Employment

Migrant workers have been harvesting crops, shearing sheep, and doing other labor-intensive seasonal jobs throughout Americas history. During the Great Depression, scores of people left the dust bowl states like Oklahoma and headed for California to pick crops. John Steinbecks book The Grapes of Wrath depicted the struggle of American migrant workers. Today, most migrant workers come from Mexico and other Latin American countries, but the need for them remains the same.

Farmers face all kinds of unforeseen calamities from droughts to tornadoes, and one of their biggest problems is finding enough workers to harvest their crops. Many agricultural chores havent changed that much since the beginning of the century. Many crops still have to be harvested by hand and to date, no machine or robot can emulate that. The bottom line is this: farmers need migrant workers to help bring their crops in.

A new breed of migrant workers come into resorts during the busy tourist season and do a wide range of labor-intensive jobs like housekeeping and landscaping. Big resorts simply cant find American workers to do the jobs for minimum wage, but thousands of foreign workers will gladly take them. Consumers benefit from foreign workers, as prices stay much lower as the result of reduced labor costs.

Documented Migrant Workers
Many people in America are under the mistaken impression that all migrant workers are here illegally. That is simply not true, because the labor department and the INS have developed worker visa programs that allow certain numbers of immigrants into the country to work temporarily. If you are an employer in desperate need of dependable labor, it may be wise to check out one of the websites dedicated to the issue.

Farm workers are probably some of the hardest working and under-appreciated laborers in America. Our grocery stores are brimming with fresh fruits and vegetables that in most cases still have to be picked by hand. The work to cultivate and harvest most agricultural crops is dirty, labor-intensive, and requires tremendous stamina. Farm workers get the job done, and often at very low wage levels.

Activists like Cesar Chavez have done much to improve conditions and pay for farm workers. Even so, most Americans dont want to do the hard work that it takes to bring crops in. Most agricultural operations, from the largest corporate enterprises to small family farms, rely on migrant workers, at least on a seasonal basis.

Of course, many farming operations still hire illegal workers from Mexico and other countries. The illegal workers are often exploited financially and have no protection if they are injured on the job. The farmers who hire them have no idea whom they are hiring or whether they pose a threat to other people on the farm or the general public. Furthermore, farmers who hire illegals face stiff fines and worse if they are caught. There is a better way.

Documented Farm Workers
The U.S. Department of Labor, in conjunction with the INS, has created migrant worker programs that allow a certain number of foreign citizens into the country to work on a temporary basis. This is a good deal for American agriculture and for the workers, because it offers protection for both. Employment agencies specializing in farm workers can arrange the entire process, from start to finish, for American companies.

The California labor market has traditionally had heavy numbers of immigrants doing agricultural, manufacturing, and other labor-intensive jobs. As you drive through the great state of California, you will see miles and miles of farmland. The crops include grapes, strawberries, avocados, artichokes, lettuce, beans, and many others. Most of these crops still have to be picked by hand.

The U.S. government realizes that in order for America to remain competitive agriculturally, thousands of migrant workers from other countries need to be allowed into the country to work. Large and small farming operations would virtually fold if not for migrant workers from Mexico, Honduras, and other countries. Harvesting crops is dusty, hot, and extremely physical hard work. Most Americans dont want to do it, but many immigrants will jump at the chance to find a job in this state.

The California labor situation varies across the state, but Latino immigrants make up the staffs of landscapers, restaurants, factories, and contractors in heavy numbers. Many foremen in all of those fields are bilingual, which is becoming an absolute necessity. In the past, scores of migrants from Texas and Oklahoma (referred to as Okies) came to California in search of better lives. They were the migrant workers back then. Now, most migrant workers come from south of the border.

California Labor Solutions
Many Americans complain about unemployment rates and so forth, but they still refuse to take many kinds of jobs. For certain types of manual labor, there is no substitute. Employers in the California labor market need to know they can fill those jobs. Employment agencies with offices inside Mexico recruit and screen thousands of workers for U.S. companies. It is a good arrangement for all parties involved.

Labor Ready is one of several providers of manual laborers to all types of American companies. Companies like Labor Ready have hundred of thousands of clients and place even higher numbers of employees within these companies yearly. Companies can contract with these employment agencies and pay an hourly wage to employees without having to pay all the other benefits they do for full time employees.

Industries from agriculture to light manufacturing often need large numbers of workers on a seasonal basis. They cant afford to keep all of those workers on full time, nor do they need them full time. Companies like Labor Ready supply laborers when they are needed, and quickly. What you cant get from Labor Ready, however, is foreign workers.

Many companies prefer to hire foreign worker for the tough jobs that occasionally come up during the course of business. Whereas some employers take the unethical route of hiring undocumented workers, there are solutions that allow you to hire legal, documented foreign nationals safely and easily. There are employment companies that specialize in just this type of labor. You can hire workers fit to do warehouse work, landscaping, catering, demolition, construction, light manufacturing, and agricultural work.

Hire Foreign Workers Legally
When you go to hire foreign workers, you may wonder if they have been pre-screened. The answer is that they have. Employment companies earn and keep business based on their reputation–if they sent out unqualified or undesirable employees, their doors would soon close. Companies like Labor Ready save you the costs of recruiting, screening, and training new employees. Companies dont have to keep employees that arent working out, and can always discontinue their employment at any time, for any reason. These kinds of companies put control in the employers hands so your company can focus on business.

Remember when landscaping work was pulling out the lawn mover and mowing your grandparents lawn for $10? Today, with automatic sprinkling systems, exotic plants, hedges and numbers of different tree species, landscaping has developed into a science in its own right. Landscapers today need to be well versed in a number of different areas.

If you take a road trip around most major temperate U.S. cities, you will see armies of men armed with leaf blowers, mowers, rakes, and shovels. They are doing the hot and dirty landscaping work that most citizens cannot or do not wish to do for themselves. Landscapers tend to the manicured lawns, sculptured hedges, and thousands of trees in our cities yards.

Many of the landscapers in Los Angeles and other American cities are foreign immigrants from Mexico and other countries. They work hard, they work fast, and they show up every morning because to them, landscaping work is an opportunity to better themselves and their families. They do everything from installing sprinkler systems to building rock gardens, and most of it is hard work.

Landscaping Work Help
For every American who doesnt want to do landscaping work, there are probably a hundred immigrants who do. There are employment agencies that help American employers hire qualified and dependable immigrant workers for landscaping and other labor-intensive jobs. These employment agencies do drug testing, background checks, and other pre-screening to insure employers are getting top-notch employees.