Posted on 02/21/2007 5:53:58 PM PST by NellieMae
I am getting really sick of the Mexican Invasion costing so many jobs in the Southwest Virginia- East Tennessee area. My husband is a brickmason. He is the 5th generation mason in his family- our son is the 6th. Up until just a couple of years ago brickmasons had contractors ringing their phones off of the wall wanting them to do work for them. My husband had to turn down dozens of callers because he couldn't do it all. Things have sure changed . Now, a lot of contractors in this area have gotten dollar signs in their eyes and all that they can see are cheap Mexican workers. My husband has actually had a contractor (real builders that know how to actually build a house are really scarce around here anymore) pull Mexicans on the job that he was working on because he was in such a hurry to get it finished that he couldn't wait the 2 weeks that it would have taken to do the whole job. They will pull in a huge crew and wipe the job out real quick. They waste a lot of brick though (they get paid by the 1000 brick). My husband is a very good, fast mason. His speed and quality is not the issue here. Most of these workers cannot even speak English. It is really aggravating to have lived in a place your entire life and have your livlihood seriously threatened by people that are not supposed to be here in the first place. How do we get rid of this problem? Also, on another related note: It was announced today that there are hundreds of jobs being cut in ANOTHER local factory, Bristol Compressors. I was told several months ago that a construction site in Mexico was marked with a sign that read:" Future site of Bristol Compressors" Is this a coincidence or is there another company by the name of Bristol Compressors?
I've been feeling horrible all evening because my wife had to drag out the garbage this morning after I left for my 100 mile round trip commute to work. It was two weeks worth of garbage since the snow stopped all garbage pick-up last week.
I assumed that, because of President's Day, garbage pick-up would be a day late.
I was wrong.
I was amazed the other day to see a crew building a cinderblock wall a few streets away and all of them appeared to be native born Anglo-Americans.
Me too Blonde. But you know what? They will feel different when their jobs are lost to illegals. Then you can say, 'get competitive'.
My late uncle was from a long line of brick masons, and he did fantastic work, even historic restorations. I watched him do the masonry on an addition to my parents' house when I was a child, and the care he took ... breaking down every pallet of bricks to sort for an even color mix, carefully mixing the mortar so it would always match and not leach lime, how he could precisely break a brick in half with his trowel when he needed half a brick ... just amazing. That's why I can't stand to look at what passes for brick work these days, done primarily by Mexican workers, because I know how it's supposed to be done and how it's supposed to look. The "runs" of color from mismatched lots, the lime leaching out, the sloppy mortar; all I can say is, there are going to be a lot of houses down the road with serious masonry failures.
I don't know what the answer is for your husband. If he's willing to expand his market and travel a bit, it may be that there are enough people who don't want inferior work or illegals doing it, to bring his business back around.
The "La Migra" gambit ought to scare them. Seriously, call immigration and have the crew checked out. A few rounds of that and they'll learn to stay away.
Sorry, thought that maybe I had been responded to by a liberal."
It would seem you have been responded to by a couple of liberals.
Around these parts we call them trolls.
I wonder if frustrated American workers are going to get so fed up, they're somehow going to pay back the Mexicans for stealing our jobs.
No action in DU tonight?
Our politicians first.. :-))
Please...
How about putting forth an argument...
Telling me to go to hell is really showing your lack of intelligence. How about giving some examples of just where it says you have a right to a job?
You are right about the poor quality. It does not seem to keep the houses from selling though. The house that my husband had the Mexicans pulled in on him looked awful. He got so mad that he went on a different job for this contractor. The Mexicans finished it up. You could tell where his work ended and theirs took over. There was a big difference in quality. The brick on the entryway of the house was bowed to a very obvious degree but this house sold right away. Are people getting so used to sorry construction that they don't even care anymore?
There are virtually no Anglo carpenters, sheetrockers, roofers, landcapers, forest fire fighters or laborers here anymore, yet the population of Latinos in southern Oregon is around 4%.
I went into a Carl's restaurant a few months ago, ALL six of the workers were Mexicans, speaking Spanish amongst themselves, and the two times I ordered the two women who took my orders' accents were so thick I had to ask them over and over to repeat themselves because I couldn't understand them.
OBVIOUSLY the restaurant owners, contractors and numerous other businesses are paying these immigrants under the table, or paying substandard wages...there is no other explanation for virtually 100% representation of Mexican immigrants in those jobs, within a 90% Anglo population.
My two major past careers were fighting fires in the Forest Service and carpentry...if I was still in those careers I doubt if I could ever again work locally, because local employers won't hire non-Mexican speaking employees.
I suspect that is why the national GOP, the Chamber of Commerces and President Bush so completely support illegal aliens coming here, with virtually no enforcement of our border laws...they want the cheap labor.
The Dems want them because of the illegal votes and mass demonstrations cowing people into keeping silence on strict border controls.
So, we're damned if we vote Pubbie OR Dem...the illegals will keep coming until ALL wages represent Mexico's wages and the GOP is wiped from the face of our country.
Ed
Easy now Skeeter, We dont take kindly to folks who dont take kindly.
I was being facetious Nellie. I'm on your side on this. I feel for your husband. I know many like him with the same exact problem. What I wrote is the official Bush Administration line.
Quality doesn't seem to matter to the average American anymore, IMO.
It is the primary issue for me with anything I purchase.
Now here's a guy with answers...
If all you've got is give me money because it's my job... Not very convincing...
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