Think immigrants are taking our jobs? Try picking strawberries for a day

[NickB79]

52. My factory pays $25/hr to start. We get a TON of drunk whiners

Turnover rates have gotten worse in the past decade, despite rising pay and union benefits. When I started there were lots of guys with 20, 30 yr seniority, lifers putting kids through college, building retirement funds. Now, we struggle to find guys willing to stick it out more than a year. 2/3 don't make it through the 3-month train in period. My 13 years seniority now puts me near the top of the list as the lifers have retired, and my coworkers get fired or quit. I've seen guys fired for working drunk, or on meth, or threatening to shoot a coworker, or molesting a female coworker in the women's locker room. Work ethics seems to be a lost art. Management has gotten worse as higher efficiency has been pushed, but not enough to turn down $60K a year and a Cadillac health insurance plan, IMO.

Frankly, some of my best coworkers are immigrants. I know Mexican and Bosnian guys putting in 6 months straight without a day off, clearing 100K a year thanks to overtime and double time.