"It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way"

"Jim Knoepp of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit group that has campaigned against the guest worker program, said farm work, like other difficult labor, can be made attractive to Americans at reasonable cost, and farmers should not be excused from doing so.

"'There used to be lots of American pickers who moved around the country,' he said. 'But wages have stagnated and conditions have deteriorated and agriculture is unwilling to make these jobs attractive. Think of trash collection. That’s not very appealing either. But if you offer a decent wage and conditions, people do it.'"

 

Ethan Bronner in The New York Times reports on a lawsuit in Georgia alleging hiring discrimination in farm work.