Why wasn't a guest worker visa program part of NAFTA?

[Hello_Kitty]

I was thinking about this pursuant to another thread where a DUer was talking about the EU and the relatively open situation between borders where employment and goods are concerned. With NAFTA, we have a flow of goods, and of U.S. manufacturing jobs going to Mexico. There's even an agreement between the nations to allow visas for highly skilled professionals. But no program for the free flow of low skilled workers between N.A. countries. I mean, seriously, why can't Mexican workers come here to work easily and why can't I just bop on up to Canada to get a job?

I mean, the business community is forever squawking about how they want "immigration reform" and a guest worker program. Seems to me a free trade deal among North American nations would have been a perfect opportunity to facilitate that.

[gratuitous]

1. Don't be so impatient! It's just not sensible

We'll be getting to those side agreements on labor rules and environmental regulations in NAFTA just any time now. It's only been 15 years. What's your hurry?

[Hello_Kitty]

4. Oh I know.

I'm just wondering if the big industries - agriculture, meatpacking, construction, etc. - that a large number of undocumented workers kinda like the fact that they're not here legally. You know, in the sense that it's a feature, and not a bug, of the system.

[LostInAnomie]

2. When does the business community ever sincerely want "immigration reform"?

They enjoy the essentially free flow of cheap labor from Mexico.

[obxhead]

3. If you allow low skilled workers legal access to the US then it

becomes much harder to employ them at rates far below minimum wage.

They wanted cheap labor and goods, not a program that would actually be right for the people.

[riderinthestorm]

6. Exactly right. As well, it means that those who won't cross illegally are stuck as virtual slaves

south of the border.

Win/win for big ag, big corporate interests, governments etc....

[Hello_Kitty]

7. Yup. eom

[riderinthestorm]

5. Because they wanted the slave labor to stay south of the border

Where they couldn't escape north to enjoy the riches of the oligarchs who are exploiting them.

Farmworkers especially. I mean, come on, if Monsanto wants to create monstrous farms out of thousands of niche family farms on ancestral lands, or take over government lands to create their big ag farms and drive all other small farmers out of existence, it's America's prerogative.

USA! USA!

(sarcasm off).

I've said this for a long time. NAFTA should have included immigration reform as well as an economic free trade zone. It's the same way with Central America where our foreign policy has basically deformed the indigenous populations' ability to survive on the land. But we won't allow them to escape the destruction the US has wrought in their home countries. It's shameful.

[Goldstein1984]

8. I think the plan was to send the jobs to the unskilled labor

Not let the unskilled labor come to the jobs.

Borders are just lines on a big Monopoly gameboard for the Ruling Class.

Rich folks, maybe with the exception of Roman Polanski, come and go where and when they please.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

9. Reagan proposed that,

As Reagan first campaigned on free trade, full labor mobility between the US, Mexico and Canada was part of the proposal. Basically Reagan wanted to emulate the EU in North America. However when it came time to negotiate only the professional status was seriously negotiated. Even among proponents of free trade a North American economic union was not terribly popular.

And if I recall correctly, you are in IT - so yes, you probably could work in Canada with little difficulty.

[Hello_Kitty]

12. IT workers are covered by the high-skilled NAFTA agreement, as I already said.

But if I were low skilled and wanted to bop on up there to work at McDonalds, I'd be SOL.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

13. "bop on up" no - but they have brought in bus drivers from the US and UK

so the door to blue collar workers isn't slammed quite as shut up here,

[Hello_Kitty]

14. What's the undocumented worker situation like? Comparable to ours in the U.S.? eom

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

15. I wouldn't think so,

Supposedly there is a large number (whatever that means) of illegal immigrants from Mainland China and Vietnam in Vancouver and Toronto - but I would imagine these are people who overstayed tourist visas. It is pretty hard to get on an airplane undocumented.

The immigration issue in Canada is what is perceived to be frivolous refugee claims more than anything else. Another factor is certain parts of Canada have such severe labor shortages that even the authorities probably don't care either way.

[w8liftinglady]

10. This is an excellent post.as a resident of Texas...I've seen the reluctance

they LIKE illegal aliens(as they like to call them).Check out Perry's record.

[Recursion]

11. The point was for the US to dump cheap food on Mexico

And Mexico to dump cheap manufactured goods on the US.

No guest worker program was needed because illegal immigration is part of what keeps industrial agriculture's prices low. So for that matter, a guest worker program would be counterproductive.

[pampango]

16. K & R.