On Friday there was an article in the New York Times about a tree planting company who was not paying workers their correct wages. They were cheating their workers in wages and they were cheating them in their hours. A tree planting in Arkansas went to Mexico and Central America to hire workers on the worker visa program. These workers would come to the United States and they would work and make the minimum wage. They would use to send it back to their loved ones so that they could buy food and the other necessities for life. The companies would not pay these workers their correct wages so the workers started to complaint and then lawyers got involved and they took the case to court. Before court the company was trying to get in contact with some of the workers so that they could pay the worker off and he would testify against the other workers. But this was not able to be done so the company lost and they awarded the workers 2.75 Million Dollars.
When I read this article it made me remember the Harlan County film. The only difference is that in the Harlan county film they wanted better wages and a union so that they could have benefits and healthcare because the majority of the people were dying due to the harmful pollution. The workers in Arkansas were fighting because they wanted justice they wanted their money because it is the only way they could survive. The majority of these laborers come from very low income families or sometime no income families were the only thing there is to do is go hunt for their food or even steal so that they could provide foods for their family so that they will not watch them die. Marx says that when a person works he gets away from his family he gets to involved in his work that he forgets to eat and dies from starvation. Marx also that a person looses himself in his job that he doesn’t not even know who he is this Marx calls alienation. These workers leave their families in order to find a better life.
The majority of the workers in Mexico do not make the sufficient amount of money to support their families and buy their necessities. That is why they look for other resources they rather cross the border illegally in order to come to the Unites states and work as a laborer under false social security and name or they smuggle drugs or sell drug or even smuggle people. They do this to survive to help their families and to provide food for their families. The United States is filled with workers who are working illegally but if the immigrations laws would change then the migrant worker could work here legally. That will not happen because everyone is scared that the migrant workers will come in and take their jobs that is why the borders have not opened their doors.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/13/us/13brfs-MIGRANTSWIN2_BRF.html
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This article really highlights alot of Marx points. Cheating workers out of work and pay was exactly what he talked about. I feel as if this happens a lot with illegal immigrants. Alot of the time they know exactly what they're getting into but cannot object because they are immigrants in our country after all. I am glad though that these workers won their case for their rights.
ReplyDeleteAs you bring up the point of immigration laws, I have to say they should continue the way that they are kept. Many believe that if we allowed immigrants into our country they would take many of our jobs. With that the U.S unemployment rate wouldn't get any better, making our country still unstable.
This definitey reminds of the documentary Harlan County. I do agree with Lauren that immigrants are mistreated because they're foreigners lookng to make more money working in a different country. However, they are under a working visa program and i feel that they should be entitled to the right pay as anyone else working in the U.S. And yes it is true that many believe that if we allow immigratns into our country they would take many of our jobs, however, the jobs they seemed to be taking are the ones that no one wants to do. Good review!
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