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I don't think anyone had any illusions about "teaching" us anything other than the value of hard work. We made minimum wage, no benefits (what does that even me

I don't think anyone had any illusions about "teaching" us anything other than the value of hard work. We made minimum wage, no benefits (what does that even mean for a kid, we all had health insurance through our parents). I was able to save up for a few summers and buy myself a new computer (a 486SX!), which ultimately led me to where I am today. Seasonal agricultural work like this has been done by kids for generations. There's a short time where you need a flexible workforce and then you don't need them the rest of the year. And our hours were totally variable based on the crop and the weather. Some weeks there just wasn't anything to pick and we'd have to wait. You couldn't count on this income as an adult trying to pay the bills or raise a family. There were adults working there of course but they had different jobs (like driving tractors) and more steady income. I don't think we were stealing jobs from adults. In the end the number of kids willing to work in the fields went down and these days they don't even bother trying to hire locals. They started flying in seasonal workers from Puerto Rico and then Jamaica. You can save up enough money in a few months to go home and live off of for a while (plus any other seasonal work you can find).

arcticbull 3y ago
> Seasonal agricultural work like this has been done by kids for generations. Rivers caught fire and the air was toxic for generations too. Historical precedent isn't particularly compelling IMO. > I don't think we were stealing jobs from adults. If they weren't going to find involuntary workers (kids, prison slaves - the correct term as of course slavery is permitted in the US as punishment for a crime under the 14th amendment) - they would have had to raise the amount they were paying voluntary workers until someone took the job. Or it wouldn't get done. This is how leverage in employment works. To have a free market for labor and accurate pricing, you need to have voluntary participation. Involuntary participation puts all the pricing power in the hands of capital. > They started flying in seasonal workers from Puerto Rico and then Jamaica. This doesn't have to be a permitted practice re: Jamaica. In a very real way it's the job of DOL and USCIS to prevent it. After all, they already do labor conditions and prevailing wage determinations for specialty workers. Why not farm workers? And there simply aren't enough people in Puerto Rico to change the balance of power.

arcticbull 3y ago

> Seasonal agricultural work like this has been done by kids for generations. Rivers caught fire and the air was toxic for generations too. Historical precedent isn't particularly compelling IMO. > I don't think we were stealing jobs from adults. If they weren't going to find involuntary workers (kids, prison slaves - the correct term as of course slavery is permitted in the US as punishment for a crime under the 14th amendment) - they would have had to raise the amount they were paying voluntary workers until someone took the job. Or it wouldn't get done. This is how leverage in employment works. To have a free market for labor and accurate pricing, you need to have voluntary participation. Involuntary participation puts all the pricing power in the hands of capital. > They started flying in seasonal workers from Puerto Rico and then Jamaica. This doesn't have to be a permitted practice re: Jamaica. In a very real way it's the job of DOL and USCIS to prevent it. After all, they already do labor conditions and prevailing wage determinations for specialty workers. Why not farm workers? And there simply aren't enough people in Puerto Rico to change the balance of power.