Thread: Bill targets those who hire Illegal aliens

PhillyDeals: Bill targets those who hire illegal workers
By Joseph N. DiStefano

Unions representing the building trades and a bipartisan group of state legislators have joined in an effort to keep illegal workers off Pennsylvania construction sites.

Rep. John Galloway (D., Bucks) has signed 53 lawmakers from both parties to cosponsor a bill that would suspend the business licenses of construction employers that fail to use Social Security databases to confirm their workers are here legally. He expects a vote this month.

Meeting with reporters Monday, Galloway called it a labor-rights question. He wants to punish contractors who "use and abuse a cheap workforce for profit," even as U.S. citizens struggle "to put food on the table because their jobs were stolen by a contractor who exploits illegal workers."

His ally, Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R., Butler), preferred to talk about physical threats. He warned of "illegal alien invasion" and linked foreigners, not to low wages, but to violent crime and the "potential for terrorist attacks."

Frank Sirianni, president of the Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades Council, insisted the proposal, and a companion bill requiring Social Security checks by state contractors, were "not anti-immigrant" laws. "My grandparents were immigrants [but] legal," he added.

The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, construction employers, and the Service Employees International Union are against the bills, Sam Denisco, the chamber's head of government affairs, told me.

Even with an unemployment rate above 9 percent in Pennsylvania, employers around Philadelphia complain it's tough to find reliable, low-wage U.S. citizen workers. Excluding laborers who are in the country illegally might force them to pay U.S. citizens more.

That would be good for workers, but not so good for small businesses, or consumers, who'd likely pay higher prices.

I asked Metcalfe's office if it had estimated the benefits to low-wage workers and the cost to employers. His aides punted that question to lead sponsor Galloway, whose aide, Lauren Rooney, said she did not have that information.

Denisco, of the business and industry chamber, said he believes the U.S. Supreme Court will block state attempts to enforce federal immigration laws.
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/h ... z0qHNZu567

Even with an unemployment rate above 9 percent in Pennsylvania, employers around Philadelphia complain it's tough to find reliable, low-wage U.S. citizen workers. Excluding laborers who are in the country illegally might force them to pay U.S. citizens more.

I am so Sad for you.....NOT

Pay the living wage and share the income from the job you greedy scum. Its greedy trash like you that lure illegal aliens here. THIS IS WHY employer sanctions are absolutely necessary and should be even more harsh. There are plenty of people looking for work in construction but these clowns only want to pay a couple bucks an hour and pass all the living costs/insurance/healthcare/ etc etc on to everyone else...

http://www.wnd.com/images/NY6.jpg

It is all about paying someone else lower wages. If a home is built by illegal workers and low wages THE PRICE ON THAT HOME DOES NOT GO DOWN!
They are still going to CHARGE YOU the market value of that home.

It is all about more profits!

Even with an unemployment rate above 9 percent in Pennsylvania

Unemployment is higher then the numbers they show........there are people out there they do not even count...it is as high as 15 percent in NC Rockingham County as well as some other counties. The stock market just took another hit because of news of slower hiring by employers......

of course its all about profits. everyone understands that.
an dlets not forget that these companies also dont have to provide insurance of any kind and that helps the bottom line as well

I'm astonished the Unions are involved. Here in NYC most unions have been recruiting IAs.

Pa. House OKs crackdowns on illegal workers
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
By Tom Barnes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

HARRISBURG -- The state House today overwhelmingly approved two bills aimed at cracking down on construction companies that employ undocumented immigrants who have entered the country illegally.

House Bill 1502, which bars companies that hire illegal aliens from entering into state construction contracts, was passed 188 to 6. A companion bill, House Bill 1503, which could cost a company its state license and bar it from entering into construction contracts with other private firms, was passed 188 to 7.

Rep. John Galloway, D-Bucks, said some contractors, apparently in an effort to lower costs, are hiring illegal immigrants for construction jobs and paying them less than legal wages and not providing health benefits. The illegal aliens also aren't paying state and federal taxes, he said. This situation is hurting unemployed Pennsylvanians who are seeking work, he said.

Some business groups, including chambers of commerce, oppose the bills, which may cause them to face a difficult time in the Republican-controlled Senate. Under the measures, which Mr. Galloway said 14 other states have already enacted, companies would have to use a system called E-Verify, which includes millions of Social Security numbers in a federal, online database, to ensure that each of its workers has a legal Social Security number or the proper papers showing he or she has entered the U.S. legally.
More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10159/10 ... z0qHmZeWdV

Again, HEAVY FINES and FELONY JAIL time for the ILLEGAL EMPLOYERS! Felony Conviction and Deportation for the ILLEGALS!

This will be a good litmus test to see who actually represents the people not the traitors. Too bad this vote did not come up early enough to have some run against them.

If Republicans don't vote for this, it indicates that they are only there for self enrichment and are not truly conservative.

It is not mainly construction companies with state contracts hiring the illegals; it is mostly small residential construction companies with illegal alien crews. Construction has been one of the biggest employers of illegals this past decade and these small businesses continue to employ them on most all residential jobs with little done in the way of enforcement.