Blog 16: The Industrial Migrants

                                                         Part 1:
 
        In Eric Scholsser "The New Industrial Migrants", Scholsser explains that MIGRANTS that are coming from Mexico, Central America and Southeast Asia are working in meatpacking jobs that offer low wages and high TURNOVER rate. Most of these immigrants came from places like River Park Mobile Court, beaten trailers and not far down the road from slaughterhouses. Most of them had to share rooms in old motels and sleep on the floor. During one 18-month period, more than five thousand different people were hired at the Greeley beef plant- an annual turnover rate of about 400 percent. This lead to an average worker quitting or fired every three months.
        One thing this article reminded me of is the films we watched in class called The Meatrix because they both had the same mindset in PROFITABILITY and not care about their workers. According to National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, many of the workers suffer from back problems, torn muscles, deep cuts and amputated fingers. Many of the workers was illiterate. Mike Coan in an 1994 interview with Business Insurance, an industry trade journal stated  that "We're at the bottom of the literacy scale and in some plants about a third of the people cannot read or write in any language."

                                                         Part 2:
        In Schlosser second excerpt, Schlosser tells us how companies like IBP would hire immigrants since they would work for lower wages than americans and would be more reluctant to join unions. According to The Immigration and Naturalization Service about one-quarter of all meatpacking workers are illegal immigrants. He also tells us how companies deny hiring illegal immigrants to work for them. Spokesmen for IBP stated "We do not knowingly hire undocumented workers," and "IBP supports INS efforts to enforce the law and does not want to employ people whot authorized to work in the United States." Nevertheless, meatpacking companies target are poor communities and there willing to accept any kind of job because  getting pay is better than no pay at all.