Legal Workers

Highlands Today recently did a story that citrus producer Mason Smoak had testified before the House Agriculture Committee in Congress that,"We want legal workers."

I can agree that citrus growers need workers to get their fruit picked, but not at the expense of having millions of illegals from Mexico unlawfully entering the United States. Mr. Smoak said he "is proud of the salaries he pays his employees" of $10 an hour, when the federal wage rate is $5.85?

Fruit pickers are not paid by the hour. They are paid by the volume of fruit they pick. For example, for picking a 10 box bin (20 bushels) of oranges, they could be paid $8.50. No way can this seasonal "hump and go" work, with rain, shutdowns and travel time average $10 an hour! It's such a hard and low-paid job that you can bet the "second generation" illegals born here, that presently make up 25 percent of our Highlands County schools, will not be picking fruit! If Mr. Smoak would pay his straight $10 an hour for picking fruit, he would have all the pickers he needed.

Most growers really don't directly hire their pickers. They contract the picking out to independent picking crews. The "crew chief" hires his mostly illegal help and runs the whole operation. And how he does his payroll and the many deductions, and cover up for the illegal workers, is anybody's guess. The grower likes the arrangement. Since his picking is under contract, it releases him from responsibility to any governmental law enforcement agency for the employment of illegals.

Giving amnesty to the illegals would only increase the problem, and invite more flow of millions of illegals unlawfully crossing our borders into the United States.

Kenneth W. Jones
Lake Placid