The good news about supply-and-demand is hidden by the Post‘s reporter amid threats from business executives and laments from excluded Mexican workers. The 22nd paragraph of the article, which is headlined “‘Please come help’: Eastern Shore crab houses are suffering this summer because they didn’t get the visas needed to hire enough pickers from Mexico” says:
[Business-owner Aubrey] Vincent has upped starting wages — she pays $9.60 an hour, plus $4.50 for each pound of crab meat picked — and partnered with a temp agency in nearby Cambridge, Md., to try to recruit local workers. Of 60 applicants, only a handful were hired and stayed on …
Eden Park, an Eastern Shore native who works the docks for Lindy’s, said he has been clocking hours six days a week this summer to help the business keep up with demand.
He used to work alongside eight H2-B workers. But this year, there are none with him on the docks. In addition to unloading bushels of crabs, or driving a truck in from town, he is also contacting customers, delivering crabs, grading them, loading trucks, making sure those trucks depart, and refueling and washing the vehicles when they come back in.
“My responsibilities got astronomically a lot larger,” he said.
More here
6 comments:
The local crabber should simply hire some Americans, pay them a fair wage (legally) and pass on any additional costs for doing so. Mexicans are very hard workers usually. It may take an extra American to keep up the old pace. Maybe not? People learn as they get experience.
This area is too big to need illegal workers. Many businesses simply CHOSE to use hard working illegal laborers. Now they need to stop, or be stopped.
This truly is the function of government: protect the People from those who would steal their jobs.
Thank you
We need to cut the welfare and ebt cards off to all able bodied people and there will be plenty of pickers!
Problem is this job is not "glamorous" enough, also it means you have to "work" to be rewarded. Do the math, $9.50 an hour base pay. $4.50 bonus for every pound picked. If someone can't pick 2 pounds in an hour they don't belong there. That would come out to $18.50 an hour or $148.00 for 8 hours work. Pretty impressive for being a crab picker.
Or you can make $12/hr and not work as hard, be in AC and not smell like crabs everyday.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Or you can make $12/hr and not work as hard, be in AC and not smell like crabs everyday.
August 23, 2018 at 2:32 AM
Ahh, the new age laziness.
Imagine that. Pay a decent wage and workers show up.
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