United Families for Justice) was founded by these workers who are urging a boycott of Driscoll's and Sakuma Berry Farms
even though it may harm their livelihood.
In March 2014, the corporation announced that they planned to apply for H-2A guest workers and planned to discontinue a summer youth farm labor
program. A large number of Familias Unidas por la Justicia farm workers who've worked for several years and who went on strike in 2013 are between the
age of 12 and 21. Shortly after, Familias Unidas por la Justicia secured a restraining order against the firm, recognizing the farmworkers as a union
engaged in concerted activities that were protected by state law.
The berry firm also chose to settle a wage and hour lawsuit with Familias Unidas por la Justicia farm workers for a record $850,000 instead of
admitting guilt for systematic wage theft. Even with these unprecedented legal wins, Sakuma has held out from returning to the negotiation table.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1591696167770442/
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grizzlyfsh95
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The only solution seems to be to have the government confiscate all of the farm land, and run the farms. They could pay the labor $53 per hour with 1
month vacation, free housing and medical. Throw in free food and transportation, and it looks like the right answer. Forget about the consequences of
these actions. The end justifies the means. And there you have it folks, the solution that the left really wants. It has worked so well in Cuba and
the USSR, why not here and in Mexico?
The harder I work, the luckier I get
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JoeJustJoe
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| Quote: Originally posted by grizzlyfsh95 | | The only solution seems to be to have the government confiscate all of the farm land, and run the farms. They could pay the labor $53 per hour with 1
month vacation, free housing and medical. Throw in free food and transportation, and it looks like the right answer. Forget about the consequences of
these actions. The end justifies the means. And there you have it folks, the solution that the left really wants. It has worked so well in Cuba and
the USSR, why not here and in Mexico? |
Well actually after the USA stole land from Mexico, the Mexican government under the brutal dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz confiscated the land from
Mexican farmers, and that in part caused the rebellion by Mexicans like Madero, and my heroes Pancho Villa, and especially Emiliano Zapata, who
fought for the farm land issues.
So the greedy farm owners that include Mexican politicians because they also own the farms better remember their history of the Mexican revolution in
1910.
Forget Cuba and the USSR, how about the rich European countries with strong unions, over there is some European countries workers on average work
about 35 hours a week, have about six weeks of vacation, cheap health care, long maternity leave for both sexes, and offer good hourly pay or salary
for their workers.
Here is the states we're lucky to get two weeks vacation. its' true there is higher unemployment in Europe than the US, and their economy is now in
worse shape than the US, but not by much. Everybody is hurting because of the race to the bottom, because companies go where they can pay slave wages.
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chuckie
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That pretty much clarifies it for me...Problem solved....History through a haze....If we put our minds to it, we can be just as good as Greece...What
a goal....USA stole land from Mexico? Really?
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wessongroup
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Ever hear of Manifest Destiny ... and "piece work" and/or "carrot and the stick"
"but I may be wrong in some locations." ... for sure 
Farm work, is still a difficult occupation typically for the very poor, and uneducated around the world .... Ag isn't a high paying industry in most
cases for those in the production end of things
And is one of the few true "production" industries which remain in the United States ... same for Mexico, just at a different level of production
costs and market price
However, given the news coming out of Texas and a few other locations, weather will be causing some problems in production .. which will only get
harder, as population continues to increase and weather changes modify "growing locations" world wide
Interesting what we® are seeing in the 21st Century ... HUH
[Edited on 5-27-2015 by wessongroup]
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Bajaboy
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| Quote: Originally posted by JoeJustJoe | | Quote: Originally posted by grizzlyfsh95 | | The only solution seems to be to have the government confiscate all of the farm land, and run the farms. They could pay the labor $53 per hour with 1
month vacation, free housing and medical. Throw in free food and transportation, and it looks like the right answer. Forget about the consequences of
these actions. The end justifies the means. And there you have it folks, the solution that the left really wants. It has worked so well in Cuba and
the USSR, why not here and in Mexico? |
Well actually after the USA stole land from Mexico,
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Yes, and who did Mexico steal the land from.....
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4x4abc
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| Quote: Originally posted by chuckie | | That pretty much clarifies it for me...Problem solved....History through a haze....If we put our minds to it, we can be just as good as Greece...What
a goal....USA stole land from Mexico? Really? |
looks like you gotta hit the books to find out
but with Google and Wiki it's a lot easier now
but you still need to read
short version:
American settlers in Texas - back then part of a foreign country (Mexico)
interesting parallel Israel/Palestine
settlers were about to be kicked out
since the Americans wanted some of the Mexican territory anyway, they started a war with Mexico
no surprise, Mexico lost
winner takes all
so the US took Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, parts of Colorado and Wyoming
well, technically the US bought that land for $15 million
but what can you do when you have a gun to your head
so, the rest of the world sees it the way it is - the US annexed (stole) a lot of land from Mexico
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican%E2%80%93American_War
Harald Pietschmann
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captkw
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FUNNY THing
Gringos..usa folks don't get that (4+4)..and it one of the true crap in the books !! Look around,,san jose ca. san fran,,,santa clara,soledad,,,hell
A..opps ..LA..san simion... all mex not too long ago..Or the proper..California alta
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JoeJustJoe
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That's a pretty good summary 4x4abc.
Some people already mentioned manifest destiny, which some American thought was the divine and God given right that the American people own the land
from coast to coast and Texas.
I have also read expansion plans into Mexico was also because of slavery issues.
James Polk campaigned for the US Presidency, supporting expansion of the US into Mexico. And unlike other politicians, when James Polk won, he
followed through on his expansion plans into Mexico.
Clearly the US was the aggressor, and Mexico fought a defensive war to try to protect their land.
Of course in grade school we're taught about the Alamo and how the Mexicans attacked the peace loving Americans at the fort, killing them all, and
that forced the American to defend themselves, and go to war against Mexico, while always remembering the Alamo.
Somewhere along the way, The Americans defeated the Mexicans, and occupied Mexico, but although the US defeated Mexico, they offered Mexico a
sweetheart deal, all of Texas, outright, and also California and the other southwest states for a great price of $15 million dollars, or pesos, and
cancelling some of their debt. I think the American story goes somewhere along those lines on the US side of the border.
C'mon, clearly the land was taken from Mexico, and whatever was agreed to was clearly under duress, and usually contracts are null and void, if
they're signed under duress. The fact is that the US did defeat Mexico, and really beat them badly, but it was another case of a stronger nation
taking advantage of a weaker nation at the time.
I'm not complaining about the land was stolen, but a fact is a fact. This is what happens during wars, especially over 100 years ago, the winners of
war, would take land away from the losers of the war. The $15 million was just a token gesture, so the history books in America could always show how
powerful, yet fair America is.
[Edited on 5-27-2015 by JoeJustJoe]
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4x4abc
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and with that 1846 war we have another connection to the farm workers revolt in San Quintin.
The US army used cheap immigrant labor (soldiers) in that war. Newly arrived immigrants (mainly from Ireland and Germany), were lured into the army by
promising them citizenship. Army leaders (mostly protestants) treated the immigrant soldier workforce (Mostly catholic) so badly that many deserted.
They went on to support the (catholic) Mexican forces.
So, nothing new - the powerful have always treated the powerless like dirt. And it never ends well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Battalion
Harald Pietschmann
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rts551
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4 June. Next week is the next major meeting, unless it gets postponed because of the 7 June elections.
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4x4abc
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you have a stunning repertoir of responses - how do you come up with those brilliant things?
Harald Pietschmann
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David K
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There was just Texas and Alta California... all the land west of Texas was Alta California, and that was divided into the new states (territories
first, ex. California which never was a territory before statehood).
The other issue was that while part of Mexico, the region of Alta California (and Baja California, too) was ignored or poorly governed by Mexico City.
Americans were immigrating in and even before the Mexican War, Alta California residents considered leaving Mexico or even becoming part of England.
I highly recommend these books to get a better understanding of events before statehood:
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rts551
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Gee, I wonder if San Quintin is quieting down?
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JoeJustJoe
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The reason why I brought up Sakuma Bros Farms in the first place, to show what to expect in the coming months. The public relations firm hired by
companies Driscoll's, BerryMex, and others are going to go all out putting out stories like this that give the farm workers the "potential" to make a
great deal of money, but is really the old "carrot and stick" approach. In the case here, "Sakuma Bros" are only really offering $10 dollars an hour,
with the potential to make a lot more, but in reality only 10% of the farm workers, can work that hard, probably the 20 something athletic types.
Now some may even think Sakuma is offering a great deal, but if I was a worker, I would play the odds, and want the $15 dollars flat pay, that way you
don't kill yourself, and risk some fellow employee stealing fruit from your basket, and putting it in their basket to get the higher hourly pay.
But what I really want to point out is the PR work by Sakuma, that's very obvious here, Sakuma farms is making a lot of these Facebook posts, along
with their brown nosed employers, and maybe a few unrelated members. My favorite reply was from the former Sakuma employee who said they worked on the
farm from the age 7 to age 22! ( working at the age of 7 in the USA!)
We also also seeing these types of PR work, on social media sites with the current labor farm unrest in Mexico, and San Quintin, and I find it
disgusting, although it's not as obvious as the "I love Berries" Facebook site, but it's there if you scratch the surface. Some of these people are
just plants who join a Facebook site, or even Baja forums to push a narrative and hopefully sway public opinion.
I really don't care which side of the labor dispute people take, but I don't like to be played for a fool, and I think there are some people on
social media sites that are pushing an agenda for whatever reason, maybe they're on the payroll, or have their own skin in the game.
______________________________________________
Isn't it live great on the "Sakuma Bros Farms."
Sakuma Bros. offering large pay incentive for farmworkers
Sakuma Bros. Farms has introduced a new pay structure in which farmworkers can earn up to $27 an hour with a base pay of $10 an hour, but a labor
group that has been battling with Sakuma for a couple of years doesn’t like the plan.
New CEO Danny Weeden* said the workers will receive $10 an hour with the potential to earn a production bonus of up to $17 an hour, based on the
number of pounds picked for strawberry and blueberry crops.
Later in the season during the blackberry harvest, workers could earn up $33 an hour because blackberries are more difficult to pick, he said.
The Burlington company used to pay on a piece-rate scale in which workers earn wages dependant on the number of berries they pick, Weeden said.
“The idea and reality is that farm labor is harder and harder to find,” he said. “So we’re putting together the best program, and we want to attract
the best of them. We want the highest-skilled workers, and we’re going the extra mile to attract the best workers.”
Familias Unidas por la Justicia has been pushing to negotiate with Sakuma Bros. over wages and work condition.
Familias President Ramon Torres said the group wants to negotiate a flat rate of $15 an hour because not everyone will be able to achieve the
production bonus.
“Maybe 10 percent of the workforce will reach that ($27) maximum,” Torres said. “The rest are probably going to make the minimum ($10 an hour). So the
majority of the workers prefer to get the $15 an hour guarantee.”
http://www.goskagit.com/all_access/sakuma-bros-offering-larg...
_______________________________________________
Here are some comments from "I love berries" Facebook page, notice the comments are all positive towards Sakuma farms.
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Check out the new update from Sakuma Farms! Once again raising the bar!
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The Seattle Times announced our new pay system for Sakuma harvest pickers. It’s one of the highest pay scales the state has seen, and we are proud of
that.
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The $15 an hour request to pick berries is ridiculous as it has no minimum pounds picked requirement. This new pay scale seems very fair and rewards
the workers for their hard work. As a former Sakuma employee from the age 7 to age 22 I have the highest respect for Sakuma Brothers. There was honor
to work in the fields and it was FUN to earn your own school clothes money. We were paid for what we picked and happy to do so.
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Just another day in paradise... What are your thoughts? Season is over, housing and visitation rights were given to the employees, good wages, free
busing and child care... Does your job do that?
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I love how people have the nerve to call the migrant workers, "oppressed." As if they have no choice of where they work. I don't understand how they
are oppressed when they chose to travel and work for Sakuma. Don't like your job, don't work there. Simple solution.
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Stay strong Sakuma Family! Let the truth prevail smile
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Just goes to show you the protesters don't have the correct facts!
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Why haven't these people just found a different job? This is ridiculous!
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When will they realize how much they DO have working for Sakuma? Housing for your entire family, child care, transportation, etc, etc is not the norm
for employment. The opportunity to put in the effort to succeed on your own and then move on and up in the word. *THAT* is the American dream. Not
handouts and employers carrying your {and your family's} weight. Employees work for the employer, not the other way around.
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This is ridiculous! They don't owe their workers all this at all.
______
https://www.facebook.com/skagitberrylover?fref=ts
[Edited on 5-27-2015 by JoeJustJoe]
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durrelllrobert
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| Quote: Originally posted by JoeJustJoe | The reason why I brought up Sakuma Bros Farms in the first place, to show what to expect in the coming months. The public relations firm hired by
companies Driscoll's, BerryMex, and others are going to go all out putting out stories like this that give the farm workers the "potential" to make a
great deal of money, but is really the old "carrot and stick" approach. In the case here, "Sakuma Bros" are only really offering $10 dollars an hour,
with the potential to make a lot more, but in reality only 10% of the farm workers, can work that hard, probably the 20 something athletic types.
Now some may even think Sakuma is offering a great deal, but if I was a worker, I would play the odds, and want the $15 dollars flat pay, that way you
don't kill yourself, and risk some fellow employee stealing fruit from your basket, and putting it in their basket to get the higher hourly pay.
But what I really want to point out is the PR work by Sakuma, that's very obvious here, Sakuma farms is making a lot of these Facebook posts, along
with their brown nosed employers, and maybe a few unrelated members. My favorite reply was from the former Sakuma employee who said they worked on the
farm from the age 7 to age 22! ( working at the age of 7 in the USA!)
We also also seeing these types of PR work, on social media sites with the current labor farm unrest in Mexico, and San Quintin, and I find it
disgusting, although it's not as obvious as the "I love Berries" Facebook site, but it's there if you scratch the surface. Some of these people are
just plants who join a Facebook site, or even Baja forums to push a narrative and hopefully sway public opinion.
I really don't care which side of the labor dispute people take, but I don't like to be played for a fool, and I think there are some people on
social media sites that are pushing an agenda for whatever reason, maybe they're on the payroll, or have their own skin in the game.
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Isn't it live great on the "Sakuma Bros Farms."
Sakuma Bros. offering large pay incentive for farmworkers
Sakuma Bros. Farms has introduced a new pay structure in which farmworkers can earn up to $27 an hour with a base pay of $10 an hour, but a labor
group that has been battling with Sakuma for a couple of years doesn’t like the plan.
New CEO Danny Weeden* said the workers will receive $10 an hour with the potential to earn a production bonus of up to $17 an hour, based on the
number of pounds picked for strawberry and blueberry crops.
Later in the season during the blackberry harvest, workers could earn up $33 an hour because blackberries are more difficult to pick, he said.
The Burlington company used to pay on a piece-rate scale in which workers earn wages dependant on the number of berries they pick, Weeden said.
“The idea and reality is that farm labor is harder and harder to find,” he said. “So we’re putting together the best program, and we want to attract
the best of them. We want the highest-skilled workers, and we’re going the extra mile to attract the best workers.”
Familias Unidas por la Justicia has been pushing to negotiate with Sakuma Bros. over wages and work condition.
Familias President Ramon Torres said the group wants to negotiate a flat rate of $15 an hour because not everyone will be able to achieve the
production bonus.
“Maybe 10 percent of the workforce will reach that ($27) maximum,” Torres said. “The rest are probably going to make the minimum ($10 an hour). So the
majority of the workers prefer to get the $15 an hour guarantee.”
http://www.goskagit.com/all_access/sakuma-bros-offering-larg...
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Here are some comments from "I love berries" Facebook page, notice the comments are all positive towards Sakuma farms.
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Check out the new update from Sakuma Farms! Once again raising the bar!
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The Seattle Times announced our new pay system for Sakuma harvest pickers. It’s one of the highest pay scales the state has seen, and we are proud of
that.
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The $15 an hour request to pick berries is ridiculous as it has no minimum pounds picked requirement. This new pay scale seems very fair and rewards
the workers for their hard work. As a former Sakuma employee from the age 7 to age 22 I have the highest respect for Sakuma Brothers. There was honor
to work in the fields and it was FUN to earn your own school clothes money. We were paid for what we picked and happy to do so.
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Just another day in paradise... What are your thoughts? Season is over, housing and visitation rights were given to the employees, good wages, free
busing and child care... Does your job do that?
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I love how people have the nerve to call the migrant workers, "oppressed." As if they have no choice of where they work. I don't understand how they
are oppressed when they chose to travel and work for Sakuma. Don't like your job, don't work there. Simple solution.
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Stay strong Sakuma Family! Let the truth prevail smile
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Just goes to show you the protesters don't have the correct facts!
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Why haven't these people just found a different job? This is ridiculous!
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When will they realize how much they DO have working for Sakuma? Housing for your entire family, child care, transportation, etc, etc is not the norm
for employment. The opportunity to put in the effort to succeed on your own and then move on and up in the word. *THAT* is the American dream. Not
handouts and employers carrying your {and your family's} weight. Employees work for the employer, not the other way around.
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This is ridiculous! They don't owe their workers all this at all.
______
https://www.facebook.com/skagitberrylover?fref=ts
[Edited on 5-27-2015 by JoeJustJoe] |
Why are you comparing Washington state wages of $10 per hour to San Quintin wages?
Mexico’s federal government agreed to pay part of the workers’ wages in order to meet their demands for a minimum daily wage of 200 pesos, or about
$13. PER DAY.
You are constantly pinging on others for comparing Mexico crime rates to those in the USA.
Bob Durrell
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