Despite Bailey’s walkout, lawsuits, and campaign rhetoric, masks have been required for stretches during the pandemic in a downstate area he represents.
Specifically, per documents on file with the federal government, face coverings are required for certain workers at the Bailey Family Farm, where according to Bailey’s campaign website, he grew up. […]
When farms bring on seasonal workers via the federal H-2A Temporary Agricultural Employment of Foreign Workers program, like to aide with a labor-intensive harvest, they have to file employment conditions forms with the U.S. Department of Labor.
The Bailey farm has postings up for jobs that run from early April through June and pay $15.89 an hour.
Those hired will run agricultural equipment, and help in the corn and soybean fields.
The job order, signed by Bailey’s son Zach, specifically states that the Bailey Family Farm will follow Centers for Disease Control, state and local health requirements and that the employer may implement its own additional safety measures.
Employees must “wear a face covering that covers your nose and mouth, always, unless you have received specific instruction otherwise. Stay at least 6 feet away from all other people, always. If a 6-foot distance cannot be maintained, a mask must be worn, even if you are otherwise exempted from that requirement” the form states in a final addendum.
The Baileys use similar language in relation to COVID precautions and masking in a job order that led to the farm hiring migrant workers in the spring and summer of ‘21. […]
The Bailey farm was under no apparent legal obligation to take such strict measures. Other Illinois farms, including another in Xenia, do not list COVID safety requirements. […]
“They farm over 12,000 acres, so social distancing comes naturally. The H2A is a federal program that legally brings migrant workers, and they’re required to abide by federal rules and make available to workers whatever they need,” the [Bailey campaign] statement said. “The Bailey Family Farm employs several local families and continues to advertise jobs locally to fill positions, but no one wants to work.”
- Tony DeKalb - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 11:58 am:
“No one wants to work.” Oy.
- TheInvisibleMan - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 11:58 am:
This almost tops the cattle auctions Devore was going to and posting on his social media feed, to buy vaccinated cattle because those are the highest quality ones.
- fs - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 11:59 am:
Bailey Family Sanctuary Farm, amirite?
- MisterJayEm - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 12:01 pm:
“continues to advertise jobs locally to fill positions, but no one wants to work.” =
“My neighbors are lazy. Much lazier than immigrants.”
– MrJM
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 12:02 pm:
===The Bailey Family Farm employs several local families and continues to advertise jobs locally to fill positions, but no one wants to work===
Farm work is very hard and often dangerous. And it pays minimum wage if you’re lucky.
People want to work. But people don’t want to break their backs for a non-living wage when there are better alternatives.
I suspect this statement won’t have any impact on his campaign. And I suspect the mask mandate will be dropped before the sun sets tonight. The FB video machine will also be churning out new instructions for the movement.
“Friends, the radical liberals at Chicago public television are lying about me again…”
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 12:05 pm:
Some takeaways;
Bailey sees the freedom to wear masks as important to business interests.
Immigrants work hard, maybe harder than “Americans”
The lazy folks, the local folks, those around him, like him, think like him, are lazy to work.
And masks never deterred Bailey’s freedom to claim subsidies, “handouts”, while his corporate farm differs from a family farm in many measurable ways.
So, hypocrisy is a lifestyle, a business practice, the core of Bailey in how he sees himself…
… can’t wait for the Facebook sermon.
- ArchPundit - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 12:09 pm:
Crisis at the border!
Why do they want to come here?
To rape and kill, and work on my farm.
If you are hiring migrant labor (I have no problem with it as long as you aren’t exploiting them) you are the people encouraging people to cross the border. The party of markets again doesn’t believe in markets.
Yeah. I’m sure they all are legal or at least their paperwork says theyh are.
- PublicServant - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 12:10 pm:
“I’m fur Fur’dom … for mericans, but my migrants ain’t, so mask’em up.”
- ArchPundit - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 12:11 pm:
“Friends, Avery Bourne told me to wear a mask! Richard Irvin is a RINO because of this.”
“Friends, an attack on my son running my farm is beyond the pale!”
- Big Dipper - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 12:15 pm:
So he is saying his constituents have the energy to own the libs but not to work.
- MaddyMoon - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 12:20 pm:
just handed a loaded gun to his opponents.
Bailey farms pays 16 dollars an hour because they know the average American has no desire to do that kind of hard labor for so low of pay.
Migrant workers are the backbone of our agriculture sector. If Bailey cared about his business he would support increased pathways to citizenship, especially the ones that annually travel to the midwest on visa to harvest our crops.
but that would require Bailey to have more than just one dimension.
- JS Mill - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 12:32 pm:
Oh my goodness, this is too good to be true.
Bailey Hypocrisy on display, and in their own hand.
=but no one wants to work.”=
Wait, what? I thought the good friends down yonder were the backbone of ‘Merica. Hard working, gun toting, god fearing, hard working people. Are you telling me that isn’t true?
or maybe they want more than $15.98 an hour.
=legally brings migrant workers, and they’re required to abide by federal rules and make available to workers whatever they need,”=
But… build a wall, amirite?
At least until planting or harvest come around.
Bailey is a proud corporate/industrial scale family farmer and his core beliefs are set in stone…unless there is an extra buck to be made by selling out for gubmint money.
- OneMan - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 12:33 pm:
Let’s see how much Bailey loves the DGA when they run “Baley got rich using foreign labor on his farm” ads if he ends up the nominee.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 12:34 pm:
===just handed===
Not really.
The base cares not about hypocrisy.
Those already inclined to vote against Bailey won’t budge, Bailey is polarizing.
It does give suburban moderates pause, non-farming folk, that may be leaning between Rabine or Bailey.
Not many of the five GOP candidates did good oppo on themselves
- Arsenal - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 12:39 pm:
“Americans don’t want to work so I have to go get migrant labor” has long been a foundational belief of the conservative business class. If you think it’s hard to square with their nativism, you underestimate their moral imagination.
- Narc - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 12:41 pm:
“ continues to advertise jobs locally to fill positions, but no one wants to work.”
Even if this were true, why are they only advertising locally? Why jump straight to foreign immigrant labor? Aren’t there good, hardworking Americans in Indiana or Ohio they could hire? Wait, never mind…
- Fivegreenleaves - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 12:43 pm:
I hope Bailey wins the GOP nomination because Pritzker will destroy him in the debates now that this has come out.
- Anon221 - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 12:47 pm:
“…but no one wants to work… for us.” Fixed it /s
On the masking requirements at the Farm… might also be monetarily advantageous for them to include that language in various postings so that if COVID funding windfalls come along, they can claim they were following the CDC rules.
- Steve Rogers - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 12:53 pm:
=but no one wants to work=
Umm, is he saying that white rural people are lazy?
- Anon221 - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 12:58 pm:
Reported having 11 employees for the PPP funds- https://www.federalpay.org/paycheck-protection-program/bailey-family-farm-xenia-il
- fs - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 12:58 pm:
According to Bailey, if nobody in Clay County wants the job, the only place left to look is Mexico. I guess everyone in Chicago, the suburbs, and every place outside the Greater Louisville Metro Area is too lazy, so no need to advertise there or “hire American”
“America First….except for the last parts.”
- Blue Dog - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 1:00 pm:
This guy Bailey is a regular Red Skeleton. A laugh a minute.
- Eastern Bloc Mitigation - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 1:00 pm:
Rules for thee but not for me.
- Hahaha - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 1:07 pm:
Whatever comms staffer wrote “no one wants to work” should be fired immediately. Wow.
- Johnnie F. - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 1:11 pm:
If it wasn’t for those pandemic checks, SNAP enhancements and other government handouts downstate, the family farm would have to turn away a flood of local talent. Evil Dems…now pardon me, I’ve got a weekend Trump rally three states away to gas up my truck for.
- Anon221 - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 1:14 pm:
Searchable map and database for H-2A jobs. Can plug in Bailey Family Farms in the search to find their posting and Order submitted- https://spotlight.tcbmi.com/?state=IL
Bailey Family Farms posting- https://seasonaljobs.dol.gov/jobs/H-300-22018-835805
- Anon221 - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 1:16 pm:
More- https://api.seasonaljobs.dol.gov/job-order/H-300-22018-835805
- JS Mill - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 1:21 pm:
=Bailey Family Farms posting- https://seasonaljobs.dol.gov/jobs/H-300-22018-835805=
Thanks to Anon221 for finding that post.
They want somebody to handle hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment, during a key time period (planting) in fact, the most important time period, for $16 an hour?
The job add is almost written to discourage anyone but those that are desperate from applying.
Then there is this gem:
“This is a very demanding and competitive business in which quality specifications must be rigorously adhered to. Sloppy work cannot and will not be tolerated.”
But, you know, do it for a low wage because we need to make big profits.
- Curious citizen - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 1:23 pm:
Don’t forget that Bailey’s “walkout” over the General Assembly mask mandate lasted one day and got maximum media play. Then he showed up for the next two days of a three-day session wearing a mask and nobody in the media noticed it.
- OneMan - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 1:24 pm:
So he can’t find truck drivers who will work for less than average truck driver pay?
Thanks for sharing Anon221
- Anon221 - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 1:36 pm:
Wages being offered might be a large part of their problem. From Section B.6 on Page 10 of the Order they filed states- “All applicants must have 3 months experience driving semi-trucks and possess a valid CDL-A licenses with valid medical card.”
Average wages for entry-level CDL-A drivers according to ZipRecruiter are well above what Bailey Family Farms is offering-
https://tinyurl.com/3ppdcv5220Illinois.
- ArchPundit - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 1:51 pm:
===Average wages for entry-level CDL-A drivers according to ZipRecruiter are well above what Bailey Family Farms is offering-
The sector has faced rapid turnover for a few years now. The problem is part lower than market wages in some cases and then poor work conditions. We are actually training a lot of drivers–they just don’t stick around. Add to it having to pass a cannabis test for the CDL and it’s a tough place to hire right now.
- dbk - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 1:53 pm:
=but no one wants to work=
+ “for the wages we’re paying”
There, fixed it for ya.
- someonehastosayit - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 2:13 pm:
Or maybe the locals just don’t want to work for Darren Bailey.
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 2:18 pm:
Many red districts and states have been on the blue “dole” for a long time, getting more in federal and state spending than they pay for. But, as was said above, the GOP base doesn’t care about hypocrisy. Just like the Illinois fiscal doomsayers are not praising our improvement. All that crying about how terrible Illinois is financially, and then we improve, and it’s silence or complaints, still.
- Anon221 - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 2:30 pm:
Bailey Family Farms applications for H-2As over time:
3 H-2A 2020-09-07 Bailey Family Farm
1 H-2A 2021-05-31 Bailey Family Farm
14 H-2A 2021-08-25 Bailey Family Farm
14 H-2A 2022-04-01 Bailey Family Farm
- MoralMinority - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 2:36 pm:
==wear a face covering that covers your nose and mouth, always, unless you have received specific instruction otherwise==
I expect that the specific instruction is along the lines of “Masks? Masks? We don’t need no masks. In fact, we don’t need to wear no stinkin’ masks!”
- Southern - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 2:48 pm:
“…but no one wants to work.”
I don’t get it. Is that supposed to get votes in just the primary? Attract business donors? Maybe the latter, because I think I’ve heard the exact same phrase from every single business owner who is totally shocked that people aren’t clamoring to work for minimum wage with no benefits.
- Al - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 6:28 pm:
At 2:30pm did Anon221 post confidential State Department data? How would one get information like?
- Anon221 - Wednesday, Apr 27, 22 @ 7:20 pm:
Al- If this is confidential, then why is it Googleable??? All of this information I posted was available to anyone using the Search tools on the map link I had posted earlier.