"Guest Worker" or Modern Slave
contributor:darryl hell
It's amazing to me that in 2006 America can have a national debate over a "guest worker" program. But in a country that has no grasp of history, it shouldn't surprise anyone.
If you read the full statements by John C. Calhoun and George Bush [provided in the above links], it is amazing to see the similarities.
Before 1830 - The South defended slavery as a necessary evil. They argued that the emergence of cotton as the most important cash crop in the country made slaves necessary.
After 1830 - A number of factors forced southerners to change their defense. Instead of defending slavery as a necessary evil, they began to defend slavery as a "positive good." They argued that the slaves were in actuality happy, content and well cared for. They even went as far as saying that being a slave was better than being a worker in a northern factory, a condition referred to as "wage slavery."
Can no one see that it is a crime to create a permanent underclass that will be tracked to low-paying, dangerous jobs with no rights to speak of. You only have to think how it would actually be applied to understand the depth of its horror.
You will have tens of millions trying to fill several million positions. That will naturally, as in any situation where there are too many people for too few positions, create a power for the employer where they can make anyone do anything with no rights to speak of. The reason they will have no rights is simple; if they don't do it, they can be sent back and there are thousands of people praying to take their place.
The debate is also devoid of the impact U.S. global policy has on the opportunities and wages in the countries the immigrants in question originate. In addition, my co-worker, who immigrated from Slovocia about fifteen years ago, is surprised that there is no discussion of his fellow European immigrants, specifically Eastern Europe. He knows of many people who have come hear illegally and then became citizens. They, on the other hand, get tracked into house cleaning, building maintenance, plumbing and electrical work. The fly under the social radar and some never learn American English. They are usually hired by relatives and friends who speak English and that enables them to work without understanding the language. When New York City, the nations economic capitol, is filled with them, how can they be left out of the conversation?
To be clear, I think that there should be strong, enforced workers rights for ANYONE who has a job. Unfortunately, the laws on the books mean very little on the ground. One only needs to look at what happened at Ground Zero and the health issues that were allowed. many people were sent in to work with no protection except for a paper dust mask, which is useless from a health safety point of view. Check out this link for rulings on proper protection.
One more test. When you see a worksite, take a look at the kind of masks/protection people are wearing and then compare that with the EPA/OSHA Federal rulings.
When NAFTA was enacted, it was said that NAFTA would create higher paying jobs in South America that would stem the tide of immigration to the U.S. How's that working?
All this is to say, there should be no "guest worker program" and to create a permanent underclass is immoral, insane and inhumane.
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