Thread: Georgia restaurants report labor shortages after passage of

Georgia restaurants report labor shortages after passage of anti-illegal immigration law
5:04 p.m. Wednesday, July 20, 2011

By Jeremy Redmon

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia restaurants are reporting labor shortages following the passage of the state’s tough new immigration enforcement law, a new survey by the Georgia Restaurant Association shows.

Nearly half of the 523 restaurateurs across the state who voluntarily participated in the electronic survey this month are having trouble finding workers, a summary of the survey results shows. That summary, however, doesn't say how many pinned the labor shortages on Georgia's new anti-illegal immigration law, also called House Bill 87.

Of the respondents, more than three-quarters are located in the metro Atlanta area. Almost a third of those who took part in the survey gave additional feedback, and 91 percent of them said they were opposed to Georgia's "immigration reform."

Supporters of Georgia’s new law say illegal immigrants are burdening the state’s taxpayer-funded resources, including schools, courts, hospitals and jails. A recent estimate by the Pew Hispanic Center puts the number of illegal immigrants in Georgia at 425,000, the seventh-highest among the states.

But Georgia's $14.1 billion restaurant industry has been particularly critical of HB 87. After the Legislature passed the law in April, the Georgia Restaurant Association raised concerns that it would create additional costs for small businesses and possibly trigger boycotts targeting the state. The association took the position that it supports comprehensive immigration reform, but only at the federal level.

Karen Bremer, the association’s executive director, said she plans to send the results of the survey to state lawmakers in the coming weeks.

“We could have saved a lot of time and a lot of money and dealt with this issue a lot more effectively if business and government had worked together as a coalition and petitioned our federal government to change things and to correct failed policy,â€

They just want cheap labor by illegals. I have never heard of a restaurant being short of help.

Good Citizens of Georgia please stay home and eat, boycott any restaurants that doesn't have a "help wanted" sign in the window! This is your time to shine, any business and organization against Americans working needs to be put out on they're asses!

Georgia Restaurant Association raised concerns that it would create additional costs for small businesses and possibly trigger boycotts targeting the state

Need to give it time to reverse their slave labor usages as other businesses will need to do. I have never been in a place to eat that they had a labor shortage. These types jobs are for high school and college students primarily.

[quote]We could have saved a lot of time and a lot of money and dealt with this issue a lot more effectively if business and government had worked together as a coalition and petitioned our federal government to change things and to correct failed policy,â€

I bet they would get workers but they still want to pay cheap wages.

Originally Posted by Kiara

They just want cheap labor by illegals. I have never heard of a restaurant being short of help.

I know! Before the invasion of these illegals (that we cant do without) Have you ever seen a resturant, or any business for that matter, closed due to lack of workers? I just started seeing illegals mowing lawns for businesses in the past couple of years. It is funny that I dont remember those lawns looking like jungles before the illegals came.

I guess the restaurant business in Atlanta must be booming, if all they can whine about is the long-awaited and long-promised enforcement of illegal immigration laws. Too bad the government doesn't have the BALLS to do the right thing and it's up to the states.

I know plenty of people who can no longer afford to eat out. How can you "suffer" from a shortage of workers when you have a "shortage" of customers? Hmmmmm.

Liberal media BS

What they mean is there is a "shortage" of people lining up for below minimum wages they paid the illegal invaders to do these jobs! Start hiring Americans! It would be nice to see high school and college kids bussing tables again in this country!

I frequently visit a town in northern Wisconsin that the illegals haven't discovered yet. ALL restaurant employees are Americans - all of them.