Thread: Latino workers have huge impact on state's construction indu

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs. ... /607040435

Latino workers have huge impact on state's construction industry
BY DEVONA WALKER

Luis Curiel came to this country alone, poor, virtually uneducated and not speaking the language, but he was skilled in construction and hungry for work.

"I slept on the streets. I took showers in small ponds, wherever I saw water. I had no friends. I had no family," Curiel said. "I worked nine and 10 hours a day minimal, and many times on Saturday and Sunday."

In his hometown of Apaxco, Mexico, Curiel earned 300 pesos per week, about $30. Now, he manages Sarasota-based Apaxco Eagles Construction, bringing home nearly $70,000 a year and employing 15 full-time workers.

Eleven are from Apaxco and all are Mexican.

Curiel is an example of the enormous influence that Latinos have had on one of Florida's most important industries: construction.

While nationwide, construction jobs filled by Latinos total 2.4 million -- or about 30 percent of the total -- by some measures, half of Florida's building jobs are filled by Latinos, mostly Mexicans.

The state could use tens of thousands more. Just in May, construction companies in the Sunshine State were looking to fill 13,000 vacancies, the Florida Agency for Work Force Innovation reported.

The labor shortage has meant that wages in the construction industry have consistently outpaced both inflation and the consumer price index to lure and maintain workers.

Average construction wages have risen from $15.11 cents in 1996 to $19.23 in 2004, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

The rise of these workers coupled with an already diverse ethnic makeup has galvanized Florida's Latinos into an undeniable economic force.

Many, like Curiel, own their own businesses and work as subcontractors for large construction companies.

'Paying for two lives'

In Florida, Latino immigrants represent about 20 ethnicities, and they are moving quickly into construction, manufacturing, real estate and health care.

"Florida is an odd animal. ... It doesn't look like any other other state in the country," said Jim Delgado, a Palmetto-based attorney and member of Concilio Mexicano De Florida, a group that seeks to keep Florida's Latino community well-organized and informed.

"All the Latin American countries are represented here. That's not the case in Texas."

Mexico is strongly represented in the Sarasota-Bradenton market, with about half the 52,218 people classified as Latinos identifying themselves as of Mexican descent. The figure is about 14 percent of the 3.25 million Latinos statewide.

People of Mexican descent have had a huge impact on Florida, with about more than 33 percent of the state's total population working in that industry.

That flies in the face of some notions about the traditional occupations for Mexicans. For example, only 2.8 percent of the Sunshine State's Mexican population works in agriculture.

The United Farmworkers Association also maintains that those workers typically work for agriculture for only one season before moving on to other jobs.

That makes perfect sense to Delgado, who is of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent: Professional mobility is seminal to Latino culture here in the U.S., he said.

"Quite frankly, we don't want any of our people in agriculture. We want them all working in construction, owning their own businesses, and working at jobs where their work is valued."

Mexican immigrants have made easy adjustments to construction. Some, like Curiel, were in the trade back in Mexico and were not put off by manual labor or long hours, he said.

"All my employees who are framing houses here in the U.S. are also having houses built in Mexico. Everyone is working six or seven days a week. And they are very happy that there is work because they all have family back in Mexico they support," Curiel said.

"They are paying for two lives -- one here and one in Mexico."

An attractive option

The National Association of Homebuilders says the number of foreign-born workers in the construction industry has more than doubled in the past 20 years.

Latinos will likely remain a major source of workers however the immigration debate plays out in Washington.

"Immigrants in general -- first generation immigrants, definitely -- are more committed to the work. Maybe it's fear. Maybe it's a work ethic. But they don't want to lose the job, and they will do whatever it takes to keep it," said Gopal Alluwahlia, an NAHB economist.

"I myself am an immigrant. If someone should ask why I worked as hard as I did to get to where I am, I will tell them, 'I was paid to do a job, and what it takes to do, that's what I am going to do.'"

There has been an industrywide trend to use more sub- and independent contractors, such as Curiel's Apaxco Eagles, in construction. That has coincided with larger numbers of immigrants in the work force, but Alluwahlia says one did not likely cause the other.

"It's not an immigration issues. It's a cost-effectiveness issue," he said.

Sub-contracting gives the business owner the ability to use specialized workers only for as long as they are needed. It also gives the company the opportunity of accepting the lowest of all possible bids and frees them from having to pay out for health insurance, unemployment tax and workers' compensation.

But it also has further removed the employee from the undocumented worker.

"Obviously with the whole legal versus non-legal and documented versus undocumented issues, there's a byproduct of this business practice that's been advantageous," Alluwahlia said.

Sub-contracting might have created a buffer in the past, but in this time of greater enforcement, it will likely be less effective, said Wendy Smith, an immigration attorney with Tampa-based Fisher & Phillips.

Native-born construction workers have adjusted to the foreign-born work force and what some argue as the "trend of misclassifying" workers. Some fear for their jobs should the state's real estate market slow from its recent rapid pace.

Joe Murray, who works at Sarasota's Gulf Gate Roofing Inc., has been in construction for 32 years. He maintains that native-born construction workers are the face of America's dying blue-collar middle class.

"We've lost the whole market because of cheap Mexican labor," Murray said. "They are running drywall, roofing and landscaping. And the American kids are getting distraught and don't want to work any more. They can't keep up."

On average, the foreign-born construction workers have earned about 76 cents on the dollar compared with the native-born -- that's about $511 per week compared with $677, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

"I've seen so many people get out of construction. They say 'I can't compete with them, and I don't want to do it anymore,'" Murray said.

"We're the minority now, and there's nothing we can do about it."

Ran American workers out of alot of the only jobs left that haven't been outsourced.

We've heard the stories before. Only the name of the companies have been changed. Why don't companies just say that if they hired an American they would have to pay a decent wage and it would be less money in their own pockets?

Originally Posted by Brian503a

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060704/BUSINESS/607040435

Latino workers have huge impact on state's construction industry
BY DEVONA WALKER

Luis Curiel came to this country alone, poor, virtually uneducated and not speaking the language, but he was skilled in construction and hungry for work.

"I slept on the streets. I took showers in small ponds, wherever I saw water. I had no friends. I had no family," Curiel said. "I worked nine and 10 hours a day minimal, and many times on Saturday and Sunday."

In his hometown of Apaxco, Mexico, Curiel earned 300 pesos per week, about $30. Now, he manages Sarasota-based Apaxco Eagles Construction, bringing home nearly $70,000 a year and employing 15 full-time workers.

Eleven are from Apaxco and all are Mexican.

Curiel is an example of the enormous influence that Latinos have had on one of Florida's most important industries: construction.

While nationwide, construction jobs filled by Latinos total 2.4 million -- or about 30 percent of the total -- by some measures, half of Florida's building jobs are filled by Latinos, mostly Mexicans.

The state could use tens of thousands more. Just in May, construction companies in the Sunshine State were looking to fill 13,000 vacancies, the Florida Agency for Work Force Innovation reported.

The labor shortage has meant that wages in the construction industry have consistently outpaced both inflation and the consumer price index to lure and maintain workers.

Average construction wages have risen from $15.11 cents in 1996 to $19.23 in 2004, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

The rise of these workers coupled with an already diverse ethnic makeup has galvanized Florida's Latinos into an undeniable economic force.

Many, like Curiel, own their own businesses and work as subcontractors for large construction companies.

'Paying for two lives'

In Florida, Latino immigrants represent about 20 ethnicities, and they are moving quickly into construction, manufacturing, real estate and health care.

"Florida is an odd animal. ... It doesn't look like any other other state in the country," said Jim Delgado, a Palmetto-based attorney and member of Concilio Mexicano De Florida, a group that seeks to keep Florida's Latino community well-organized and informed.

"All the Latin American countries are represented here. That's not the case in Texas."

Mexico is strongly represented in the Sarasota-Bradenton market, with about half the 52,218 people classified as Latinos identifying themselves as of Mexican descent. The figure is about 14 percent of the 3.25 million Latinos statewide.

People of Mexican descent have had a huge impact on Florida, with about more than 33 percent of the state's total population working in that industry.

That flies in the face of some notions about the traditional occupations for Mexicans. For example, only 2.8 percent of the Sunshine State's Mexican population works in agriculture.

The United Farmworkers Association also maintains that those workers typically work for agriculture for only one season before moving on to other jobs.

That makes perfect sense to Delgado, who is of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent: Professional mobility is seminal to Latino culture here in the U.S., he said.

"Quite frankly, we don't want any of our people in agriculture. We want them all working in construction, owning their own businesses, and working at jobs where their work is valued."

Mexican immigrants have made easy adjustments to construction. Some, like Curiel, were in the trade back in Mexico and were not put off by manual labor or long hours, he said.

"All my employees who are framing houses here in the U.S. are also having houses built in Mexico. Everyone is working six or seven days a week. And they are very happy that there is work because they all have family back in Mexico they support," Curiel said.

"They are paying for two lives -- one here and one in Mexico."

An attractive option

The National Association of Homebuilders says the number of foreign-born workers in the construction industry has more than doubled in the past 20 years.

Latinos will likely remain a major source of workers however the immigration debate plays out in Washington.

"Immigrants in general -- first generation immigrants, definitely -- are more committed to the work. Maybe it's fear. Maybe it's a work ethic. But they don't want to lose the job, and they will do whatever it takes to keep it," said Gopal Alluwahlia, an NAHB economist.

"I myself am an immigrant. If someone should ask why I worked as hard as I did to get to where I am, I will tell them, 'I was paid to do a job, and what it takes to do, that's what I am going to do.'"

There has been an industrywide trend to use more sub- and independent contractors, such as Curiel's Apaxco Eagles, in construction. That has coincided with larger numbers of immigrants in the work force, but Alluwahlia says one did not likely cause the other.

"It's not an immigration issues. It's a cost-effectiveness issue," he said.

Sub-contracting gives the business owner the ability to use specialized workers only for as long as they are needed. It also gives the company the opportunity of accepting the lowest of all possible bids and frees them from having to pay out for health insurance, unemployment tax and workers' compensation.

But it also has further removed the employee from the undocumented worker.

"Obviously with the whole legal versus non-legal and documented versus undocumented issues, there's a byproduct of this business practice that's been advantageous," Alluwahlia said.

Sub-contracting might have created a buffer in the past, but in this time of greater enforcement, it will likely be less effective, said Wendy Smith, an immigration attorney with Tampa-based Fisher & Phillips.

Native-born construction workers have adjusted to the foreign-born work force and what some argue as the "trend of misclassifying" workers. Some fear for their jobs should the state's real estate market slow from its recent rapid pace.

Joe Murray, who works at Sarasota's Gulf Gate Roofing Inc., has been in construction for 32 years. He maintains that native-born construction workers are the face of America's dying blue-collar middle class.

"We've lost the whole market because of cheap Mexican labor," Murray said. "They are running drywall, roofing and landscaping. And the American kids are getting distraught and don't want to work any more. They can't keep up."

On average, the foreign-born construction workers have earned about 76 cents on the dollar compared with the native-born -- that's about $511 per week compared with $677, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

"I've seen so many people get out of construction. They say 'I can't compete with them, and I don't want to do it anymore,'" Murray said.

"We're the minority now, and there's nothing we can do about it."

Average construction wages have risen from $15.11 cents in 1996 to $19.23 in 2004, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

Do they really think that the Americans who were doing these jobs in the late 1980's/early 1990's, for $20-$30 an hour (plus benefits), are buying these stats?

HINT: They're NOT!

This article fails to mention the fact that at least 50% of the Florida construction industry is a huge underground economy. I am exposed to it on a daily basis as an American sub-contractor (with ZREO illegals on my payroll). If all of these crooks were held accountable and the playing field were leveled, many more Americans would be doing these jobs.
America is not about Americans anymore.

I was a carpenter for 20 years in SFLA and that ended in 1997. My hourly rate did not increase more than $3 an hour, topping off at 13.00 an hour. I doubt seriously that its gone up 6.00 in just under nine years. Not with all of the cheap labor that's been coming in, especially to SFLA.

Average construction wages have risen from $15.11 cents in 1996 to $19.23 in 2004, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

These rates must be on a national average. SFLA has always lagged behind in wages earned against the national average(because of the influx of Cubans and Mexicans). If there is one carpenter working in construction in SFLA for more than 15.00 an hour, I can almost asure you that they have not signed a W4, but a 1099, which means they must pay ALL of their SS and must provide their own insurance. They do not recieve a 'payroll' check, but they recieve a two-party check under the table. A 1099 can only be signed by a licensed contractor, which most of these workers are not. They work for a contractor. So how they are employed is illegal in the first place. In the second place, most of the workers are here illegal.

So I would toss this report out the window--its just more propoganda to press the thought that--see, these jobs pay well and Americans still don't want them--BS

I have a step-brother that used to hang drywall but had to get out of the business due to the illegals doing it for cheaper and running the Americans off.
I know there are plenty of Americans out there that would love to earn this type of money. I bet even some of the 20 something folks out there would do these jobs.
Americans need to get together and refuse to use a companies services if they hire these illegal immigrants. If you need a roof repaired, demand US citizens. This would force companies to hire legal employees only!!![/quote]

These contractors have made money hand over fist by hiring illegal aliens, let us see how they do when they can no longer hire them and have to pay american workers standard wages, benefits and actually have to pay taxes for those workers as well. Hope you all saved some of that money you made by breaking our laws and hiring illegal aliens or you are going under

My fiance is a bricklayer. He stays in business because he is a solid and hard working legal American and a damn good bricklayer/stone mason. He learned the trade at age 9 from his Dad and has been working in the trade for 25 years. He works for a company that thank heavens doesn't hire illegals and pays good wages. He is also non-union.

However he tells me that he sees tons of illegals working for other companies on the job sites which in turn steal jobs for less pay from willing to work legal Americans. He sees American men getting turned away that come to job sites looking for work because the owners of these companies would rather make more money and not have to pay the American the prevailing wage. Most of the companies are non-union too and he witnesses the crap work they do from electrical, plumbing to labor.

When he does side work he usually gets the job most likely because he can communicate with the customer and not to mention hispanics/brazilians are the worst bricklayers. I would like to say to the people who hire these illegals (this is from companies to the guy in your neighborhood who wants a cheap price) to just wait, in a couple years when these buildings start collapsing due to shoddy work the contractor, the super, the compant and everyone else involved with these illegal dealings will have a hefty lawsuit! I say to all these people you get what you pay for. Cheap workers = cheap and unskilled finished product

Originally Posted by Rockfish

I was a carpenter for 20 years in SFLA and that ended in 1997. My hourly rate did not increase more than $3 an hour, topping off at 13.00 an hour. I doubt seriously that its gone up 6.00 in just under nine years. Not with all of the cheap labor that's been coming in, especially to SFLA.

My brother used to be a carpenter down here but he got out too. The way it works today is that a typical framing subcontractor will hire one Mexican that half assed knows what he is doing. The guy will get about $14-$15 an hour cash and will be the lead man on a crew of 6-8 Mexicans (illegals) making about $8 cash. With a 9 man crew the sub-contractors average hourly payroll would be about $80 cash. No payroll taxes, workmans comp, state or federal unemployment taxes.
The legal sub-contractor would have about $180 per hour in payroll for the same size American crew. Along with all of the taxes and insurance involved.
So the illegal guy is able to underbid the legal guy and also pocket a greater profit. The crazy thing in all of this is that the government knows all about it and does absolutely nothing about it. But they have no problem knocking on my door with a heavy fine if I'm a couple of days late with a 941 tax payment. It's becoming normal that you need to be a crook in order to survive in construction down here. Thanks to our double standard of government.