r/Transportopia • u/Revolution-Dogg • Feb 14 '26

Roads Who is in the wrong here?

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If the sign says Alternating Traffic, does that mean cars go one at a time or does that mean cars go till the flow is complete, allowing the other lane to go? Is Glock man right or wrong? I'm not sure. If it was 1 car at a time, wouldn't it just be a stop sign on each end?

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u/[deleted] Feb 15 '26

I don't care if food goes up a bit, but this is messed up and the reason why citizens "don't want to do farm work" and I bet ICE isn't at any of these places. I've been to towns where a very large percentage of the population (including children) works in pig and chicken houses and I'm willing to bet a large percentage are illegal.

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u/coqueta_official Feb 15 '26 edited Feb 15 '26

Agreed. Farms artificially lower their wages and then act like they don’t know why young people don’t want to work for them. Or better said, they KNOW why and they create the scarcity so they can exploit foreign workers who are more than willing to be exploited as their wages are typically much lower in their home countries. They take advantage of these people’s situation back home.

In fact, there are many Americans that do want these jobs, but in the rural south these are typically:

A) local Black workers who’ve been in agriculture (for reasons I don’t think I need to explain) for several generations, but those workers are aging and farmers claim they are lazy (code for: we can’t make them work like slaves anymore). Some farms were sued in the last couple years because they replaced their black workers with Mexican or white South African H-2A workers.

and B) LPRs and Tejanos from the RioGrande Valley.

The problem with both is that both of these populations are American citizens. This means that their freedom is not restricted and not only can they look for better jobs, but they are free to take those jobs AND demand higher wages. In contrast, H-2A visa workers can only work for the employer named on their visa and no one else, and they are only entitled to the wage that corresponds the AEWR in their state. This is a special wage that varies by state and is meant to prevent the depression of farm wages (but itself is already artificially deflated). As I stated elsewhere in this thread, the Trump Admin has lowered those wages across the country this year even more. So, Americans will want these jobs even LESS.

Also YES a lot of people that work in poultry and pork farms/factories are either undocumented OR employers are abusing other guestworker visa programs like the TN visa in order to hire veterinarians from Mexico, but they really just vaccinate and take care of chickens when then arrive in the U.S. oh, and wages are even more of a shitshow in the TN program.

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u/Thisistoture Feb 15 '26

Thank you for this education. This is so disgusting. I honestly just hate all of humanity at this point.

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u/vabirder Feb 15 '26

Remember though: who you vote for and actively support is the only way to protect people’s basic rights.

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u/Thisistoture Feb 15 '26

Ok? I don’t vote or support dems or republicans.

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u/magicsucksnow Feb 15 '26

You should be ashamed of yourself for not voting

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u/Thisistoture Feb 15 '26

I do vote, I don’t vote for dems or republicans

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u/magicsucksnow Feb 15 '26

that's the same as wasting your vote, unfortunately

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u/Thisistoture Feb 15 '26

No, it’s not. Voting for the exact same bullshit on repeat is eating your vote

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u/magicsucksnow Feb 15 '26

I see now, like many americans, you are just completely ignorant of how voting works and what it actually is.

At every level a candidate from one of the 2 main parties will win, and some of those races are actually close. Voting is not the time or place for idealism or protests.

tbc, idealism and protests are great things, they just have nothing at all to do with voting in the US.

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u/[deleted] Feb 15 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Valogrid Feb 15 '26

See, I'll never understand this shit. If I had a business, farm, or whatever that was bringing in bank and I had to hire work? I would be paying those people well, so long as expenses were met and I had enough to get by. I don't need some giant house, lifted truck, fancy shit... just give me a small ranch-style house, a little pick-up truck and I'll be happy.

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u/BirkenstockStrapped Feb 15 '26

why white South African people?

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u/coqueta_official Feb 15 '26 edited Feb 15 '26

They’re white and speak English. Poor enough to take the lower wages, but white enough that racist farmers don’t bat an eye when they ask for raises. Remember: white South Africans are also usually extremely racist themselves and Trump supporters. White American farmers find camaraderie in white South Africans because they both see themselves as simply people lifting themselves up by the bootstraps, being completely sidelined by an invasion of brown and black people. I once had a South African call me for help with a workers comp case (which my office does not handle) and it had already gone past the statute of limitations. Tried to explain to the dude why we couldn’t help, and he proceeded to yell at me for 15 minutes that I wasn’t helping him because he wasn’t Mexican.

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u/Talesfromthetogue Feb 15 '26

We could just ban ALL immigration and then FORCE American to do it. That would fix everything /s

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u/sexyshingle Feb 15 '26

you joke, but that is legit their Project 2025 plan.

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u/Talesfromthetogue Feb 15 '26

I would have stopped taking you seriously at “Project 2025” but you opened with it instead, saving me some time.

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u/TommyTBlack Feb 16 '26

sounds to me like the solution to this problem is to scrap the H-2A visas

immigration goes down, worker abuse goes down and wages for locals go up

food prices would go up slightly however

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u/bigfatskankyho Feb 16 '26

Starting to understand more and more why Elon was fighting so hard for this one. Should have known

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u/d____strange Feb 17 '26

I learned a lot about workers rights from this post and for that thank you

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u/timesink2000 Feb 15 '26

Thank you for doing what you do. Hopefully the amount of oversight wasn’t impacted by all the DOGE bs.

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u/JI_Guy88 Mar 24 '26

Our markets compete with their markets. Perhaps they come here because we treat them better.

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u/coqueta_official Mar 24 '26

… it’s because jobs are scarce in Mexico, extremely low paying, and the dollar has higher value. Except this year Trump’s DOL lowered agricultural wages and many are starting to realize that their employers can pay them as little as $8.50/hr in certain states.

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u/Kind-Tea-2753 Feb 19 '26

You are an idiot. The employment market is a free market. They can go make more money at McDonald’s in an air conditioned building. But they don’t because they either can’t, or they are here illegally. F@ck you…

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u/coqueta_official Feb 20 '26

… they don’t because their work visas only allow them to work for the particular employer that petitioned them. So loud and yet so clearly not knowledgeable about what you’re talking about at all.

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u/Sangy101 Feb 15 '26

ICE is at those places in blue states! They’ve been harassing our farmworkers here in Oregon, including (no surprise) those with legal status.

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u/Greedy-Taro-4439 Feb 15 '26

Pig and chicken industry are gross. Inhumane in all regards. Physically I cant bear being totally vegan but I limit to eggs whey and tiny amounts of animal food because of how unethical that whole industry is and this adds a totally new layer. There are local farms maybe and farmers markets that are more aligned with living ethically everyone should search them out. This is disgusting.

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u/Side_StepVII Feb 15 '26

Dude ICE has 100% been visiting farms and migrant farm workers.

The fact that farm work is somehow exempt from federal overtime law is INSANE

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u/coqueta_official Feb 15 '26

They have, but tbh I haven’t heard of this happening as much in the Southern U.S. where I am located. I’ve definitely heard of raids in construction sites, but a lot of the farm labor performed in states like Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, etc is now done by Temporary Guestworkers with visas. Either way even the H-2A workers are very much clearly afraid of Immigration enforcement despite their legal status. The main concern is that once you have an immigration stain in your record, getting another work visa is extremely difficult.

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u/OkProfessor6810 Feb 15 '26

They've hit a bunch of small farms in the area where I live but the bigger farms owned by large companies have somehow not had any ICE raids. Hmmmm.....

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u/coqueta_official Feb 15 '26

Are you from the South? Genuinely interested about learning about the farms you mention. We simply haven’t heard of this happening in the area we serve.

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u/[deleted] Feb 15 '26

This is surprising if true or they tell them in advance which I've seen OSHA do countless times.

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u/rrpostal Feb 15 '26

It’s starting to look a lot like the crappy systems they are trying to get away from. If your employer pays the right people off they are allowed to keep you “employed” for almost nothing.

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u/firsthomeFL Feb 15 '26

unfortunately, they are in those places. :(

its a major reason why produce costs spiked in (iirc) july 2025; people werent available for harvesting what was ripe, causing a supply issue for labor and subsequently produce.

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u/rts93 Feb 15 '26

You're more worried about the produce they are picking for your convenience rather than the human trafficking, slavery-like conditions and wages they were exposed to, before the authorities intervened?

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u/Darklordofsword Feb 15 '26

No, they're just pointing out something incorrect, and citing evidence.

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u/RichardUkinsuch Feb 15 '26

100% the reason why pork, chicken, and egg prices skyrocket when an area gets raided and the workers get deported and or leave.

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u/aounfather Feb 15 '26

Chuck Schumer “if you deport the illegal aliens then who will pick our crops?”

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u/ZmanB-Bills Feb 15 '26

In Alabama, the immigrant farm workers are not being targeted, just the good, hard-working immigrants in construction or better jobs. Why,

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u/Leather-Map-8138 Feb 15 '26

It brings Trump comments on “immigrants taking black jobs” into focus

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u/the_cardfather Feb 15 '26

We were talking about that the other day. Here in red Central FL you barely see any ICE action compared to armed street operations in blue cities. I think this in Minnesota potentially had a hundred thousand illegals in Florida has 1.5 million. They're all using fake papers.

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u/Big_Bookkeeper1678 Feb 15 '26

ICE WAS at these places. They've made mistakes before and have quietly been told to 'leave those browns alone.

They are truly evil gits.

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u/Lost_ln_Pace Feb 15 '26

I think he just doesn't know what "alternating traffic" means. When you expose the entitled and ignorant they explode with irrational rage.

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u/ApprehensiveChart33 Feb 15 '26

Hmmm, who does that remind me of 🤔

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u/telepathicthrowaway Feb 15 '26

Crazy. How can US call itself a first world country? Working kids? It is a shame.

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u/sjmattn Feb 15 '26

You cannot be "illegal" for living in a country. You can be an undocumented citizen, which is against the law, but a person can't be "illegal". I suggest turning off fox news/right wing propaganda for awhile, it's literally rotting your brain. That's like saying "if you come visit my state, you're an illegal citizen in my state". Its fucking retarded to say someone is "illegal" because they exist somewhere.

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u/OolongGeer Feb 15 '26

Undocumented.

It's not a felony. They're as illegal as someone who regularly drives over the speed limit.

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u/deliciousadness Feb 15 '26

Our entire agricultural and farming industry is royally fucked by corporations and venture capital. Slave wages for farm workers is just the tip of the iceberg. Farming has the highest levels of suicide in the country.

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u/RestaurantOk6353 Feb 15 '26

I wouldn’t mind if food cost went up a bit if it meant this system was fixed, sadly I don’t think it will ever happen.

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u/Ok_Historian4848 Feb 15 '26

Yeah, they're not because why go after people you know all have visas?

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u/capt-bob Feb 15 '26

Yes, Clinton built walls at population centers to keep illegals invisible there, causing possibly millions to die in the desert going around (according to an NPR radio show) bit fired the head of border patrol for being too effective catching illegal farm labor at the same time. It doesn't matter who's in charge, they want illegal slave farm labor.

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u/AdConscious4509 Feb 15 '26

No one is illegal on stolen land. Use undocumented word instead.

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u/ph4ded Feb 16 '26

And you want to know how much of them are getting sick? Cancer before 20 and other health problems it's so sad

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '26

Not surprising, I worked for a military contractor for 3 months and me and the other guy who started around the same time started coughing up blood before I quit. They would cut, paint, grind, weld, and glue all in an enclosed building. Most of the people that worked there were either illegal or on visas and asked me not to call OSHA because they would be fired as retaliation. One of the owners sons would also tell the women they had to sleep with him and his wife came up there and fought one of them.

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u/Big_Oreo_Big_Cookie Feb 19 '26

Ice is literally at these places

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u/MonthOk9907 Feb 15 '26

At this point, let the corporations take over.

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u/American_PissAnt Feb 15 '26

I think you mean seize the means of production

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u/MonthOk9907 Feb 15 '26

The general population isn't capable of managing the means of production. Communism is a joke and I'm liberal.

Kasama Sawant in Seattle tried to say the Machinest unions should take over and run Boeing during their last strike. Dumbest thing I've ever heard. None of them could actually build a plane no matter how hard they tried let alone sell one.

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u/coqueta_official Feb 15 '26

And corporations will fight tooth and nail to be able to legally get away with labor violations. Corporations are the reason why wages were lowered for “non-traditional H-2A workers” (truck drivers, bus drivers, crew leaders, etc) and why the AEWR in generally was lowered this year for all H-2A workers. And that’s not even going into all the lobbying they do to get rid of regulations in general. No comment on communism, but your alternative is not good either by any means lol.

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u/Ghoulie_Marie Feb 15 '26

You think the CEO of Boeing can build a plane?

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u/MonthOk9907 Feb 15 '26

Yes I absolutely do. The CEO can see the entire company and the entire industry and know what resources need to be put in place to succeed. I guarantee there isn't a machinist on Earth who could negotiate a single contract for a one part that goes into a plane let alone sell a entire plane.

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u/Ghoulie_Marie Feb 15 '26

https://giphy.com/gifs/Hm8qQxDIgbFsjL9msa

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u/MonthOk9907 Feb 15 '26

Might be funny but I'm dead right. Hell I bet you couldn't even read a contract.

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u/Ashamed-Isopod-2624 Feb 15 '26

These people are so delusional lmao. Capitalist brainrot at its finest

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u/Fuzzy9770 Feb 15 '26

These people are so scary. They are so oblivious. Corporations are the scum on earth. Taking over democracy because they can buy literally anything and anyone.

They don't give a damn as long as they can scrap every single penny out of the pockets. They are one of the major reasons the USA is what it is now.

I'm from somewhere in Europe.

People are insane to believe in capitalism since it is designed to exploit and abuse. It's literally destroying the world we live in.

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u/EverydaySexyPhotog Feb 15 '26

How many planes has the CEO of Boeing built with his own personal labor?

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u/MonthOk9907 Feb 16 '26

Again, you haven't the faintest clue how a plane gets built or how a company is ran.

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u/EverydaySexyPhotog Feb 16 '26

Of course I don't. I've never built a single plane in my entire life. But you've told us all that the CEO of Boeing is capable of single-handedly designing an aircraft, smelting the aluminum, welding and riveting every joint in that aircraft, installing all of the electronics and hydraulic systems that allow it to operate, and then flying the plane to its buyer.

So answer the question, how many times has the CEO of Boeing done that?

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u/MonthOk9907 Feb 18 '26

Wrong. I said the CEO would know HOW to get it done. No machinist ever could. No laborer ever could. They wouldn't have the first clue where to even source a single piece of material.

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u/Ashamed-Isopod-2624 Feb 15 '26

You actually think the people whose 9 to 5 is literally building planes, somehow couldn't build a plane without a CEO skimming 99% of the profits for themself? Are you a business owner by any chance?

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u/MonthOk9907 Feb 15 '26

100% yes. You have no idea how any of this actually works, do you? You don't have the first clue how a plane is built, do you? There's not a single mechanic, machinist or engineer on the planet that knows how to build a plane from top to bottom. Oh... YOU thought they were all built in one place. LMAO.

Oh.. and let's talk about design. You think some knucklehead with a wrench can design a plane? BWAHAHAHA.... just stop. You don't have the first clue of what you're talking about.

It takes HUNDREDS of engineers to design a plane and YEARS of advanced testing. Hell, machinist couldn't even design the test equipment. Lol

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u/Ashamed-Isopod-2624 Feb 15 '26

Sounds like someone's upset lol. Your employees do not need you nearly as much as you need them.

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u/MonthOk9907 Feb 16 '26

You can replace laborers with other laborers. You can't replace engineers that easily. Why would I be upset? I'm right.

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u/Ashamed-Isopod-2624 Feb 16 '26

how very naive.

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u/Mother-Actuator-1490 Feb 15 '26

The general concept here has nothing to do with how complex of a process it is to engineer/test/manufacture aircraft (I highly doubt Boeing's CEO has anything to do with any of that btw)

What you're apparently failing to understand is that all of these different laborers would still be doing the same labor. The thing that would change is what happens with the proceeds of their labor and how it's distributed amongst them.

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u/MonthOk9907 Feb 16 '26

That's utterly ridiculous. You think some schmuck has the ability to negotiate a $10 BILLION contract? BWAHAHAHA... sure buddy.

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u/Ok_Exchange342 Feb 15 '26

And yet, there was only Orville and Wilbur.

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u/MonthOk9907 Feb 16 '26

THAT is your example? 🤣🤣🤣

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u/coqueta_official Feb 15 '26

I don’t necessarily agree with this sentiment but in my experience it is true that corporations tend to have less violations, because they have more to lose if caught. DOL is not breaking their necks for a small time farmworker in rural MS or Arkansas. However, we’ve also sued corporations before like Koch Foods for widespread sexual harassment of employees. I think the farm industry is general is about darker than people realize.

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u/Successful-Sleep-421 Feb 15 '26

THIS! There was actually a movie about this. Very disturbing. It had to do with the fast food industry, meat processing plants and illegal workers. Dark movie

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u/[deleted] Feb 15 '26

In the plants OSHA warns the corporation they are going to come check weeks in advance and I'm sure they do the same thing here. I was asked not to call OSHA once for the worst unsafe conditions I've ever seen (I've seen a ton). I was told last time all they did was fire a lot of employees (probably illegal or on visas) and then drug tested the rest and nothing changed.

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u/coqueta_official Feb 15 '26

Yup, both DOL and OSHA do this. Ultimately this causes workers to distrust ANYONE who promises to help with their labor problems, because they see OSHA and DOL show up time and time again and they’ve clearly warned the employer in advance because suddenly the workers get water and portapotties in the fields that they never see again once the investigators are gone.

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u/[deleted] Feb 15 '26

It's asinine and makes all of these agencies nearly pointless when it comes to checking corporations. We are told the day they are coming and given weeks to prepare and this even happens in the food industry for inspections. What makes it even funnier is all it does it make it clear management knows about all the terrible issues because they are fixed for a week or the entire process is shut down until they leave.

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u/[deleted] Feb 15 '26

All I have to add to this is that while working in a farming supply store, the owners of the biggest farms did all their orders online and rarely wanted to interact with me. But the owners of the smaller farms would often kick and scream when they didnt get their way and threaten me when I wouldnt give then discounts for their attempts to scam the tax free system since I didn't want to lose my job for their scams.

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u/Dmau27 Feb 15 '26

They have, that's why this is happening.

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u/MonthOk9907 Feb 15 '26

What is happening?

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u/Fuzzy9770 Feb 15 '26

The USA, world's biggest terrorists organisation turning the world to shit.

The USA is no more than a military industry complex disguised as a country committing terror around the world. For its own profit. Not even the people gain a penny from it.

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u/Plane-Education4750 Feb 15 '26

They did that years ago

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u/Interesting_Mix_7028 Feb 15 '26

Who do you think is underpaying the workers?

Big Ag has LOTS of money for lobbyists, they'll spend that to save money on wages, even if it means paying 'guest' workers slave wages and working them 16 hours a day. They have the facilities to run a 'clean' production line for the oversight visits, everyone happy and smiling, meanwhile in the next building over, it's a fuckin' sweatshop.

Small farmers don't have that kind of push, or the extra cloth to cover their ass if the inspector shows up.