Union Stand on Immigration Harms Union Membership
Editor’s Note: As a businessman who plays by the rules and competes with companies who don’t, Dave Bego has first hand knowledge of how poorly managed immigration of unskilled workers harm the interests of the American worker. Regardless of your stand on immigration, you can’t expect to extend a de facto preference to unskilled immigrants, which is what America has done for the last few decades, and expect entry level workers to have any leverage with employers. So why are America’s unions promoting these policies? In an era of increasing automation, unskilled and semi-skilled jobs are disappearing. America has a shortage of skilled and highly educated workers, and it is those immigrants who should receive preference. But educated and highly skilled immigrants find good jobs and pay lots of taxes. They do not generate the need for new armies of multi-lingual public sector workers to care for them, from social welfare to public safety. They don’t generate the need for taxpayer subsidized low-income housing that is a windfall for politically connected developers. And they don’t vote for liberal candidates and causes that grow the state. The reasons private sector unions support large scale immigration of low skilled workers are political, and have little or nothing to do with the interests of their members. The reasons public sector unions support this are because it allows them to grow their government workforces, regardless of the ensuing social chaos, economic misery, and harm to the entry level American worker. Dave Bego may be outspoken on this issue, but he’s right. And he cares about hard working Americans far more than the unions he’s battled for years.
The most recent jobs report proclaimed that 288,000 new jobs were created and that unemployment dipped to 6.1%. The Obama Administration’s portrayal of the report as indicative of an economic recovery is more disingenuous rhetoric from a President and administration that was trained by the likes of the SEIU and Bill Ayres. Much like the misinformation spewed by big labor during Corporate Campaigns to force unionize employees, the intent is to bedazzle the naïve, uninformed and easily misled with propaganda designed to achieve its goals. The misleading jobs report cited by the Administration, as well as the President’s refusal to address the concern of our open borders, is reminiscent of Bill Ayer’s tactics except, instead of lobbing bombs, the President uses flowery and misleading rhetoric to achieve the destruction of the nation’s work force and economy! Conveniently, the jobs report failed to identify that the net 288,000 jobs consists of approximately 500,000 full-time jobs lost and replaced by 788,000 part-time jobs, realistically providing less take home pay for employees and failing to qualify them for the mandates of employer-provided health care insurance. Thank you Affordable Care Act (ACA)!
Despite the fact practically all other countries in the world have strict immigration penalties for illegal immigration, President Obama has failed to address the issue, magnifying the economic nightmare. Illegal immigration places a heavy burden on American taxpayers in the form of increased entitlement spending, public school funding, higher health care costs, loss of American jobs and lower wages for American workers. This is summed up succinctly in Ray Stevens video on Illegal Immigration – Come to the USA. Why would President Obama favor such a position and call for passage of the DREAM Act? Why would President Obama ask Congress for $3.7B to handle child migrants? The answer is simple, he is pandering for votes for the upcoming mid-term election and mollifying his big labor base who sees future union members, while further implementing his “Cloward and Piven” strategy of overwhelming the system and collapsing the economy (see Congressman: Yes, Barack Obama is Intentionally Destroying the United States). Americans, however, are waking up to the truth. 46% Believe Obama Administration Has Encouraged Young Illegal Immigrants To Come, and even Democrats are becoming skeptical (see Dem. Congressman: ‘Floored Me’ to See Obama Shoot Pool Rather than Visit Border). Unfortunately, it is not just children crossing the border, but also thousands of adults looking for both work in the Under Ground Economy and access to American entitlements.
The immediate impact of this open border policy combined with the ACA and a sluggish economy — as supported by the first quarter 2.9% negative GDP growth — is placed squarely on the backs of legitimate American workers. Despite the President’s claim to be supportive of American workers through his call for a national minimum wage of $10.10/hour, and his support of his SEIU labor buddies call for $15.00/hour wages for fast food employees in itsFast Food Forward campaign, the President’s initiatives are resulting in a spike in misclassification of workers across the country by companies illegally utilizing undocumented workers to fill positions to avoid health care costs and higher government imposed wages. Ironically, companies doing business legally with integrity and honesty are penalized and so are their employees, as they must reduce wages and number of employees or hours to remain competitive in the market place. The President subsequently blames the free market for the problem instead of his own actions! The question that must be explored is whether this is the result of unintended consequences or intentional destruction of the American economy?
My company has experienced the results of the President’s agenda in the form of lost jobs, as companies who use undocumented workers as misclassified independent contractors steal business from legitimate companies. These companies have a 20% or more cost advantage as they generally pay piece work wages. “Piece work” is a set rate per day or week, which requires a person to work as many hours as it takes to clean a certain area to obtain expected results. This often results in much less than minimum wage, no overtime pay and, since they are misclassified as independent contractors, there are no payroll taxes, social security or insurance costs (see Misclassification of Workers, Common Ground or Hot Bed of Greed). We have experienced two recent examples in the west and in the south where such companies bid significantly lower and, because of these cost advantages, “stole” the business through their illegal activity. Even worse is the fact that American employees end up being the real losers as this illegal activity, which is basically ignored and arguably condoned by this administration, artificially lowers wages for all Americans including the union members whom he claims to support!
It is painfully evident that this President cares little for the American worker or the future of America, as noted in The Devil at Our Doorstep. The rhetoric of the President and his big labor buddies that they are fighting for the American worker is disingenuous and despicable! If the President truly cared for the American worker he would use the military to seal the border immediately instead of ordering the Feds to Bring in Riot Squad Against Illegal Immigration Protesters. If he truly cared for the American worker he would require all illegal immigrants to register immediately (see The Senate Immigration Law Hurts All Americans). However, this will not happen if America does not wake up, because the real agenda is the destruction of this great country as we know it and implementation of Rule by Fiat! The answer to the question above is Be Afraid America, Be Very Afraid, as The Decline of American Exceptionalism is at hand and the O-Cloward-Piven Strategy Is Working!
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David A. Bego is the President and CEO of EMS, an industry leader in the field of environmental workplace maintenance, employing nearly 5000 workers in thirty-three states. Bego is the author of “The Devil at My Doorstep,” as well as the just released sequel, “The Devil at Our Doorstep,” based on his experiences fighting back against one of the most powerful unions in existence today.