GOP Allowing Employers Free Run To Hire Undocumented Workers Caused Immigration Problem.

[TheMastersNemesis]

Reagan's amnesty and the GOP refusing to penalize employers for hiring undocumented persons really created the problem. By not passing laws penalizing employers and setting up an employment check system helped encourage people to cross the border. As long as these people could find work and the government looked the other way it really created the problem.

If we had strong work rules like other countries and penalize employers the level of illegal immigration would have been contained. Because so many employer were able to hire undocumented workers and pay them low wages there it resulted in this problem. The reason was that the GOP wanted to coddle employers and lower wages as well as break trade unions. Their agenda was more important than the problem they created.

So in their view they won by breaking trade unions and they could blame these same immigrants for taking American jobs. The GOP certainly made the immigration situation worse.

[elleng]

1. No sh*t, sherlock!

The GOP certainly made the immigration situation worse.

[TheMastersNemesis]

7. The Public Does Not Get It. Otherwise The GOP Meme Would Not Work So Well.

When Reagan gave amnesty it was not to help the undocumented workers. It was to break trade unions and knock down wages. In many areas of the economy it worked. I was at DOL at the time and you could see the wages start to drop in the trades as union workers had to compete with contractors who were allowed to hire undocumented workers at much lower wages. And builders also used these contractors and spurned union workers.

Then the GOP began to blame these workers to gain votes from blue collar workers. And the MSM more or less cooperated by not covering the problem. The GOP was also pushing outsourcing behind the scenes. Unless you worked a job like I had you would not know what they were up to.

Back then we could have had a decent immigration bill. But that would have meant penalties and enforcement for employers. And the GOP wanted employer votes so they just did nothing. And they did not enforce wage laws so these same employers could steal wages easily.

You and I understand it, but the rhetoric has been so distorted that the GOP meme has worked. The GOP spent years stoking this resentment. Now workers are so mad they cannot see straight.

[elleng]

8. Right. Nothing like an UNinformed electorate.

[TheMastersNemesis]

9. I Understand The Labor Situation Because Of Where I Worked For 24 Years.

The electorate is entirely clueless what the GOP and business is up to. Now I have posted a number of times what the corporate model for workers is. EVEN TO THIS DAY workers do not understand that they are being steered to an "uber - task rabbit' economy.

The future of employment is the END OF FULL TIME WORK. Every employee will be like an actor going from gig to gig. Even now 40% of the work force is itinerant Robert Reich even predicts that over 50% of the jobs will be temp work. If you look around and really examine the trends that is where we are. Look at the end of pensions, benefits, vacations, longevity, seniority, et al. These trends are all symptoms of that new 21st century economy.

And this concept was developed in the early 1980's. I read a number of articles about the NEW FUTURE of employment back then. I was really amazed at what they were saying.

[elleng]

10. Yes, amazing what some did.

[TheMastersNemesis]

12. I Was An Employment Program Specialist. Here Are Some Anecdotal Facts.

There was a time before Reagan when meat packing and processing was a good job. It paid decent and there were benefits. After amnesty they began to hire undocumented workers and slash wages. I interviewed a lot of workers coming out of that industry.. There were other industries where the pay was good. The jobs might not be the most desirable but they paid enough to live and had decent benefits and were long term.

Another fact. Up until the mid 1970's most retail work was career with longevity, decent pay, retirement and benefits. At some point retail was turned into temp work with low or no benefits. I even remember a lady that worked for 30 years in a department store and actually had a retirement. And you could go into even a story like Home Depot or hardware store and someone would be an expert in fencing, plumbing supplies, electrical etc. Now you have workers who do not even know how to set a fence post.

Workers are being lied to in every possible way. Now here is another concept that will surprise you WAGE PARITY. Now the corporate model is wage parity with the GLOBAL ECONOMY. The wage parity model means the most profit for businesses. Wages have been slow to rise because the US worker is now in competition with the lowest paid worker internationally.

If you go go Bangladesh for instance you have workers dismantling ships. And they do this work day after day with no benefits and no safety net. Their wage is $1.00 per day. Mexican minimum wage is $4.00 a day.

And the trouble is that workers and voters do not have the facts and we have a media that won't cover them.

[elleng]

13. Yes, big adverse changes.

Was looking for posts of mine that discussed such.

[C_U_L8R]

2. It seemed obvious

punish the employers and the problem takes care of itself.

Stupid GOP.

[Sherman A1]

6. It is obvious and very simple

but those corporations have rights and friends with influence.

[Angry Dragon]

3. good post

[TheBlackAdder]

4. I remember around 1991, my old employer had to verify all employees, and an undocument was let go.

[delisen]

5. This is true. GOP encourages undocumented immigration to please corporations. Hypocrisy.

There are whole industries which thrived on immigrant labor, their hr departments provided information to workers on how to apply for public benefits such as medicaid for their children.

I had occasion to interview chicken factory workers in Georgia in the late 90s. It was grueling work and there were many on-the-job injuries. Some workers told me they worked under different name at work but that the company knew this. They would say"at work I am__________ but my name is really___________.

I noted that he congressional rep in the district had to have known that the factories did this but h never acknowledged it publicly.
Instead he would play to the anti-immigrants in the community who were angry about benefits going to the undocumented workers, claiming if elected or re-elected he would go to Washington and end illegal immigration and people coming here to get on welfare.

It was bizarre-no one would demand that the factories stop hiring undocumented laborers; instead they directed their anger at the immigrants who were overloading the "welfare system."

There was a class system. White natives owned land on which they would raise chickens in massive chicken houses. They were captive to the chicken factories because the factories were the only buyers of the chickens. The white native population would not work in the factory jobs-too grueling and dangerous-but they did staff the offices.

I guess it was the modern equivalent of the plantation system.

[Wounded Bear]

11. It's a huge contributor, no doubt...nt