For one California farmer growing grapes the cost of Trump's immigration policy -- build that wall -- has resulted in less and less available American farm workers. Even at $14.50 an hour there are no legal workers willing to fill these jobs.
Wages rise on California farms. Americans still don?t want the job - Los Angeles Times
Voting against your own best interests -- dumb as dirt ...
Wages rise on California farms. Americans still don?t want the job - Los Angeles Times
Last year he could barely get together 45 laborers, and his grapes sold for only $350 per ton. Klein knew his vines were done for when California passed laws raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2023 and requiring overtime for field laborers.
?There?s not enough guys, and everybody is fighting for everybody else?s guys,? he says. ?In Napa and Sonoma, they?re getting $2,000 a ton [for grapes]. So, those guys can afford to pay $15. For me, I?m just trying to break even.?
California farmers can?t find enough laborers
Although Trump earned Klein?s vote, he worries that recent executive orders ratcheting up deportation plans and calling for a wall are putting a chokehold on an already tight pool of workers.
?That?s killing our labor force,? says the 35-year-old grower.
?There?s not enough guys, and everybody is fighting for everybody else?s guys,? he says. ?In Napa and Sonoma, they?re getting $2,000 a ton [for grapes]. So, those guys can afford to pay $15. For me, I?m just trying to break even.?
California farmers can?t find enough laborers
Although Trump earned Klein?s vote, he worries that recent executive orders ratcheting up deportation plans and calling for a wall are putting a chokehold on an already tight pool of workers.
?That?s killing our labor force,? says the 35-year-old grower.
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