What everyone gets WRONG about farm work
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- čas přidán 27. 08. 2024
- Farmworkers are keeping all of us fed - amid a historic pandemic, wildfires and waves of deportations in the U.S. But some still insist on calling them “unskilled” or “low-skilled.” In this James Beard Award-winning documentary, AJ+’s Yara Elmjouie travels to Salinas, California, to learn firsthand why farm work is A LOT more difficult, complex - and yes, skilled - than we might imagine.
HOST/PRODUCER: Yara Elmjouie
PRODUCERS: Serena Ajbani, Adrienne Blaine, Karla Caraballo-Torres
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: Eileen Salazar
SENIOR PRODUCER: Tabish Talib
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Sarah Nasr, Shadi Rahimi
EDITORS: Yara Elmjouie, Tabish Talib, Adrienne Blaine
CAMERA: Tabish Talib, Yara Elmjouie, Serena Ajbani
SOUND: Karla Caraballo-Torres
FACT-CHECKER: Sharmila Venkatasubban
COPY EDITOR: Juliette Rocheleau
DESIGN: Mat Sesti
SPECIAL THANKS: Veronica Martínez-Matsuda, Jocelyn Sherman, Marc Grossman, Allison Vosloh, Christopher Valadez, Ileen A. DeVault
#FarmWorkers #MigrantFarmers #Salinas
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Hi everyone! A lot of you have been asking for a Spanish translation of the documentary, so we went ahead and made one! You can now select “Spanish” from the closed caption menu. Feel free to send the documentary to your Spanish-speaking friends and relatives!
Thank you for making this video! I can't believe how migrant workers are treated like less than human beings, we all contribute to society in different ways, and all jobs should be highly valued
This got so many holes in it, I can break it down but y'all should do a part 2.
1. You're missing the migrates of Europeans to Mexico
2. Why they used that "pesticide"
3. How it got into the holocaust
4. Afro-Mexican genocide.
5. Mexi-ameri war.
@@carolinagofsky6006 Agreed.
I watched this video at my sxhool
How about a law that makes all those Lilly-white politicians work in the fields for at least 40 hours befor they
My mom (Marisa) was ecstatic when filming this! She talked so highly of you guys! Thanks for the awesome video and showing everyone out there that this is a laborious skilled job 👏 🙌
Oh my god, what a small world! CJ, your mother is one of the most remarkable human beings I've ever met. Everyone who's watched the documentary talks about her resilience, her strength of character, her vivacity, her lovely, friendly demeanor. You're so fortunate to have her in your life. :) Thanks for watching - but moreso, thank you for this lovely comment.
She is beautiful! From the inside and out, dios los bendiga.
🙏🙏🙏Marisa. In Canada, we also benefit from the large skilled agriculture contributions that your mom is a key member of.
Thank you for commenting! Your mom was one of my favorite people on this video. She seems so sweet. Please give her our appreciation and love.
Tell your mom thank you for what she does everyday for all of us. If it wasn't for her and people like her we would be very hungry! Thank you!
These agricultural workers are literally the backbone of our modern food system and they deserve much more respect. They work very hard and are often exploited by the contractors who employ them.
Agree 100%. Thank you for this comment, sir.
guess what that helps so much. These opportunities u must take from these illegal people. u can save so much money from cheap spanish labor my uncle saves so much money because of illegal people. im grateful for illegal mexicans we need more.
@@randomgodll1073 lol you are trolling.
@Danny DNA You obviously have never been exploited or you would know it has MANY faces.
@Danny DNA If Americans paid Americans fair wages then this would reduce immigrants coming in.
I love that he calls them PROFESSIONAL FARM WORKERS. Thank you!
Farmers is the heart of nation, they feed the whole nation
🤗
Meanwhile I can't manage to keep a cactus alive...
true..but farmers must not exploit farm workers
@@ditirojimmysegang3009 farmer don't exploit the workers, most of them depend on demand, the people that control the corporation will exploit the workers because they own the farm, more demand lead to more work, if you the citizen don't have the capability to work on farm by your own dont blame these foreign workers
💯
Picking strawberries was the worst job I ever had and I quit after half a day. Respect anyone who can endure it and PAY THEM WHAT THEY ARE WORTH.
When I was 13 I wanted a new console. My parents said if I wanted it that I could go work the fields. That was literally the hardest job I’ve ever had. Not that uncommon for underage workers to be out in the fields. I never made it long enough to save up for the console.
Yeah. Back breaking. Literally. Worse than stacking bins of onions in my opinion.
I got let go after half a day, have never been let go from any other job. it is damn hard work.
@@puckbryn3583 That's because farm work is forced to rely on dinosaur technology (manual labor) and there's a lot of room for more mechanization of farm work. However, the Hispanic and Latino labor unions wont allow mechanization that eliminates their jobs.
@@kansasthunderman1 how are you gonna mechanize picking strawberries and lettuce?
Every member of Congress and the House needs to work 1 week of this labour in the height of summer. Good learning experience for them.
They would waste there time complaining about everything and everyone.
@@luispinedo7337 *their time. But also, if they do complain, then good! Let people see what kind of work ethic they have!
My grandparents worked the fields for ages, and forced all of their children to do it around school for a year to gain perspective. And that tradition continued to the grand kids. I am always amazed when people mock it as unskilled or easy to do. That was the hardest job I’ve ever had by a long shot.
@@nephtys369 that's an excellent tradition! Well done!
Start with Democrats. Most farmers lean right-wing. And the clips they showed are completely out of context it's more than sickening to see how brainwashed you all are that one could not reason with you.
My grandfather was a migrant farm worker, eventually became a civil engineer and was drafted during Korea. He's more American than most Americans I've seen and I'm proud to call him my grandfather.
Ok
Great role model to follow.
Finally someone who's pointing out that it takes alot more than most Americans are to do for work. You have to be tough to endure the repetitive tasks under all kinds of conditions. It takes an enormous toll on the body and requires enormous amount of hard work and concentration and teamwork.
thats not it man. its because the pay is too low.
There's a lot of room for more mechanization of farm work. However, the Hispanic and Latino labor unions wont allow mechanization that eliminates their jobs.
@@kansasthunderman1 what are you talking about. The farm workers union is so small its practically non existent. It has no real strength
So, I literally never feel compelled to read comments or especially not write comments on CZcams videos. This video hit hard! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for watching, Mark!
(And thanks for leaving a comment!)
@@YaraElmjouie why do you have to edit this so deceptively?
The whole idea of food needing to be “perfect” before it’s shipped is also a huge issue in our food system. It creates so much unnecessary waste especially when farm workers put so much effort into us being able to feed our families.
Food is never perfect but needs to meet a standard. You are still going to see beat-up vegetables and fruits in supermarkets and I'll feel cheated if I have to pay for brown bananas or apples.
@@danielwells774 Abused apples is applesauce
@@scapegoatmiller9110 No. I just go to the supermarket, pick out the best-looking fruit and pay cheapy-cheapy for it.
@@PennyMsElite Or apple cider, yummy!
@@danielwells774 Brown bananas are best bananas for baking though. Strip em, freeze em, make smoothies.
Are you reading and love smoothies? Banana Oath PB smoothie and Pineapple, Kale, Banana and nutmilk smoothies are my favorite for frozen banana use. Enjoy.
My grandfather was a brasero from 1944. We conserved his ID and paperwork. Through him my family had migrated legally and successfully worked in the US. Makes me proud of our history and forever thankful for that man! Rest In Peace Abuelito
❤
Welcome
❤️
The crux of this analysis is based on the nobility of work, and the inherent dignity of the people who do that work. We owe these farmers so much, the bare minimum of which is a livable wage, safe passage to work and home, and dignified working conditions.
@Ron Gosling we could ask you the same thing. Did you know farmers get less then halve of what you pay in the supermarket? This applies to everything; milk, beef, cheese, fruits, veg and cereals! Think about that the next time you stuff your face with something, sir.
@Ron Gosling STEM Majors Vs Humanities Majors
So humanities degrees aren’t useless, and actually do teach skills that are relevant for people who want to earn a living (in addition to the argument that studying the human condition increases empathy and makes us better people). How do the outcomes for humanities majors compare to their STEM counterparts?
Well, one strike against the humanities is that STEM majors have about a 1% higher rate of employment, although those with a humanities degree still had a higher rate of employment that the general public.
A second is that the median earnings for a college graduate with a STEM degree is about 36% higher than that of a college graduate with a humanities degree.
It’s not all bad news for humanities majors - studies have found that, as their careers progress, those with humanities degrees actually close the gap and earn more on overage than STEM majors later in the careers, due in part to the fact that they are more likely to pursue graduate degrees and end up in roles with a leadership track and room for advancement.
Those with a liberal arts degree are also more likely to be engaged at work, according to a Gallup-Purdue survey. Liking your job certainly has a value which isn’t reflected in average salary or unemployment rates
There's a lot of room for more mechanization of farm work. However, the Hispanic and Latino labor unions wont allow mechanization that eliminates their jobs.
It's cause of these illegals that we get to eat good for cheap. I mean people need to check reality before bashing illiagals or making all legal quickly. Right now the inflation is partially cause we are so stupid not allowing immigrants to come in, especially for low wage jobs.
At the grocery store , very little of the money goes back to the farmer him/her...self ! most that cash goes to the food processors and marketers !
I had no idea that all of this work was done by hand. They even bunch up the celery by hand in the field?!!!! These people should be some of the highest paid in the country. Without them we literally would starve! No offense to bankers, but without banks we would still have farms and farm workers but without farms and farm workers there would be no banks or bankers. You don't need a monitory system to be able to eat. You DO need to eat to have a monitory system! And it's not like they're taking American jobs. WTH people?!
And each vegetable requires a different skillset! I haven't seen it for myself, but apparently even the process of picking radishes is also quite the site to behold!
Exactly what i tell everyone! “ these people deserve to be the highest paid” my respects for these people! I worked harvesting broccoli and only lasted 1.5 days my back was killing me!!! You will only appreciate the work they do if you go try doing it yourself!!
As the descendant of farmworkers, thanks for such a beautiful comment. ❤
I guess you don't realise until you grow your own. I'm so slow at harvesting my garden veg.
@@NectarineSoup not only that, but having to bunch the cilantro by hand and put the romaine lettuce in bags ON THE FIELD! I thought that all of that was done in a processing plant by some machine somewhere. Not by people in fields. It's hard enough to get romaine hearts OUT of the bag. I can't imagine having to put them in bags when you're bent over in the field and under time restraints.
Wish this had spanish subtitles to send it to my primos who work on the field, el filoso!
turn on subtitle
Hi Andrea - we've just added Spanish subtitles! Let us know what you think!
It does
Thank you so much for this! My great grandfather and grandfather were part of the bracero program.
Oh wow! That's incredible! Thanks for sharing this!
@@YaraElmjouie And thank you for sharing this very important part of our country as well as history. Many of these historical roots (no pun intended lol) /stories get left behind in our curriculum or over shadowed. Therefore, it’s highly important to share our stories to others; hopefully it helps build understanding and compassion for one another. I just feel so blessed and grateful for the opportunities I have here, and all big thanks to my great grandfather and grandfather. They truly aspired for the American dream to give us, the future generation a better life. Again, thank you for sharing this with everyone the importance of sacrifice and selflessness one does for their families and themselves.
@L8 PRODUCTIONS 14:40 You were allowed to live and work in the US in exchange for working the fields. That's how my great grandfather came to migrate here and later became a permanent resident. This bringing their families here to work as well.
Same here. My father was a Bracero and was always vocal about the unpaid compensation that has been owed to them for decades
@Val Paz same, both my grandfathers were part of the braceros. I only recently learned about their experiences, I wish I had learned about it sooner.
It’s sad, farmers are Essential but it’s hard to make a living farming.
That's how most essential jobs are, especially if the workers are predominantly non-white.
Farm? More like food factory.
my respect for these ppl. they are soooo skilled and needed. ppl who say they're not can go pick their own freaking fruits & veggies. this is back-aching hard work ... please value them 🙏
@Magic True these should all be raised beds. The owner of the farm still lives in 1955 where pesticides are still a thing, while in reality it's destroying the top soil which has been built over thousands of years.
@@Farmynator maybe labor is still be preferred. the laborer might be invisibly urged or demanded to long hours and overtime. (my guessing, I imagine it)
I hope that maybe more people should know them and their profession, achievement and meaning. maybe more scholar should do In-depth research and study about their profession industry. meanwhile, I also hope that they have rest and not be too exhausted , when some of the workers might need rest.
When I was a young man I told my dad I did not want to go to school anymore. He put me to work the strawberry fields I lasted 1 week needles to say I took myself back to school with a greater application. I know have an mechanical engineering degree working in the aerospace industry
All work has value. You came to devalue these people again Congrats , you're a bigot. When my family came to this country we all worked in the fields. These are great people, unlike the Ruling Elite who are killing us. They are murdering the poor, but you're angry at the powerless ? Keep swallowing the lies of our millionaire and billionaires.
Ok....cool story bro.
Im glad you had that opportunity. These people do not have a choice between working in the fields or not.
People don’t realized the opportunity that we have here and for y’all bashing him Because he decided to go to school and make a career are looking at it wrong unfortunately they don’t have the same opportunity we have but they want there kids to grow up and go to college like him so I’m sure they would be happy to see someone work the field and use the opportunity to go to school and improve his life
@@allenflores5110 you’re missing the point about unfair labor compensation.
I wish we could show this to everyone!
Feel free to share with whoever you please!
You can post it on Facebook 😊
For those complaining about you can't find work, go work in the fields with these folks. They will teach you guys a few things about responsibility, and hard work.
Seriously - not anyone can do this work.
@@YaraElmjouie Exactly.
@Rasputen Borg I worked with immigrants in vinyards for two years. My hands bled! the Immigrants were very kind and helpful while I was learning.
@Rasputen Borg F you man. If white people have trouble keeping farm jobs it's because we're soft! Not all IMMIGRANTS can do this job either. But why would they hire Americans? If they did they would be required to give us breaks and pay us overtime and stuff like that.
You better check yourself!
They will teach you how to be a decent human being, not the selfish bastards you are.
I'm an American born fram worker and it makes me happy that these people have someone out there showing them the respect they they deserve. As the video shows it takes years to gain the skill needed to do this efficiently.
We're letting the "educated" judge on what skills are...
Well said! They are trying protect the job status. Fact the jobs that are said to be low skilled we depend on the most, more than doctors, lawyers etc...
You’re stupid. When they say skilled they mean you were trained by some institution. Learning how to do your job doesn’t count as skilled.
Wrong it is always the uneducated that judge.
It is ALWAY right wingers that say burger flippers, servers, and gardeners are low skilled.
The educated realize the history, the job needs to be done, and workers deserve dignity with minimum wages, protections, and etc.
@@ennieminee4470 learning how to do your job doesn't count as skilled...what do people who are going to college for medical and other jobs doing
@@MikasaAckermann831 right, let me clarify.
When they say skilled, semi-skilled, or low skilled they are referring the the amount of training someone has obtained from a formal institution of sorts. This could be a university, technical school, or a particular academic program.
It doesn’t mean they’re dumb or don’t have a hard job. They may know how to harvest efficiently but that probably took a few weeks of on the job training vs enrolling in a 18 month course or 4 year agricultural university program.
Digging a ditch is very difficult but I don’t need to go to school to get good at it. I know you’ll say oh American couldn’t do it but you’re just stereotyping or youre seriously implying some genetic difference (you wouldn’t be doing that would you?). Barring some type of physical condition any person could do that type of job vs not everyone being able to treat someone with cancer, teach a math class or weld.
Y’all are the ones misunderstanding the term
I appreciate you guys calling them “pro” wish the pay matched the title. My father was also a field worker when he first landed in the U.S. I have a lot of respect for these folk and hope to see the day they’re given the respect and the pay they deserve.
Some of us understand sadly not enough.
Have you worked on a farm before? What was your experience like?
Yes I picked berrys when I was a kid, you have to pick fast to make money and the migrants are realy fast. They were also realy friendly and would share their food with us. I wonder how bad it must have been in the country they came from for them to come all the way up to Washington. PB & J for everyone 😃
I was 11 or 12 yrs old my first day working on sugar beet. I got home with a fever and gums swollen, I couldn't eat anything for days.
I did when I was a teenager in Ontario, Canada. I picked garlic, tomatoes, flowers, ginseng, apples, and tobacco leaves. I worked with temporary foreign workers and they were the most peaceful and hardworking people.
When I was in high school I thought going to work every morning was easier than school.
My grandfather took me to pick strawberries and lasted one day lmao
I was like Ezale from Friday “ my neck my back”
Respect to all the people working in the fields
I have work in vineyards picked onions watermelon packing pistachios cold storage various leafy greens and picked pomagranates
I miss it mostly because you get to work with competent workers and it felt right.
My Abuelo was a bracero.
I'm from Watsonville. My parents worked the fields so we could have a chance at a better life. I still remember those strawberry fields and the beautiful people who worked them. Good honest hardworking and happy people.
I give gratitude daily to any and everyone who had a hand in bringing food to our table. Thank you & blessings 🙏🏼.
I feel that farmers don’t get enough credit sometimes, but now I see just how much they work. Its sad that they don’t get rewarded for what they do.
And this video barely scratches the surface of how much they work
These people are not farmers, they’re pickers. The farmers are getting rich exploiting the pickers.
The farmers are rewarded, -not so much these farmWORKERS...
Thank you for crushing my stereotypes about so called unskilled work! It is amazing what these farm workers do!
Thank you for this documentary, nice to see Greenfield Ca and the Salinas Valley get some love for what they do. It is hard work and not for everyone. Every job needs some type of skill to be performed.
My first job was picking strawberries 🍓 in the summer in Salinas. It’s hard lol I went with 4 other people in my family & all wanted to go home by lunch time. I kept going to learn value of hard work & remind myself that our people are so much more then what they make us seem. It was a humbling experience
They feed the population of the world. How is that unskilled? The same people who say that I bet couldn't tell the difference between harvesting to unripe
The problem is that no one is willing to pay more for those same salad. If US farmers would raise their workers' salary, then the price of food would increase.
@@PG-3462 just see mexico they give 7 dollars a day while usa 7 dollars an hour
@@divyaprakash5189 This is because of the technologies and more advanced supply chains of the USA, which allows American farmers to give higher wages than Mexican farmers, but still an American farmer can't give harversters the salary of an aerospace engineer... Think about it this way. If the minimum wage increases by only $1 per hour, if the farmer has 50 workers it increases cost per day by $400, meaning $2,000 a week, or $52,000 for 6 months. Most farmers don't even earn a salary $52,000 after paying for all their farm expenses, mortages and taxes , so how could a farmer pay for this increase by only $1 of minimum wage? Farmers would definitively need to increase the price of the food they sell
@@PG-3462 sir plz dont be angry but i hate illegal mexicans and central Americans
Farmers Are The Salt 🧂of the Earth 🌎✨😍♥
@@sampeacock3819 she means that farmers are salty.
@@haze6647 Hahaha
Wth?
@@sampeacock3819 it's a phrase that was used in the Bible. It means honest, simple, humble, and all around really good. Salt was super important in ancient times for preserving food and some people would be paid for their labor with salt. Tl/dr; they're basically saying that these farmers are good for the earth.
Proud to be from the Salinas Valley💗
My Dad used to grow tobacco in the South as a Black Man. I used to drive tractors....it is hard work!!
How is driving a tractor hard work? Did it have pedals instead of an engine.
@@kansasthunderman1 try it when you are in middle and high school and in the dead of summer in the South. Smart one.
Hell yes it's skilled work! I've worked on dairy farms, pig farms, chicken farms, potatoes, turkeys, etc. Anyone who doesn't think it's hard work, leave your desk, go into the fields for just one day. You'll find respect for these hard working people who get our food to us!
I used to live in Yellville, Arkansas which is an agricultural town. It's pretty easy work for teenagers and young men who don;t want to move to the city.
I totally agree with that.
Skilled or unskilled, it doesn't matter, billionaires will do money off their work...
Capitalism sucks
@@lsbzkr based
Billionaires usually don't own farms and farming isn't profitable usually.
@@HH-le1vi farming is what keeps us alive. Wild that it wouldn't be profitable
@@ThomasBomb45 it's not profitable because actually growing the food is expensive as is the equipment that you have to get for it. So farmers end up in huge debt which then has to be paid from harvest and they end up with pennies on the dollar.
I hope this shows more people how arbitrary the distinction between "skilled" and "unskilled" labor is.
Yes, it is skilled!
I seriously appreciate and RESPECT for people who work on farms and factories. It's because of people who work in these workplaces that the whole city no the WHOLE COUNTRY of millions of people are able to thrive!! These people are the ones who're putting food on our plates!! Please keep making more of these people known!🙏🙌💯💯
Same with retail warehouse work. It takes a lot more skill and speed than people expect. But we still get paid garbage for it...
When they say skill they mean you were trained at a institution or something similar...skilled doesn’t mean you learn how to do something at your job. When they say skill their talking about some type of standardization...I’m pretty sure they don’t have a picking exam they have to pass before they can work.
@UCemOy89IWkxqRf5XInY1N-A I did. I think you are to dense to understand what skill means.
A janitor needs to know how to do a ton of shit but it’s all on site training or experience. Same with these guys. Obviously they’ll learn to to work faster and more efficient but they’re still low skilled. It’s not a insult because skill means a specific thing.
You’re dumb Stephanie!
@@ennieminee4470 I would expect nothing less from some who has a name based on a racist nursery rhyme...
@@Brokenstarz55 that’s all you got Stephanie??? We were talking about how you don’t understand the use of the word “low-skilled”
@@ennieminee4470 most office workers I've been around are far lower skill than these workers-regardless of whether or not they have degrees. 50% of the office work force is making money as parasites and wasting half their days swiping right on Tinder. I work in a high paid professional field and I see it all around me. Not to mention, most people have to learn what they're doing "on the job." It's all BS. And if what you were saying was true, one of these highly skilled laborers who can do the job 3x-5x faster than someone new, should be commanding a far higher salary because of their experience and skill.
Pongo este comentario aqui para que lo vean mas! I work in Hatch new Mexico known for its famous chili where they pay $7 dollars and hour. Big boxes of onions that take 30 to 60 mins to fill up for $13. We get exploted everywhere. We go in at 4 am come out at 2 pm and then go back at 4 pm to come out at 8 pm. We need another Cesar Chavez ASAP
Where do u live now sir i have a important question plz help
I now live in Donna Tx
@@pablomontes6251 sir sorry but my cousin has a phd degree and not accepted for H1B visa but biden says illegal farmworkers will get free citizenship i am very frustrated sir
If we don't respect these folks, we don't deserve to eat. Typical bloke could never do this work and hence would starve.
Great video! All Americans should be required to watch this.
All the people are so wholesome, and also so very skilled. I can't imagine doing the work that they do. Thank you for making this video!
I was a child farmworker, the reason they work so fast is because farm work is not paid hourly, it’s paid by the amount you pick/produce. It’s paid by the pound, or box. Most would prefer to work at a moderate pace with breaks and be paid by the hour but that’s just a dream. How you averaged a worker to make $12/ hour 🤷🏻♀️ I don’t know.
I did a lot of farm work in New England from the late 1970's through the early 1990's. Most workers made around 1.5x minimum wage. I was faster than most and was able to make 2.5x minimum wage except for the blueberry harvest every August. I could make 5-6x minimum harvesting blueberries. Sometimes I was the only American on the crew. I don't know what the average earnings are today or what they were then in other parts of the country. I would expect a skilled harvest worker to make close to $20/hour.
More of this please. Like a whole month of farm stories every year.
I want to have a personal farm for myself and future family or grow things in a greenhouse, thank you farm workers ❤️
Not so fun fact: Depending on the company, strawberry field workers get paid around 1 dollar per box of strawberries that they pick and pack
A skilled worker can fill 20 boxes an hour.
A skilled worker can also steal berries from his coworkers' lanes
I’ve never worked picking lettuce or strawberries but I have pruned , tied, thinned out , harvested grapes and kiwis. Harvested blueberries and cleaned out cotton. Everyone should do some
type of farm work at least once in their life to really appreciate it .
Wow, Adriana, you've done a lot. I'm proud of you.
Leave the city people, they will die of hunger without the so called "low skilled" people
Your fantasies of murdering me wouldn't turn out all that well for you. City people far outnumber "country" people. If you try to starve us to death, we'll come for you and take what we need to live. I haven't forgotten when you all wanted to block off New York & California and kill us all last year when Coronavirus hit. Don't forget that without cities and technology, you would all be living in shacks & starving to death when the harvest failed. No electricity. No computers. No television. No penicillin.
Your DISGUSTING TO THE ROTTEN ROOT!
SERIOUSLY DISPICABLE !
But karma always comes when at least expected.🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄😌
@@robinlillian9471 People in cities are business workers who provide financial and other services which are essential to the U.S. economy. They aren't lazy, they just get an income from working smarter, not harder.
Grillo is more American than Trump
100 times more that biden& Harris families combined
@@Honkahonky what?
@@aerialcombat you don't know about them? wow.
@@almostheavenhomestead1680 what?
BCS is suave and possibly italian i like blue better ;)
This is one of the best videos I’ve seen ☝🏿
You're too kind! I'm happy the video had an impact on you, Mosi. :)
As latina who grew up by the US MX border, I’m really happy to see this. Also, I think your Spanish was a lovely and that’s sweet that you talked about your mom lol and you’re totally right, no job is really “unskilled”. I think a better term would be “low barrier to entry” as in you don’t need a special background, you can learn on the job.
I still remember clearly being in one of Cesar Chavez Rights march ... yes he was there. This happened in Coachella California back in the late 70's as my parents and many families were farm workers for many years.
Memories that as a Mexican American, live in my heart ! ❤️
#ProudFarmWorker
I was able to attend his funeral with a dear friend. Cesar Chavez ❤❤❤
I'm a North American kid. I worked 5+ catching chickens. THAT is incredibly HARD work and I became very fast and great physical shape. I don't regret it despite the crappy pay because it taught me that NO (typical) job is as bad or as hard as people make it out to be.
My friend told me that during high school during one summer he decided to work with these people. He’s fit but according to him on day one he was so exhausted that he could barely stand and threw up. He told me that he did stuck with it for the whole summer break until he had to go back to school. Since then he has a lot of respect for these men and women.
As someone who’s lived on/near farms & grown food & been a chef I appreciate this post
Sad that most people have no clue.
I work for a bank call center at 11.50/hr and know deposit accts credit cards and mortgages. My job is easier than these people, I'm ashamed to say that I thought their job was easy. But still that min wage should be $15/hr
The good thing is you're open to learning about it and recognizing that they are underpaid. You deserve a living wage and so do these farmers. No one should have to struggle to make ends meet friend☺
Fact check: collectively undocumented workers pay over $10 billion to state and local taxes each year. Contributions vary by state. In Montana, they contribute about $2 million. In California, more than $2 billion. On average they pay more than 6% of their income in state and local taxes.
Check out this information at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP).
And what exactly is your point?
Everyone needs to see this!!
thank you for this
I can’t tell you with words how much I love this video. I have never worked as a Farmer but I am tired of hearing people saying Latinos mostly Mexicans and Central Americans only come to take our jobs and they MUST be criminals. If they did not have love ones to feed they would not be doing that kind of job for what they are paid. Calling them unskilled it’s a justification for not treating them the way every human being deserve. I am so proud of them!
Great video. My grandfather tells me about the programs they had when he was very young and how amazing they were. He worked in the fields and farms with his father. He also says "if you want to stay, do it legally like my dad did, and embrace the country you live in". He's 87 now. And wants the best for everyone as long as it's done in the right way.
As a farmer and grew up farming that is a female, works in the heart of the south and have an agricultural degree, I love this! I have seen the good and the bad of farming but the thing that makes me the most angry is the people that do not and refuse to understand the what, where, how, and why of the food system. Thank you for doing this video!
"They have to come and try it" what an awesome answer.
If there were no farmers, nobody eats. I always hated the fact ppl take us for granted.
The people who call it low skill, couldn't even do a days work of the skill that is so essential for citizens to survive.
Thank you for covering this laborious work my people do. It’s hard, they just want to earn money for their families. Many of them are saving all their money so they sleep in the orchards or shacks in the fields. It’s easy for the government to demonize these individuals, yet these are the individuals that make sure produce and other ingredients we use in daily items gets picked, quickly.
Yes! Industrial agriculture that exploits migrant workers like this is an unsustainable system in the long term however, and we are ultimately asking for serious trouble if we don't change it. More labor means even lower wages. But wages have risen in recent years as the worker shortage has increased but are often still much too low. But people complain about food inflation.
The decline of small family farms is ultimately destructive but now sure enough there is now more and more mechinazation even in produce crop agriculture.
Also crop workers are actually mainly Mexican and not so much other Central American. So with significantly fewer new Mexican immigrants even with many more central Americans and more migrants overall, that still contributes to the shortage of farmworkers.
I also wouldn't say the government demonized these workers directly for the most part, though certain talking heads and politicians might at times. But what they are is CALOUS towards them! What ive seen is they actually mostly demonize those who support the workers the most, rather then the workers themselves, all the while the workers Continue to be mistreated and/or ignored.
People are also rightfully jaded hearing about worker shortages and more immigration as a solution, given that has been said so much when it just wasn't true, for all sorts of other industries, in order to lower wages and displace existing workers with those seen as more desirable.
The situation with produce crop agricultural is truly different then anything else in terms of dependence on migrant labor, but only in that what is gradually happening in construction and other industries in large parts of the country, already happened decades ago with the majority of agricultural work.
Mechanized agricultural and livestock work on the other hand is like construction, in still having vast numbers of US born workers in all occupations while also being highly immigrant dependent. Nothing wrong with immigrants, but we also really need to preserve and invest in a US born labor force in these occupations or we will court disaster in the long run. That didn't happen with field labor and now we have a real long term problem as a result that will be very dificult if even posible to change.
My grandmother, who worked in the fields, was the hardest working woman I know. Easy.... the skill these people are showing deserves to be recognized as such.
Miss my in laws back in India where they grow veggies in their backyard. Proud very proud of their hardwork to provide food for the nation
Thank you for shining a light on this and giving these workers the dignity they deserve.
The japan people learn it the hard way when the economic bubble burst. Learn from other mistake and dont repeat history. Respect the farmers
What happened in japan?
When they speak about farmers they never show these faces or their stories.
These are our farmers, they help keep our system going.
cuz normal people don't need people to speak for them, we already know
literally picking strawberries is probably one of the hardest jobs in agriculture in my opinion because you are bent down for hours and it messes up your back and as you can see in the video
Make grillo an American man
Make Grillo great again!
He is american...
One of the best videos on CZcams
Salute to these people! Thank you all for your hard work!
I grew up picking oranges, strawberries, tobacco, cucumber amd many other things. There is NO skill required to do these jobs. Just speed. The faster you work the more money you make. Period! The farmers take advantage of the illegal works because they can't get a legal job anywhere else except in the fields. I like how they don't talk about the people getting sick because of the pesticide and fertilizer that are used and there isn't any medical or dental plans available. Alot of the times your paid cash. Which is illegal.
Your best work yet Yara! Thank you for this fantastic short-documentary. America would starve without these super hard-working souls. We need collectively more appreciation for their hard work and give them all the recognition and respect they deserve. Kudos for this fantastic short-doc!
Fantastic Video!! It creates a profound appreciation of these invaluable professionals.
Glad that came across! Thank you for watching!
Yara, you make the best videos on AJ+! 🙌
You're too kind!! :)
I ALWAYS hated the term unskilled labor/workers. I'd like to see anyone in an office attempt to do any manual labor and understand the importance of doing every little thing just right.
I hope this gets to people who really need to understand the actual struggle but how we still see the light at the end of that tunnel 🙏🏽🙏🏽
Yeah you're a young reporter, this is no surprise. Instead of thanking the military for their service we should be thanking these people for feeding America.
What?
We should definitely still thank the military for their service. It's not their fault that our leaders have their priorities screwed up. We should definitely have a smaller military and stop seeing the "other" as the enemy. We also need to stop idolizing the warriors
I mean idolizing the warrior mentality. We need more farm workers. We DON'T need more soldiers! We have too many. But we should definitely thank them for their sacrifice. Like farmers they are paid far too little for the work that is required of them.
The Social Security Administration also credits undocumented workers for paying an additional $520 billion under mismatching Social Security numbers. Because they are unable to collect social security due to their unauthorized status, this money helps to ensure the funds long term viability for future generations of retirees.
U.S Conference of Catholic Bishop.
Wow. Where did you learn that?
@@alx123094 fact checks. I did a research about undocumented immigrants for one of my classes
Thank you for this info. I grew up boycotting in solidarity with farmer workers. Justice for all ❤
Food, water, and shelter are THE most important necessities for survival. Without that all societies would collapse. Therefore, those who work to supply us with those necessities are THE MOST IMPORTANT WORKERS. Just remember what it was like when the grocery stores were empty last year.
Those empty shelves barely affected me. I didn't go to a grocery store for 2 months and ate from my stored and preserved food supply. It was a good opportunity to test my food storage and rotate out old stock. The only thing I missed was fresh milk. Powdered milk isn't the same but it has improved since I was a kid.
Become a prepper. It will make your life easier when the next disaster strikes.
My grandparents were pickers - although in all fairness you have to remember that they might make 25k a year ... they also receive benefits regular Americans don’t : discounted housing, medical , food help- etc... When you add all that you are in the 50k- range...
Ppl bitching about immigrants taking their jobs but no one will do what they do. Immigrants keep this country alive.
i love the way he says "bismillah" before pick the strawberry
plus i loved marissas hijab made from a bandana
I would also like to point out there are DOCUMENTED workers who work on farms and come across the border to shop, work, visit, travel, etc. They then go back home over the border. Lots of people think they are all un-documented but this is not true. Blessings🙏🏼.
Clarification: Many documented people from Mexico are allowed to cross the border daily, thousands. They come and spend their money in the U.S. It’s not just illegals coming over.
I like this kid interviewing them, he seems genuine, kind, and just straight up humble. More of this. Glad he came in and saw how hard it is.
If it isn't skilled, it takes practice. I mean 3 years to perfect something is about the time for a degree.
Bring me memories!
I did farm work in early 90's fresh out college in South Jersey for 3 years.
True is really hard work but glad for the experience.
"low skilled" is not a negative. It doesn't mean you are not valuable or worthless. It doesn't mean you are completely skilless. This is a LOW SKILLED, LOW EDUCATED job because it doesn't require years upon years of schooling and years upon years of study to master. You don't need to know how to read, or write, or speak. Almost anyone can be trained to do this job, give someone a week or two and they have all the skill and knowledge they need, which is not the case for being a rocket scientist, or doctor, or engineer, or programmer or other HIGH SKILLED, HIGH EDUCATED jobs. That's all that distinction means. Everyone works hard, let's not get distracted by our emotional bias's.
Farming or picking produce being referenced as unskilled labor is a misnomer if I ever saw one. You have to be able to make safety and marketable decisions in a nano second...that takes hella skill.
Ayyyye! Yara eating at La Plaza! Nice :) I'm so proud to come from a family of farm workers!
Indeed! The breakfast burrito was fantastic!
Awesome coverage Yara. I liked your effort in communicating with the workers in Spanish. Keep up the great work!
Thank you all for your hard work! I appreciate every one of you!
Makes sense that vulnerable groups are the ones to do the most labor bc it pays the lowest, least amount of protections and terrible work conditions. This is a rather brief report but well done. I've grown up in doing seasonal work so there's a lot that goes unsaid. They actually have a wonderful setup comparatively. But its good that there's some coverage for those that don't know or don't trust what they are told.