“Come on, take our jobs!”
The gauntlet has been thrown down by the “undocumented workers” of the United Farm Workers of America organization.
Claiming that they’re sick and tired of being accused by the United States of “taking away jobs from Americans”, the UFWA, with the help of comedian Stephen Colbert, has launched a campaign called “Take Our Jobs!” The campaign, while played mostly for laughs, has serious undertones to it, and is focusing on “recruiting” Americans who are willing to train and work as farm hands and fill in the thousands of agricultural positions that would be left vacant should the illegal aliens have to leave. They are especially interested in politicians and “anti-immigrant activists” (don’t you just love how they phrase it as “anti-immigrant”, when they know damn well that it’s illegal immigration we’re against, not immigration itself?) who are willing to put up with the back-breaking work and unbearable heat in the fields.
Here’s what they’re saying in a nutshell…
“We’re tougher than you are. We’ve been doing this for years. You gringos can’t handle it. You’d be lost without us, so shut up and show us some respect!”
As if they’re sob stories about how tough it is in the fields somehow automatically justifies them illegally sneaking across our borders to begin with.
The website, “Take Our Jobs”, which is part of the official United Farm Workers of America website, has a sign up sheet that asks for your name, email and zip code. Once the information is entered, you just hit “submit”, which comes with this job description under the sign up sheet:
“Job may include using hand tools such as knives, hoes, shovels, etc. Duties may include tilling the soil, transplanting, weeding, thinning, picking, cutting, sorting & packing of harvested produce. May set up & operate irrigation equip. Work is performed outside in all weather conditions (Summertime 90+ degree weather) & is physically demanding requiring workers to bend, stoop, lift & carry up to 50 lbs on a regular basis.”
They really, really want you to know just how tough it is out there.
The author of the article from which I got this story, Juliana Barbassa, goes to great lengths to describe what you’ll be up against; triple digit temperatures, heat exhaustion, long days, and below minimum wage pay with no overtime.
“Any takers?” she sneers.
Arturo Rodriguez, who is the president of the United Farm Workers of America, scoffs at the idea that Americans will actually apply for any of the jobs.
“The reality is farmworkers who are here today aren’t taking any American jobs away. They work in often unbearable situations,” he said. “I don’t think there will be many takers, but the offer is being made. Let’s see what happens.”
Michael Rubio, supervisor of Kern County, shares Mr. Rodriguez’s views.
“Our county, our economy, rely heavily on the work of immigrant and unauthorized workers,” he said. “I would encourage all our national leaders to come visit Kern County and to spend one day, or even half a day, in the shoes of these farm workers.”
Comedian Stephen Colbert plans to feature this campaign on Comedy Central on July the 8th.
Look, as I’ve said before, I’m not against a “guest worker” program, so long as it doesn’t involve a path towards citizenship. I know farm work is a tough job; no one is going to deny that.
But what irks me is the blatant arrogance of the illegal aliens themselves. These people should not be featured (and possibly even getting paid for) on television, or challenging Americans to “do something about them”.
You want to work in America? Do it the right way. Learn and respect our laws, our culture and our language… which by the way is English. Yes, I know it’s not official, but that’s the language all of our laws are written in, so there you have it.
Fill out the paperwork, attend the classes, and when you graduate, raise your right hand and swear allegiance to the United States, and no other. Then you will be more than welcome here.
Then you won’t have to worry about working the fields while dodging the PoliciaAmericana at the same time.
Links:
Immigrant Farm Workers’ Challenge: Take Our Jobs: Juliana Barbassa, Associated Press, 07/24/2010
Take Our Jobs: Official Website, Partnered with United Farm Workers of America
