Influx of Hispanics Changing the Face of Labor in U.S.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now this being a holiday, many folks have the day off, but some of us, though, are working, whether it be in a newsroom or on the streets or in the fields. CNN's Sean Callebs joins us now. He is on a farm in South Carolina, where hundreds are toiling every day, even on holidays like today. Sean, take it away.</s>SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Leon, you're exactly right. And it's also worth noting that the face of labor in the United States is changing due in part to the influx of Hispanics into this country. Now, many Latinos come here for white collar jobs, but still many others eke out a living by working the soil.</s>CALLEBS (voice-over): It's early, the sun is low in the Carolina sky. Already scores of migrant workers are doubled-over harvesting the number one cash crop at the Walter P. Rawl farm: collard greens. There are about 100 migrants working here, some of the more than three million Mexican nationals earning a living in the United States. The reason: many can make as much here in one week as they can in a month or more in Mexico.</s>ARTURO, MIGRANT WORKER (through translator): It is important to send the money to family. I feel really happy here. I'm looking forward to December to seeing my family.</s>CALLEBS: So in the interim it's hours on end in the fields. The Rawl family farm has been part of the South Carolina landscape nearly 75 years. The difference between profit and loss can be whisker thin. Wayne Rawl says the ratio is helped by a plentiful, cheap workforce.</s>WAYNE RAWL, WALTER P. RAWL AND SONS FARM: We supply a lot of jobs and we put a lot back into the economy, we think, into Lexington County and the state.</s>CALLEBS: Many of the migrants here have nearly a decade of experience at the Rawl farm.</s>ASHLEY RAWL, WALTER P. RAWL AND SON'S FARM: Hopefully, they're going to want to keep coming back here and working with us, and that keeps us from having to retrain people year after year.</s>CALLEBS: Unions are trying to organize migrant workers out west, but there's no such effort in South Carolina. The Bush administration is working with Mexico to make migration to the U.S. safe and legal. But it's also keenly aware that it's a politically- sensitive issue, not wanting to put workers in the United States at a disadvantage.</s>CALLEBS: And this field of turnip greens may look huge, but it really only takes the workers a matter of hours to go through and harvest the entire crop. And the migrants get more than minimum wage. The Rawls also offer certain benefits, including insurance and 401(k) retirement plan. But don't confuse this with an overdose of generosity. The family says they do this in part because it just makes good business sense to do what they can to keep a good trained workforce. Live in Lexington County, South Carolina, I'm Sean Callebs. Leon, back to you.</s>HARRIS: All right, thanks, Sean. Have a happy holiday, despite the fact that you've got people working all around you. Have a good one. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com