Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Ginger's avatar

Spot on. 2006-09, I worked for a company that owned several precision-machining factories in US, Canada, Mexico, China and UK. We had Vietnamese, Hispanics from all over, others too, working for us in skilled jobs. Bottom line: a union, US worker would get at least $22/hr. starting pay for these jobs. We paid our immigrants $8/hr. starting. The plant managers were in charge of hiring; we at corporate looked the other way. We were all non-union, by the way. Even though I hated what I was doing to these people, I was a single mom and needed the $ and health insurance. White people get forced into being 'complacent' because the threat is always there; 'If you don't like it, leave.' I was the only woman executive in the company. The senior management was all Republican; voted for John McCain because they thought Sarah Palin was 'hot.' Yup, that's the mentality we're dealing with.

Watch the Frontline documentary on chicken farming; all undocumented, living in squalid trailers, shoveling chicken poop all day, picking up and disposing of dead or diseased chickens.... Horrible. The owners couldn't care less.

Expand full comment
Judy Jensvold's avatar

I think Thom Hartmann is brave to write this column. A wide ranging examination of immigration seems to be taboo, but Thom has done it. I greatly appreciate Thom's knowledge of history, the way he relates his wide experiences from around the world, and his ability to explain complex issues like immigration. We need more like him.

Expand full comment
17 more comments...

No posts