The crisis facing American workers are staggering,it is unacceptable and a disgrace. For years we were lead to believe that the unions were bad for business and it interfered with big business being able to remain competitive with other business through out the world.
I hope that American citizens will learn a valuable lesson from what has happen in the last 20 years. The workers in this country has been unfairly targeted by big conglomerates in their efforts to turn huge profits for their profits for their investors to the demise of it workers.
Once upon a time this country lead the world as the greatest manufacturer in goods.
All unions are not perfect but they may be the last vestige of hope in reviving the "Middle Class"!
What Happened?
Our economy did not always work the way it does now. When the middle class was built in the years after World War II, the economy generally worked for all of us. During this period, real family incomes doubled — the most rapid improvement in living standards in history. Incomes for the poorest families increased even faster than those of the richest families, so incomes became more equally distributed. This was a period of great social movements and struggles for justice — women's rights, civil rights and rights for people with disabilities, to name a few. Unions also grew during this period, and the power of workers helped create a more just society.
After 1973, we saw the end of the Vietnam War, the decline in manufacturing and industry, rapid technological change and the expansion of globalization, which brought dramatic change to our economy.
* Since 1973, U.S. workers have constantly increased our productivity, but our wages haven't kept up. As a result, average wages today are only 15 percent higher than in 1980, while productivity increased 67 percent in the same period. * The growth of family incomes slowed greatly after 1973, while the incomes of the richest 20 percent of families have risen much faster.To read the rest of this article visit http://www.workingamerica.org/issues/jobs.cfm
Where many Arizona businesses saw a challenge when the state's new employer-sanctions law went into effect Jan. 1, Jeremy Bloeman saw an opportunity.
Bloeman, a manager at a Labor Company, a Mesa-based day labor provider, put his crews on the streets with signs touting their legal status, just around the corner from other day laborers in Mesa.
The laborers, who've manned these corners in west Mesa for years, haven't reacted kindly to the sign-toting Temporary Labor workers, even chasing a couple of the less resolute human billboards away. But Bloeman and his employees are determined to continue their efforts to offer a legal way to find day laborers.
Date:
Phoenix Streets:
ARPAIO TARGETS DAY LABORER COMPLAINTS IN CITY OF PHOENIX
Sheriff’s Office Arrests Six in Most Recent Operation
(Phoenix, AZ) Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Illegal Immigration Interdiction unit today responded to business complaints in Phoenix regarding trespassers and loiterers, littering, and harassing children in the area of 36th Street and Thomas Road, and arrested six illegal aliens.
The Sheriff’s operation came after members of the local business community recently met with Sheriff Arpaio to discuss crime and health issues relating to the increasing numbers of illegal day laborers in the area.
The business owners informed the Sheriff of the problems affecting their livelihoods and their quality of life created by day laborers seeking employment in the area.
The merchants along Thomas Road in the area of 36th Street have previously spoken to Phoenix city government officials attempting to gain relief.
After fruitless meetings, the merchants made the decision to approach the Sheriff.
Among those present were Pruitt’s Furniture owner Mr. Roger Sensing and Dr. Melody Jafari.
“The problems we experienced were brought to our city officials,” says Dr. Melody Jafari. “Instead our issues were shrugged off as a federal problem and nothing was done to protect our livelihoods and our quality of life. This is a beautiful start, and a wonderful beginning, now the word will get out.”
“I am pleased with Sheriff Arpaio’s involvement. I am not pleased with the Phoenix city government,” says Roger Sensing. “I support the Sheriff’s Office and will do whatever I can to help them fight these problems.”
15 Million Americans Are Out Of Work!So Why Is Our Government Still Bringing In 1.5 Million Foreign Workers A Year?
It doesn’t make sense. 15 million Americans can’t find a job and our government is still allowing 1.5 million foreign workers a year to legally enter this country and take American jobs. And that’s not counting the illegal workers taking jobs. With Americans losing their houses and struggling to put food on the table, how can we continue giving jobs away? Does anyone really believe there’s a labor shortage? And yes, Americans will do "those jobs."
One of the problems is that most Americans don’t realize their own government is giving their jobs away. The whole concept this could be happening in this horrible economy is counter intuitive. So, if you want to help, start talking to your friends about it. Talk to the media about it. Send emails. Spread the word. Tell everyone you know. And get fired up about it because it’s just not right. Start by watching the TV spots below and emailing them to your friends. Then, go to the “How You Can Help” section below and take action. It’s up to all of us to stand up for the American worker now. Who knows, the job you save could be your own!
http://www.americanworker.org/
Dear American Worker:
I apologize for my ignorance and that of many of my fellow Americans. I apologize, too, for my shortsighted eagerness to get the best buy I could, and for my silly desire to save a few extra pennies, or a few more dollars. In my ignorance and naivete, I thought I was buying wisely, saving money. When indeed, what I was doing was hurting my friends and my neighbors, and citizens I don't know; because what I didn't know, or what I refused to acknowledge, was that by doing so I was robbing someone of their job.
I apologize for buying my JVC VHS/DVD Recorder that was made in China.
I apologize for buying my SONY flat screen television that was made in Japan.
I apologize, dear American worker, for buying my PANASONIC telephone that was actually made in Japan.
I apologize for buying our FORD vehicle that was actually built, part by part in ports unknown.
I apologize for buying a GATEWAY desktop computer that was made somewhere else and is supported by technicians in Guam and India and who knows where else.
I apologize for buying NORTON Anti-Virus to protect my GATEWAY computer that is written and packaged and supported in lands far from American shores.
I apologize, dear American out-of-work worker, for buying my DELL laptop that was built and is supported primarily by workers in India.
Story Written by (AP) BURBANK, Calif. - Chris James needed help moving a piano and three dozen boxes of records from his music studio, but instead of corralling some buddies he rented a truck and hired day laborers outside the local Home Depot.
The two Guatemalan men finished the job in an hour and a half, hauling a piano and wedging a sofa into his condo, then stacking the boxes in a back room, for less than $40.
It was first time James hired day laborers but it won’t be his last. Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here
“Absolutely satisfied,” said James, 31.
The No. 1 employers of day laborers, many of whom are illegal immigrants, are homeowners — not construction contractors, not professional landscapers.
“Day labor is not a niche market,” said Abel Valenzuela, a UCLA professor and one of three authors of the first national day labor study, which was released in January. “It’s now entering different aspects of the national mainstream economy.”
Forty-nine percent of day labor employers are homeowners, according to 2,660 laborers interviewed for the study. Contractors were second, at 43 percent. The study also found that three quarters of day laborers were illegal immigrants and most were from Latin America.
Current Raids: By Sheriff Joe Arpaio
Homeowners like the men who call themselves “jornaleros” because they make up a flexible labor pool with no red tape and no overhead. And they’ll do backbreaking jobs much cheaper than regular contractors.
Symbiotic relationship
Day laborers like homeowners, too. Shady contractors routinely stiff them. Not homeowners — the workers know where they live.
“And in houses, they give us food, water and soda,” said Herminio Velazquez, 48, one of the men who worked at James condo.
While some homeowners are uncomfortable hiring people who likely have no work documents, they often don’t believe they are doing wrong.
That position is rejected by anti-illegal immigration activists.
“They know they are hiring illegal aliens and breaking the law,” said Joseph Turner, who is trying to force San Bernardino to outlaw taxpayer-funded day labor centers. “They are contributing to the illegal immigration problem.”
Agents for Immigration and Customs Enforcement occasionally arrest day laborers, but they almost never go after homeowner employers. Their priorities are national security work sites such as seaports and the networks that smuggle illegal immigrants into the country.
“We need to stop unlawful employment,” said agency spokeswoman Virginia Kice. “But working day laborers sites is not an efficient way to use finite resources.”
Debate stirs passions The federal debate on immigration reform has been on either criminalizing illegal immigrants — a proposal that has stirred widespread protest demonstrations — or giving them temporary work visas that might eventually lead to citizenship. Though Senate leaders promise progress, legislation may not pass in this election year.
David Peters, a 37-year-old salesman, is bothered by illegal immigration and believes he’s part of the problem, but he says it isn’t always possible to hire people with work papers.
He hired day laborers over several months while remodeling his Hermosa Beach house. One man tiled a floor and installed a granite counter top for $1,000, jobs that Peters estimated would cost $5,000 if he used the Yellow Pages.
“I know if they didn’t have a job, they wouldn’t be here,” said Peters. “But we all shop at Target and Wal-Mart, and all their stuff is made overseas with cheap labor.”
A helping hand Maxine Colby started hiring day laborers after her husband died six years ago because she needed somebody to clear brush, pull weeds, trim trees and wash windows. She pays them $11 an hour and serves them a hot lunch.
“They have been fantastic,” said the 78-year-old Malibu resident. “I speak a little Spanish, and they speak a little English, and we have a good time.”
She doesn’t ask about immigration status or worry about breaking the law.
“This is a system that works for most people,” she said. “If lawmakers can’t figure out how to fix it, I certainly can’t.”
Are You breaking the Law in hiring illegal workers? Tuesday, March 10, 2009 Ninth Circuit upholds Arizona employer sanctions law Phoenix Business Journal - by Mike Sunnucks
A federal appeals court backed up an Arizona law to punish employers that hire illegal immigrants.
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed lower court rulings that kept the Legal Arizona Workers Act in place. Business groups and Hispanic activists had challenged the law in court saying it lacks due process provisions and puts the state and county prosecutors in the federal role of enforcing immigration laws.
The sanctions law allows county prosecutors to go after businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants and employers caught doing that can have their business licenses suspended or revoked.
The San Francisco-based appeals court backed up a U.S. District Court ruling that said federal immigration laws allow states to take action against the business licenses of employers caught hiring illegals.
Our Mission: To attract and retain a client list of satisfied customers while at the same time maintaining a pool of happy and able body men and women to take care of our customers. Not only do we seek to gather customers and employee's but we hope to grow that into a relationship that will last for years!
Goals: It is our goal to change the face of this industry by our work performance and the quality of the service that we will provide. We hope to set a standard that will soon become the new formula in the industry. Day labor work is a way to make a fair wage from a good hard day of work.
Family Owned: We are a small family own business located in Arizona,we are determine to change the reputation of the day labor service industry. Americans have been facing staggering unemployment for years and many are finding it difficult to meet their daily needs. Day Labor provides legal citizens an alternative to their current work situation.
Current Opinions: Contrary to what many politician have said about Americans, "that they want do the work that illegal or undocumented workers will do" is misleading. We hope to assist those legal Americans and home owners who needs a reliable services to provide them with day laborers.
Services we provide: General Cleaning
General Landscaping
General Painting
Packing Furniture
General Labor
Supplies: Are generally supplied by the home owner unless other wise requested.
Whatever your line of work, Day Labor Services will make sure that all temporary employees are selected according to your criteria and are prepared and ready to meet your particular objectives from the minute they arrive at your home or job site.
Rates: Our rates are consumer friendly and competitively price with those that may offer a similar service. Skilled trade work workers would command a higher charge.
FYI: Customers should request laborers at least 24 hours in advance.
Potential Employees: We are currently accepting resumes for future opportunities, please forward your information to the email address enclosed. Please indicate if you are US citizen or of legal status, have a driver license.
