Birmingham, Alabama – Jerry Spencer calls himself a “problem-solver.” So when Alabama state law HB56 took effect late last month, he was quick to respond to the cries he heard from farmers across the state.
They needed workers.
The law, which allows police to detain people indefinitely if they are suspected of being here illegally, has led Latinos to leave the state in droves – and has left industries like farming in desperate need of a workforce.
Spencer began transporting unemployed city workers, many of them African-American, to the rural farmers that needed their help.
“The farmers have to look and see is it possible for some of these workers to take on the work of the farm come spring,” said Spencer, whose business helps farmers distribute their produce to customers throughout the state. “[City workers] are just not used to the work necessary on a farm…I don’t know of but two people out of the eight that we took on the job today that ever even been on a farm before.”
Spencer’s experiment has been met with mixed results. Out of the nearly 100 people he’s helped transport to farms over the last five weeks, he said only about ten have been able to complete the work consistently.
One important issue? The pay.
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