Begin Blog 21: Summarizing and Responding to “The New Industrial Migrants I and II

The New Industrial Migrants (Part1)

     This text discusses how immigrants migrating from countries such as Mexico, Central America and Southeast Asia came to the states, specifically Colorado in this reading for work in the meatpacking industry. Once hired, these workers would quit or were fired within 3 months due to horrid working/pay conditions. However, these jobs were the key source to getting a paycheck. For these people, a steady paycheck meant the ability to buy food, housing and a most importantly, prosperity.

   Moving forward, most of the hired workers were paid minimum wage and had to live in run down trailer park homes. Some had to share their living quarters with others and so on. These jobs also offered some benefits such as health insurance after six months and vacation after a year but since the turnover rate at these factories was so high most of the workers never made that far.

    In conclusion, the meatpacking industry is a bully who picks who immigrants desperately looking for work. Why pay more, when you can pay less!

The New Industrial Migrants (Part 2)

   This text discusses how big corporations were now recruiting migrant workers. They targeted migrant workers because they could offer them lower pay then American citizens. They preyed on the desperate needs on an immigrant. During this recruitment, these corporations dispatch teams to low income communities looking for migrant workers. Instead of the individual going out and looking for the job the corporations were becoming aggressive. They would run ads on radio and post enticing advertisements to garner attention.

     IBP was one of the corporations engaging is such acts until INS began investigating there hiring practices. IBP promised migrants workers housing they never received and instead they dropped off a local homeless shelter. IBP was deceiving these workers.

In conclusion, the cost of paying a migrant worker is less then paying an American citizen in IBP’s case. The reality here is that when it comes to maximizing profit and decreasing expenses, the saying, “By any means necessary” comes into play.

Till next time…