Of course, those workers not paid for all of the time they worked, and yes, 18 hour shifts are "illegal."
This calculation doesn't even take into consideration the "savings" of not providing safety equipment, pumps needed to keep the water off the floor, etc.
One must address the issue that they are "undocumented." That may be because they entered the country illegally, or it may be that their documents have lapsed. It may be that they are legally in the country, but their visa only permits them to work for a specific employer - like Del Monte. However, if Del Monte chose not to put those workers with visas to work at Del Monte, then those workers would have to sit and wait - with no pay. Many do not - they work "illegally" some place else.
But why are they here? Is it because it is the "land of opportunity." For some, this is certainly true. However, one must look at the situation which the U.S. has dramatically participated in from Mexico to the tip of South America - the economic "transformation" of the nations south of the U.S. border. NAFTA alone is estimated to have displaced 40% of the small farmers in Mexico. "Displaced" to where, and to what? For many, it is to abject poverty and they head to where jobs are - regardless of how exploitative - the United States. Or they "earn" their way across the border as drug "mules." Or children - now mostly grown - come to join family that they have waited more than a decade to join.
No one calculates how much "consumers" are saving because of the economic processes at play on either side of the border. No one seems to calculate how much profit is made by companies exploiting a vulnerable workforce. Few look at the fact that most of these undocumented workers are paying taxes, and paying into social security and Medicaid - though they will never draw those funds. I find it difficult to imagine that these workers cost "us" more than they contribute - willingly and unwillingly.
Don't get me wrong. I am adamantly against "illegal" immigration. However, I am against it because of the exploitation. It is the exploitation of these workers that drives down wages and working conditions in the U.S.
While I am against "illegal" immigration, I know full well that it is not an issue that is going to be resolved with 1,000 mile double fences with predator drones, and National Guard troops. Nor will it be solved with the construction of massive prison complexes in the desert. It will not be solved until we address the forces that are pushing folks into migration - poverty and fear for their lives. It will not be solved until "We the people" stand on the side of the people rather than on the side of the corporations.
Some day we will see that the lot of the people of the world is our lot. As the hegemonic forces at play in the world continue their inexorable absorption of power and control over the means to survival, we will see clearly just how linked our lives are. We will see the similarity between the mother from El Salvador working as a housekeeper in some executive's house, and our scrabbling for enough to keep a roof over our heads and our children fed. Some day we will see that our interests are shared with her and not with a transnational corporation. Until then, most will see the incarceration and expulsion of 167 people as some victory for "Truth, Justice, and American Security."
Links to Oregonian Articles
Work complaints hang over plant. Huntsberger and Wozniacka. Oregon Live Link
Raids included people's homes. Bryon Denson. Oregon Live Link.
Raid sends illegal immigrants underground. Esmeralda Bermudez. Oregon Live Link
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