Americans won’t pick fruit for $24/hour?

“I talked to a grower in Washington state. He pays $24 an hour. He needs 2,200 people to bring in his crop, and he can hire 550 Americans. So you know, what I want is a guest worker program, where people can come in and do jobs like that that we can’t get Americans to do, and then… go home.” 

So claimed Karl Rove, former advisor to President George W. Bush, in an interview with Laura Ingraham:  Karl Rove: Obama ‘Not Serious’ About Immigration Reform

If there actually exist any employers who cannot find a full supply of American workers to pick strawberries for $24/hour, they aren’t trying hard enough. Period.

Rove claims Obama isn’t serious about immigration reform. Obviously, Karl Rove isn’t serious about it either. These are the Democrat and Republican sides of the same coin: heads = unfettered immigration without restrictions, tails = strictly controlled immigration to only allow in guest workers to do “jobs Americans won’t do”… like pick strawberries for $24 an hour.

Neither one of these options is acceptable. The American Third Position will put an immediate moratorium on immigration. https://american3p.org/?page_id=110

Category: Establishment News

Comments (23)

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  1. Jay says:

    No one is paying $24 an hour to pick fruit. Rove's statement merely shows how far out of touch the Elite are with the hoi polloi.

  2. 5150 says:

    last i heard strawberry picking is by piecework, $24/hr? haha

    more propaganda. cotton picking $18/hr? hahahoohoohee, they use machines to do this. wait….. to pick crops is a noble proffession and a necessary one but by no means glamorous or pofitable. it sounds to me like the sources for some of these articles are questionable. one last thing…..if a workers gets sick or injured guess were theyre taken, the emergency room. thats right people no healthcare benefits provided. they get dropped off. one last item….these farms wont allow you to drive in, so they shuttle you in for a fee. the fees vary depending how greedy the one allowed to shuttle the workers is.

  3. pbcookie says:

    I would definitely pick fruit for $24/hr. Who cares about the heat?! It's strawberry picking for crying out loud! Something I actually PAY someone else to do!

  4. Geo Wotansson says:

    How's this for reality…I'm an unemployed Apprentice Fire Sprinkler Fitter who has been layed-off for 10 months. my trade sector has dried up like a prune. I'd pick COTTON for $ 18.00 an hour! Are you kidding me?! Put a wide brimmed hat on me and slap on some sun screen, I'm there!
    White Americans need to reevaluate their work ethic and start perceiving these "jobs" as a necessary function for the benefit of our people. Especially concerning working on produce farms and the like. We should approach these "jobs" as educational building blocks for the strong foundation that could support our children's future.
    There was a call heard decades ago that inspired many of our people to form solid farming communities that ultimately enriched their lives. That call was " Back To The Land".
    Our collective existence depends on us. Our willingness to work hard for our collective well being is paramount. I also happen to love Strawberries.
    In any event, good luck and congratulations once again to the A3P.

  5. Abby says:

    Either Karl Rove is lying, or the employer was lying. My husband is unemployed in Washington State and would jump at that job, along with thousands of others. Give us the guy's info, Karl, and he'd have those jobs filled in an hour.

  6. Dennis says:

    I live here in Southern Indiana, Hell ill do it… please give me the info ill be out there next week!

  7. vintagemommy says:

    honestly i think this is fake cause so many people would jump on this 24 bucks an hour to pick berries is twice what my husband makes risking his life every day to make sure you can use your cell phones. i would do this job in an oven with bricks tied to my hands..

  8. octoberfreedom says:

    Christopher, that's interesting, because here I thought the average farm worker according the media was making like 3 or 4 bucks below minimum wage. If the average strawberry picker is making about $10, than, I can't figure why they can't hire American workers, especially unemployed, underemployed, and part-time working Americans who need extra cash?

    • Christopher says:

      Re: octoberfreedom, "I thought the average farm worker according the media was making like 3 or 4 bucks below minimum wage."

      This applies to the lawful deductions required (social security, Medicare, withholding taxes, in addition to food and housing deductions which farm employers are allowed to take out. Many farm workers are also exempt from overtime regulations.

  9. bob B says:

    A dollar is worth 1/2 in Kosherfornia, but still not bad if they don't rip you off. Any fringe benefits?

  10. Bob says:

    I'll travel from NY for that rate.
    making nothing at the moment & with no drilling in the gulf I'm not looking at making anything for a while.

  11. Christopher says:

    $24 per hour. If a strawberry producer is paying this wage than I applaud him. Karl Rove needs to provide more detailed information on these supposed job openings. However, with Rove's anti-labor track record coupled with being a habitual liar, I do not believe that his $24/ hour claim is true.

    A simple search at the Washington State Agricultutal Department reveals that in 2007 the median hourly wage rate for strawberry pickers is $8.54/hr, with the mean hourly wage at $9.51/hr. Roughly a third of what Rove claims. Apple, grape, mushroom and potato pickers receive roughly the same wage. Other benefits, such as health insurance, are rarely provided.

    http://agr.wa.gov/fof/docs/LaborOverview_06%2007….

  12. Fed-Up American says:

    I would pick fruit for HALF that amount. Heck, I have a university degree and work a professional job for HALF that amount!

  13. A Fellow Traveller says:

    $24 an hour would make me a rich man. Money I could then use for, for example, donations to the A3P.

    Meanwhile, here's the latest chapter in the saga of globalist government control: http://www.stopacta.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4

  14. Jean says:

    I will travel from MD to pick fruit for $24 an hour!

  15. len jukes says:

    theres thousands of guys in nc earning 8 $ hour

  16. michigander says:

    After reading the transcript I came away thinking that Laura Ingraham isn't any better than Karl Rove. All they're interested in is gaining partisan advantage. They refuse to recognize the demographic issues here and I'm sure would be outrightly hostile to suggestions that the "browning" of America might be a problem.

  17. Victoria says:

    There are plenty of folks in Arkansas who would travel to Washington to pick strawberries for $24 an hour. Maybe what we need is a "guest worker" program between states.

    There are millions of unemployed Americans who would be grateful to pick berries for that kind of money. Amazing that you can't find enough Americans in Washington state to do it (which I'm not sure I believe anyway).

    • len jukes says:

      im a brit and i worked in nc for 8 $hour in 120degrees of heat making furniture on a dangerous machine that OSHA had been bribed to let operate .

    • Mojo522 says:

      I'd like the contact info. I need a job. …..$24 per hour huh