Posted on 04/23/2006 12:43:10 PM PDT by primeval patriot
In the debate over how to fix the nation's immigration laws, few sectors have more at stake than the construction industry, one of the country's economic bright spots.
~snip~
As a result, the construction industry is lobbying for policies such as a temporary guest worker program and legal residency for some of the country's 11 million undocumented migrants.
~snip~
The group is warning that without the immigrant workforce, construction would screech to a halt in the United States. It estimates that the industry will need 185,000 new workers over the next 10 years just to remain at current levels of growth.
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But these days, immigrants increasingly form the industry's backbone, taking on dangerous and grueling work often for less pay than native-born Americans would demand. In many instances, they're performing jobs that the native-born won't do. Economists and construction firms say that new housing and office space would cost much more and take longer to build without these workers.
~snip~
Finding workers is also a top concern at Jagger Scored/Stained Concrete Inc., another Plano company. The decorative concrete firm's last two hires were native-born Americans. One lasted two days, and the other never showed up for work, said Paul Prien, Jagger's office manager.
~snip~
"Immigrants are building this country," he said. "They are going to give you more than you expect. They are going to perform."
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
These builders believe they are owed an unending pool of cheap labor.
What is wrong with paying a fair day wages for a fair days pay?
If the builders need help, why don't they lobby their senators and congressman to get the appropriate visa required to get people to emmigrate the the USA LEGALLY?
Isn't this what the High Tech companies do to recruit IT Genius from India?
No sympathy for the criminals on our side of the illegal alien problem either.
How about labor that just shows up?
The decorative concrete firm's last two hires were native-born Americans. One lasted two days, and the other never showed up for work, said Paul Prien, Jagger's office manager.
This is the big complaint of one of my neighbors, a home builder. The illegals show up, every day, rain or shine. His union carpenters are rarely at work on Mondays, especially during hunting season, and won't work Saturdays, even if they're behind on a house.
He told me last week he'd hire all illegals, if he could.
The laws are not "broken", except by builders and illegals.
They should only be debating how to defend themselves at their upcoming trials for federal offences.
Unfortunately those builders have a lot of lobbying dollars, and politicians listen to the money. It was no coincidence that Bush and others came out as proponents of an amnesty/guest worker program.
So now building houses is on the list of jobs that Americans won't do. Whats left at this point, not much.
Your "neighbor" should find another occupation if building is unprofitable.
What about the entitlement attitude of American workers? I'm completely against illegal immigration but as a small business owner (who only employs citizens) I can tell you the expectations of many workers is far beyond their value to the company. Why is it too much to expect workers to arrive on time when scheduled, keep their personal business at home and actually perform the work they're paid to do?
It's profitable. Just frustrating, trying to develop a worth ethic in some of his American citizen employees.
Demcrats are pushing for the guest worker because then they will demand GUEST WORKER TARRIFS to drive up and penalize those who use guest workers to pay less.
This is all BS.
Just build the wall.
Around here, the land costs dwarf the labor costs. They should be paying twice as much -- as it is people IN the building industry in our area can't afford to live in any of the houses.
Get rid of cheap illegal labor, and the builders will have to offer a decent wage for the area they are building, and the economy will improve.
Employing illegals appears to be the slavery of this era.
What's really amazing is the fact that they know that the "Jobs Americans won't do" is insulting to the vast majority of Americans, but they can't seem to stop using it.
Maybe they think they can insult people into compliance but at some point you would think they would realize that it doesn't work.
No, Mr. McKing, you need to buy the most expensive home offered for the square footage. If the consumer would just buy the homes that are 20% over the other homes of equal quality, the builders would not be forced to hire cheap labor.
How close is this to what the slave owners were saying back in the 1800's?
Just because the Friggin' Catholic Church and home builder lobbies seem to love Mexicans doesn't mean that said group deserves priority over Nigerians, Poles, Filipinos, etc.
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