The Republican-led Legislature in Georgia passed an Arizona style immigration bill that was signed by Governor Nathan Deal last month. The bill was passed over the objections of the state's agriculture industry, which accounts for $69 billion.
After the bill was signed, anecdotal evidence started coming in from farmers about a shortage of labor, the vast majority of fruit and vegetable pickers being seasonal workers from Mexico and Central America. As could be expected, these seasonal workers are taking a pass on working in Georgia, even though the bill doesn't become law until July 1.
Gov. Deal's response was to enlist the new Republican agriculture commissioner, Gary Black, to survey famers, study the issue and present findings. Today, those finding were released and it shows a labor shortage of 11,080 workers, some of whom are needed for one month, one day, or 12 months, as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution today. Commissioner Black states:
“Responses suggest a degree of unmet labor needs this season,” Agricultural Commissioner Gary Black said in a letter he sent Deal about the survey results Friday.
State Republicans have given the shaft to Georgia's farm industry, which Deal calls the "driving economic engine" in the state. The agriculture commissioner (which until recently was occupied by an elected Democrat) and the state's labor department treat the labor shortage as "new job openings" in the state:
Deal issued a statement Tuesday morning saying state officials are seeking to connect unemployed state probationers with farming jobs in Southwest Georgia. There are as many as 2,000 unemployed probationers in that region, Deal said.
“I believe this would be a great partial solution to our current status as we continue to move towards sustainable results with the legal options available,” Deal said.
Incredible, but not surprising given the Tea Party patriots and regular Republicans believe they'll solve the immigration issue with draconian laws intended to sweep Latinos out of the state.
Jim Galloway, who writes the AJC's Political Insider column reports about these jobs:
About a quarter of the respondents in Commissioner Gary Black’s survey say they are in need of workers year-round. But here’s your wake-up paragraph:
…47.7 percent of respondents do not offer any additional benefits beyond an hourly wage or salary while 36 percent offer workers’ compensation [coverage]. Housing is offered by 22.5 percent of respondents and transportation is offered by 19.8 percent. Only 7.7 percent of respondents offer health insurance.
Let's just hope all the probationers we're putting to work here in Georgia's fields pass legal muster, won't cause any disruptions given their general penchant for real crimes, and can pick fruits and vegetables as competently as migrant workers (mostly hard working Latinos).