New York Times correspondent Miriam Jordan wrote “Black Farmworkers Say They Lost Jobs to Foreigners Who Were Paid More,” about longtime field laborer Richard Strong and five other displaced black farmworkers in the Mississippi Delta {text} against Pitts Farm Partnership (PFP) claiming “that the new foreign workers (mostly white South African farmers on H-2A visas) were illegally paid at higher rates than local Black workers,” according to The New York Times.
The New York Times allowed comments for a time (the story ultimately closed with 241 comments) by subscribers, some of whom echoed the sentiments by Jordan that these workers are being mistreated but also voiced how they want the employers to be held accountable. Here are some of the comments that stood out from The Times’ readership:
“In states with significant unemployment, there’s no shortage of labor, just wages being too low to make a living. In those states, there shouldn’t be any H-2A visas issued. Secretary of Labor Walsh needs to put a stop to this and also conduct checks on discriminating wage differences, in cooperation with the Justice Department. Zero tolerance for racism in Mississippi!” – Gray Goods, Germany
Owners don’t have to pay Social Security taxes or Medicare taxes on H2A guest workers. This means the amount an owner spends for each worker can be pretty similar even though the amount each worker receives is very different. Not saying it’s right to treat people this way, but this is what’s happening on the financial side.” – anae, NY
Whenever the market favors workers, employers…lobby authorities to facilitate guest workers!
Sorry, but the market in the US is most definitely NOT free…” – Jack, Houston, Texas
If you’re interested in the requirements that DPT mentions, here’s the Department of Labor’s primer on H-2A Visa regulations, in part:
“Before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) can approve an employer’s petition for such workers, the employer must file an application with the Department stating that there are not sufficient workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available, and that the employment of aliens will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers… Any employer who has been certified for a specific number of H-2A jobs must have initially attempted to find U.S. workers to fill these slots. Even after H-2A workers are recruited employers must continue to engage in “positive recruitment” of U.S. workers.”
There are plenty more comments from readers available to read here.
CHRIS JOHNSON is a content writer for the Media Standards Project for NumbersUSA
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