Reps demand low wages for foreign workers in US jobs
48 members of Congress tell Obama to cancel wage hikes for foreign laborers here on work visas, because they could hurt small business
Reps demand low wages for foreign workers in US jobs
Joseph N. DiStefano
Lobbyists for US companies that import 66,000 low-wage foreign workers for the least-popular jobs in America are mounting a last-minute drive to keep their pay from rising. In a letter to US Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, US Sen. Barbara Mikluski, D-Md., US Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa., and 46 others in Congress say their constituents should be able to continue importing cheap foreign labor at current wages under Labor's H-2B program, and the Obama administration should delay or abandon raising target wages that are designed to discourage employers from using the foriegners if US workers are available.
Under US law, foreign workers are only admitted if bosses can prove they're willing to pay higher wages than qualified local Americans will work for. A decision by US Judge Louis Pollak in Philadelphia last year found the current rates were too low, which means companies could use the program to replace US workers with low-paid foreigners. Higher rates are an incentive to use Americans instead. The judge ordered Labor to boost rates an average of $4.38 an hour, effective Oct. 1. As I wrote last Spring: "The proposal would boost Philadelphia-area pay for dishwashers employed under the program, from $7.90 an hour, to $9.24; for janitors, from $9.23 an hour, to $13.02; for landscaping workers, from $9.84 and hour, to $13.88; and for roofers, from $14.12, to $21.38." But, according to the letter from Congress to Solis, the cheap foreign labor program "is a lifeline for scores of small and seasonal business around the country" that are "frequently unable to find enough local workers to fill their temporary and seasonal job openings, even in today's tough economic climate." Higher wages "could threaten the economic survival of many small and seasonal businesses" and lead to "full-time job losses."
Lawyers for Louisiana tree cutters and shellfish packers have also filed a federal lawsuit to block the new rates. NYTimes story on industry website here. The Philadelphia case was brought by CATA Inc., a South Jersey'based farmworkers' group that sees the "guest worker" program as competition that depresses wages and eliminates jobs for local workers.
As I wrote previously, "The H-2 program employs up to one in eight U.S. landscaping workers, one in 30 janitors, one in 100 casino and amusements workers, one in 250 construction workers, and one in 500 restaurant workers, according to the Labor Department...
"More than 200 Philadelphia-area companies employed temporary workers under the H-2B visa program in fiscal 2009." Examples included Six Flags Great Aventure in Jackson, NJ; DuPont Co., Wilmington; Philadelphia Country Club, Gladwyne; and dozens of landscaping and amusement firms who say they can't find Americans willing to work at the old lower rates, let alone the proposed higher rates. I called several of those employers, most of whom declined to comment (DuPont confirmed participation). Two suburban landscaping contractors who would only speak if they weren't identified said they felt the higher rates were punishing them for trying to import workers legally, even as competitors use cheaper foreign workers who lack out US papers.
Some readers, on the other hand, were surprised to hear American jobs are going begging, at over $10 an hour, even as US unemployment remains close to 10%.
Like cheap steel or cheap solar electric panels being dumped into America's market, foreign labor is eroding job opportunities for Americans in America. If small businesses can not operate without the poorest people in the world coming here to work for wages better than the nothing they were used but substantially lower than the American worker, it should be stopped as an unfair trade practice, possibly even human trafficking. Frequently, poor, uneducated labor is exploited by having their visas held from them and restricting their movement in order to keep them quiet, compliant and working for less and less. It is much more difficult to exploit people who know the community they work in, can get around, and do not fear for being deported as an illegal alien on some trumped up charge. This is modern day slave trafficking and is simply a tactic to break the wage level in America.— Fernando08- It not right,but they don't see Americans lining up for these jobs.If it is true than a salary is better that no salary,why are there not enough people applying.
At least the salary is minimum wage,as apposed to what the American companies pay their workers in the third world countries.— william jackson - the government is unable to regulate commerce. Let the free market dictate how much people get paid, and who gets hired.— USAFirst1
- I beleive the republic will survive if H-2 is kept at current rates. Well, maybe not for the landscapers, but this country is too fat anyway, make everyone cut their own damn grass and spread their own mulch.— jimmymack
- Isn't it ironic that "USAFirst" would rather allow cheap foreign labor into the country than employ AMERICANS at a reasonable wage. If these companies can't cut it, then the market will dictate that they go out of business. After all, no Americans will be losing their jobs if these companies shut down— NO1PHILZPHAN
- And outsourcing american jobs to India is why we have so many people unemployed. These big businesses save a lot of money hiring someone in another country for 30 cents a hour. You can thanks Republicans for the wonderful job they do in behalf of all these big business that wants save money by stabbing in the back the american people.— maclancer
- The reason American industry offshores labor is because it saves money and bolsters shareholder value- which is the sole purpose for a company to exist. Artificially inflating compensation rates for unskilled labor has rendered American industry un-competitive on an international playing field. Let the invisible hand of supply & demand dictate the cost of unskilled labor and allow those who wish to do so increase their skill level and thus become more valuable to the company. Government should not be dictating labor costs, that should be left to the free market. — kelprod2
- With 12,000,000 undocumented foreign workers why do we need 66,000 documented foreign workers?— harbc
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BUY AMERICAN! HIRE AMERICAN. IT'S WHERE THE TAX DOLLAR REALLY COMES FROM! WHAT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?— hapedaze- They wont work until unemployment runs out. Raise the wages and kick the 66,000 plus the 12 million out!— SPENDSPEND
- Tell me would any of you work for less then $10 per hour ?— Pooh
- Wow, talk about unconstitutional!— tonyS
- The Right Wing "conservative" approach to anything:
#1 - Hate Americans First
#2 - see #1
#3 - proft!— H.L. Puttgrass - The government can't regulate commerce? Where do these idiotic statments come from? I guess we'll just have to open our borders to everyone and let the "market" sort it out. BRING BACK SLAVERY!! Americans won't take jobs as dishwashers, janitors and landscape labor? I don't believe that for a second. The claims that people won't work because they are collecting unemployment is another good one. Funny how there are all these people who are out of Unemployment compensation, out of savings, and they STILL refuse to accept job offers. If there were so many people not accepting work while they are on unemployment, why aren't they working after it runs out? Because it's a Republican lie. It's an orchestrated disinformation effort by Republicans. Corbett said it during the campaign and got called on it. He never did produce the names of the CEOs who made these claims. Never mentioned it again either. Then I read this creep DeMint spouting word for word the same garbage that Corbett was.— MikeP
