When Border Patrol agents arrested eight migrant workers on a dairy farm in Berkshire, the entire dairy farming industry in Vermont felt the shockwaves.
What I’m saying is that even if these workers are not forced to work that many hours, they want to do it (as long as they’re paid to do it). Even with a union they negotiated to work 75h and even wanted more and it was their employer that prevented it.
If somebody agrees to work for me at below minimum wage and seems enthusiastic about it, am I still exploiting them? What if I’m paying them $15/hr but no medical, 401k, or other benefits because it’s under the table? Is it not exploitation, even if the person is happy to get the wage?
It seems a very different situation between legal, documented immigrants being represented by a legitimate job placement company, vs undocumented immigrants who are being paid unknown wages and have much less ability to negotiate.
Ok, but that has nothing to do with my original point which was simply that saying they’re being exploited because they work so much when they’re probably the ones who wanted to work 72h/week is ridiculous.
What does that have to do with unrepresented immigrant laborers? Do you think they are really getting a union level wage?
What I’m saying is that even if these workers are not forced to work that many hours, they want to do it (as long as they’re paid to do it). Even with a union they negotiated to work 75h and even wanted more and it was their employer that prevented it.
If somebody agrees to work for me at below minimum wage and seems enthusiastic about it, am I still exploiting them? What if I’m paying them $15/hr but no medical, 401k, or other benefits because it’s under the table? Is it not exploitation, even if the person is happy to get the wage?
It seems a very different situation between legal, documented immigrants being represented by a legitimate job placement company, vs undocumented immigrants who are being paid unknown wages and have much less ability to negotiate.
Ok, but that has nothing to do with my original point which was simply that saying they’re being exploited because they work so much when they’re probably the ones who wanted to work 72h/week is ridiculous.