Bay Area tech company caught paying imported workers $1.21 per hour

[shiny!]

Re: Bay Area tech company caught paying imported workers $1.21 per hour

originally posted by don

of course you two are well aware of the impact of nafta. On mexican chicken farmers for example. Unable to compete with us imported chickens, they were driven into the maquiladoras, to "compete" with us industrial labor . . . . Wash, rinse and repeat.

what exactly are you arguing don? That trade is a net negative all the time? Some of the time? Nafta time? Or??

I don't know if trade is a net negative all the time or some of the time or ... Can't answer that question. But Don's right about the negative effect of Nafta on both Mexican and U.S. workers. The effects of Nafta have been profound in Arizona.

Before Nafta, there were a lot of independent Mexican farmers growing corn for Mexican consumption. They owned their own land and employed people. After Nafta, Big Ag companies such as Archer Daniels Midland sold their corn in Mexico for less than Mexican farmers could afford sell it. Mexican farmers lost their farms. Desperate, displaced Mexican agricultural workers became the wave of illegals crossing the border looking for work as day laborers, driving down wages and taking jobs from unskilled American workers.

Archer Daniels Midland stock goes up while U.S. wages go down and illegal aliens are scapegoated. Mexico, which has never had a strong middle class, exports their poor to the U.S. to prevent their pot of poverty from boiling over into revolution. U.S. conservatives welcome illegals as a source of cheap labor for big business. U.S. liberals welcome them as a source of cheap votes. U.S. workers are thrown under the bus. Everyone's a winner!

[don]

Re: Bay Area tech company caught paying imported workers $1.21 per hour

I don't know if trade is a net negative all the time or some of the time or ... Can't answer that question. But Don's right about the negative effect of Nafta on both Mexican and U.S. workers. The effects of Nafta have been profound in Arizona.

Before Nafta, there were a lot of independent Mexican farmers growing corn for Mexican consumption. They owned their own land and employed people. After Nafta, Big Ag companies such as Archer Daniels Midland sold their corn in Mexico for less than Mexican farmers could afford sell it. Mexican farmers lost their farms. Desperate, displaced Mexican agricultural workers became the wave of illegals crossing the border looking for work as day laborers, driving down wages and taking jobs from unskilled American workers.

Archer Daniels Midland stock goes up while U.S. wages go down and illegal aliens are scapegoated. Mexico, which has never had a strong middle class, exports their poor to the U.S. to prevent their pot of poverty from boiling over into revolution. U.S. conservatives welcome illegals as a source of cheap labor for big business. U.S. liberals welcome them as a source of cheap votes. U.S. workers are thrown under the bus. Everyone's a winner!

+1 Shiny!

Mexico's small farmers' world view is also changed after being thrown into the industrial class, either at a maquiladora or as a migrant worker. Their world view changes, from that of a conservative small proprietor, to a faceless cog in a big labor machine. Another piece of the historical matrix.

[Woodsman]

Re: Bay Area tech company caught paying imported workers $1.21 per hour

Interesting compare and contrast exercise. A large, multi-million dollar tech company founded and run by Israeli gazillionaires violates labor laws and gets a slap on the wrist.

Guy Gecht, Chief Executive Officer


Guy Gecht is Chief Executive Officer of EFI (NASDAQ: EFII), the world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation. As CEO, Guy is focused on leading EFI to achieve greater growth in revenue and profitability. His key initiatives include increasing EFI's market penetration, diversifying the company's product offerings, and introducing new services that will drive demand for digital printing worldwide.Since joining the company in 1995, Guy has risen through the ranks at EFI, serving in a variety of management and engineering roles. Prior to being named EFI's CEO in January 2000, he served as President of the company. In this role, he spearheaded the launch of EFI's first suite of print workflow software, which leverages EFI's industry-leading color printing technology, while providing EFI with new and expanded markets. Since becoming CEO, he has also guided EFI through many acquisitions, including the acquisition of VUTEk, the world leader in superwide digital inkjet printing.

From January 1996 until July 1999, Guy led EFI's engineering efforts for the company's largest product line, culminating in his position as Vice President, General Manager of EFI's Fiery Servers Division. He led his team to dramatically expand the depth and breadth of EFI's server product line, with over 35 products launched in 1998 alone. Today's Fiery servers can process more than 4000 full color variable data pages per minute, making it the industry's fastest digital server.

Before joining EFI, Guy was Director of Engineering at Interro Systems and held software management positions at ASP and Apple Israel. Between 1985 to 1990, he served as an officer in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), managing an engineering development team and later, was an Acting Manager of one of the IDF's high-tech divisions. Guy was a member of the Israeli National Bridge Team and as a young player placed second in Europe and fifth globally in the World Junior Bridge Championships.

Guy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and computer science from Ben Gurion University in Israel.

A small chain of restaurants founded and run by so-called "wetbacks" gets 3 years in prison and two years probation for what is effectively the same crime.

Hector Fuentes, Owner and Operator


Hector Fuentes owns Cancun in Waterville as well as the Cancun Mexican Restaurant II in Biddeford. His brother owns the Fajita Grill in Westbrook.

If only the Fuentes brothers had the presence of mind to do as the CEO of EFI did and donate some of their ill gotten gains to a well connected politician, their experience might have turned out differently.



This well connected pol feels so secure in his connections that he's keeping the ill gotten gains:

Congressional candidate Ro Khanna won’t refund a contribution from the CEO of a company fined this week for labor abuses, as the Alameda Labor Council – which solidly supports seven-term incumbent Rep. Mike Honda – has demanded...EFI CEO Guy Gecht contributed $2,600 to Khanna’s campaign in September 2013; campaign staffers removed his name Thursday from a list of Khanna’s tech-executive endorsements.

Seems to me all this makes for a nice "cliff notes" version of our domestic political economy. The system works, just not for us.

[vinoveri]

Re: Bay Area tech company caught paying imported workers $1.21 per hour

I don't know if trade is a net negative all the time or some of the time or ... Can't answer that question. But Don's right about the negative effect of Nafta on both Mexican and U.S. workers. The effects of Nafta have been profound in Arizona.

Before Nafta, there were a lot of independent Mexican farmers growing corn for Mexican consumption. They owned their own land and employed people. After Nafta, Big Ag companies such as Archer Daniels Midland sold their corn in Mexico for less than Mexican farmers could afford sell it. Mexican farmers lost their farms. Desperate, displaced Mexican agricultural workers became the wave of illegals crossing the border looking for work as day laborers, driving down wages and taking jobs from unskilled American workers.

Archer Daniels Midland stock goes up while U.S. wages go down and illegal aliens are scapegoated. Mexico, which has never had a strong middle class, exports their poor to the U.S. to prevent their pot of poverty from boiling over into revolution. U.S. conservatives welcome illegals as a source of cheap labor for big business. U.S. liberals welcome them as a source of cheap votes. U.S. workers are thrown under the bus. Everyone's a winner!

nice!