Thread: Immigrants fill gap, some industries say

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Posted on Fri, Oct. 27, 2006



Immigrants fill gap, some industries say

By PATRICK McGEE
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER

Leaders of some industries say there's no room for a debate about whether immigrants are taking American jobs. There's only room for more workers.

They say huge labor shortages exist in some industries, such as trucking, welding and restaurant work, and they've got numbers to show it. Large chunks of the U.S. work force are approaching retirement age, and there are not enough young workers to replace them, so immigrant workers are needed, they say.

The American Welding Society, an industry group based in Miami, predicts a shortage of 200,000 welders nationwide by 2010.

But Steven Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington-based group that opposes illegal immigration, said he's skeptical when employers say there's a labor shortage because wages have barely gone up over the years. He said 22 million Americans ages 18 to 64 who have a high school diploma or have dropped out of high school are unemployed or have given up looking for a job.

"Any industry you care to name, you will generally find that the employer says, 'We can't find anybody,'" he said. "What they really mean is, 'Given what we want to pay, we can't find anybody.' And that's the kicker."

Stephen Anthony, president of the Fort Worth Building and Construction Trades Council, a network of union groups, said he believes that illegal-immigrant welders have kept wages down for U.S workers.

Anthony said wages for union welders have just caught up to a $3-an-hour pay cut they took in 1983. He said they would have caught up sooner if there weren't so many illegal immigrants at work sites. Union welders earn $23 an hour, while nonunion welders generally earn about $12 an hour.

"We have a problem with illegals working for cheap because it knocks down on our higher pay," he said. "They have put the cement workers out of business, the roofers out of business. ... There's no longer people trained in America that are doing that work."

Area employers say the shortage is real.

Pamela Carlton, owner of Beef O'Brady's restaurant in North Richland Hills, said her biggest frustration is finding workers.

"And when you do find them, they don't come to work," she said.

Growth in the population of America's 16- to 24-year-olds -- traditionally the backbone of restaurant staffs -- is not keeping up with the industry's rapid growth, said Richie Jackson, executive vice president of the Austin-based Texas Restaurant Association.

"Over the next 10 years we will outstrip the general economy by about 50 percent," he said. "We will be creating 1 1/2 jobs for every job the economy creates."

Tiffany Wlazlowski, a spokeswoman for the American Trucking Association, said a nationwide shortage of 20,000 truck drivers now could reach 111,000 by 2014.

Carla Luig, owner of First Choice Transport in Fort Worth, said there's such a need for truckers that her company and many others broker out shipments to other companies and independent contractors.

Another local businesswoman said she sees signs of a labor shortage in her industry, too.

Tracy Delce, president and owner of TinMan Enterprises, a welding company in Fort Worth, said she's seen welders' wages rise from $10 to $12 two years ago to $14 to $16 today.

Adrienne Zalkind, a spokeswoman for the American Welding Society, attributed the shortage to welders approaching retirement age at a time when America's aging infrastructure, such as bridges, needs repair.

Many immigrants said they are taking advantage of these opportunities to get better pay or to get out of tougher, dirtier work.

Illegal and legal immigrants said their friends and relatives are helping them find jobs and providing them with informal, on-the-job training.

Roberto of Fort Worth said he's learning how to weld because he keeps seeing job openings posted for welders. He asked that his last name not be used because he is in the United States illegally.

Roberto's brother-in-law, Alberto, who is also here illegally, is working as a welder and is teaching Roberto the trade.

"It's a skill that can serve me in the future," Roberto said. "There are jobs that don't have a future, but there's a lot of work in welding."

Cele, 25, of Fort Worth, said he's worked at six restaurants in his nine years in the United States. He also asked that his last name not be used because he is here illegally.

His father helped him find his current job at a Mexican restaurant in Fort Worth. He said finding jobs in the restaurant industry is easy because of the need for workers.

"It doesn't matter if you're lazy. If you show up, and you're on time, and you're on the schedule, I think that's what's important," Cele said.

He said he left construction because restaurant work is easier, safer and air-conditioned.

Manuel Castruita left construction to drive trucks. His uncle taught him how to drive an 18-wheeler.

"Since I was young in Mexico, I wanted to drive a big truck," Castruita said.

Castruita, 33, a legal resident who lives in Fort Worth, said he now makes about five trips a day hauling sand and rock to construction sites in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He sometimes struggles with directions because his English is limited, but working in an air-conditioned truck is better than at a construction site, he said.

Gustavo Avalo, 31, a Cuban refugee who lives legally with his family in Fort Worth, said he wants to buy his own truck and work as an independent contractor.

"Nobody bosses me around. It's registered to me," he said. "It's good work, and it pays

WANTED: TEXAS WORKERS

Immigrants are filling many job openings in welding, truck driving and restaurant work.

Welding: Number of workers in 2002: 41,450. Number of additional workers needed in Texas by 2012: 6,200.

Truck driving: Number of workers in 2002: 198,700. Number of additional workers needed in Texas by 2012: 35,200.

Restaurant work: Number of workers in 2002: 407,950. Number of additional workers needed in Texas by 2012: 124,800.

SOURCE: Texas Workforce Commission






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"Any industry you care to name, you will generally find that the employer says, 'We can't find anybody,'" he said. "What they really mean is, 'Given what we want to pay, we can't find anybody.' And that's the kicker."

At the same time we have thousands of high school students that "drop out" of school. I suspect many of them get discouraged and have dim propects of a job. I've always thought that a training program should be estabished to teach them a trade. Perhaps one of those jobs where an employer can't find anybody.

The supply of semi skilled labor and unskilled labor, willing to perform skilled trades at unskilled labor rates is so over whelming, that employers don't even want to train people. Why train people when illegals flood the country.

At my previous company we paid a tutor to help employees get their GED. It didn't directly improve their job skills, but it gave them a goal and focused their efforts. It did enable a few to get a job else where, but someone was always leaving. I believe we assisted those that needed help. All of them were legal, we verified SSNs.