Thread: Texas Employers for Immigration Reform

Let's find out who supports and contributes to this organization, and make them part of our "BOYCOTT" list here in Texas!

ncfm,

I think I've seen their site online.

Dixie

Here's some more infor (from the Ft. Worth Star Telegram) regarding the TEIR organization:

Business leaders promote legal immigrantsBy PATRICK McGEE
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
DALLAS — Saying they need the workers, Texas business leaders have banded together to support immigration reform that would bring in guest workers and more legal immigrants.

The Texas Association of Business announced Tuesday the formation of Texas Employers for Immigration Reform, a group they said will lobby Congress.

“If we think we’re going to solve this problem by putting up a wall on the Mexican border, it’s not going to work,” said Bill Hammond, president of the Texas Association of Business. “If we have enough legal immigrants to meet the needs of the employers, a lot of this problem goes away.”

Hammond spoke at The Mansion on Turtle Creek hotel. He was joined by about half-dozen other business leaders, including Bo Pilgrim, chairman of Pilgrim’s Pride, a Fortune 500 poultry company based in Texas. Others included representatives from the agriculture and hotel industries.

They were also joined by Tamar Jacoby, a senior fellow at the New York-based Manhattan Institute, who has pushed for immigrant-friendly reform.

Jacoby said she still hopes for an immigration bill before the November election and believes only about 20 percent of the public favors a tough, enforcement-only approach.

“There are some guys who say, ‘Over my dead body,’ but most people understand we need workers in America,” she said.

Hammond said employers want to obey the law and hire workers who are here legally, but he said the government has not given them an effective way to do that.

The Department of Homeland Security has a small number of employers voluntarily enrolled in an experimental worker verification system, but Hammond said he does not think the system accurately differentiates legal workers from illegal workers.

Elsewhere Tuesday, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, held a telephone news conference and called on President Bush to do more for the Senate’s immigrant-friendly bill or something similar to it.

“I think there are people of good will who want to get this through the House” of Representatives, Kennedy said. “In this kind of situation, the president has to become more engaged, more involved. . . . He has the ability to do it.”

The Senate bill, which passed in May, would put some illegal immigrants on a path to eventual citizenship. The House bill, which passed in December, would make illegal immigration a felony.

U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, participated in Kennedy’s telephone conference and said he does not believe House Republicans will budge.

“I believe that we’re not going to get anything done,” he said.

Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, R- Illinois, toured the border in Arizona and Texas last month and said that addressing security along the border needs to come first.

www.txeir.com

[/quote]

Sorry, I got the acronym wrong, it's TXEIR. Here's a list of the current supporters direct from the organizations website:

Texas Employers for Immigration Reform (TEIR)
List of Supporters

As of August 29, 2006

Adams Insurance Services, Inc.
Associated Builders & Contractors of Texas
Cedar Creek Farms
Contran Corporation
Emerald Garden
Henry S. Miller Companies
International Bank of Commerce
Landmark Nurseries Inc.
Mortellaro's Nursery, Inc.
Pilgrim’s Pride
Ran-Pro Farms Inc.
South Padre Island Chamber of Commerce
TawaKoni Plant Farm
Texas Association of Business
Texas Farm Bureau
Texas Hotel & Lodging Association
Texas Nursery and Landscape Association
Texas Retailers Association
Winter Grapes Produce


Certainly, we can all find other source for our chicken, and doubtless we can all choose what hotel or motel we use when traveling, but I'm troubled by the Texas Farm Bureau taking a "political position" on the issue of immigration. Seems to me, one of the easiest things we can all do, is avoid doing business with any company that advertises it's membership in the "Chamber of Commerce".

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... 0cd43.html

Texas business: Pass immigration reform

06:59 AM CDT on Monday, August 28, 2006


Often, in the middle of a heated debate, people forget exactly what they're arguing about. But we employers on the front lines of American business cannot forget – we know why the nation must come to grips with illegal immigration. We know that Americans must face up to the reality of the foreign workers we need to keep the economy growing and bring them under the rule of law, for their sake and ours.

We own and run a variety of businesses: agriculture, food processing, hospitality, construction, banking and more, mostly but not exclusively in Texas. And we know, if not firsthand, certainly at close reach, just how much the economy depends on immigrant labor.

It's not that Americans don't work hard. They do. But the native-born workforce is changing rapidly. In 1960, half of all American men dropped out of high school and looked for unskilled work; today, less than 10 percent do. Baby boomers are retiring. Fertility rates are declining. Yet every year, the economy creates hundreds of thousands of new jobs that require few if any skills, and in the next decade, we will be millions of workers short.

Not all employers mean well, of course. Some companies exploit illegal immigrants. But most who turn to foreign workers do so out of necessity. We aren't looking for "cheap labor." We're looking for available labor, period – and for some businesses, the choice is to hire immigrants or close shop.

Think for a minute about one Texas sector that relies heavily on immigrant workers: construction. A typical Texas construction worker earns more than $50,000 a year if he regularly works overtime. Employers say they do everything they can to attract native-born workers. But few young Americans want to do hard physical labor, particularly in our climate. And in the less-skilled construction trades – masonry, concrete, drywall, tile – more than 80 percent of Texas' workforce is Latino.

Meanwhile, sectors like farming, which compete with construction and pay less, often can't find workers. Things have gotten so bad this year that one Rio Grande Valley farmer had to stand by and watch as $400,000 worth of cantaloupes rotted in the fields because he couldn't find workers to pick them.

These immigrant laborers aren't just the backbone of their companies; they're also the backbone of the regional economy. Out in the Rio Grande Valley, at least a dozen other local businesses – from grocery stores to companies that supply fertilizer and farm machinery – see their profits rise and fall with those of the local farm. And scores of native-born workers would be out of work if the farm closed or moved across the border.

As for construction, Dallas-area school systems alone underwent $750 million worth of construction this summer. According to industry executives, without foreign-born workers, few of those new or renovated classrooms would have been ready when school opened this month.

You hear the same story across the U.S. A relatively small number of foreign workers keeps millions of native-born Americans employed. This, in turn, keeps the economy growing, and we all share in the prosperity that results.

Not only that, but immigrant workers renew and reinvigorate America. They remind us what it's like to give a job your all. We talk about old-fashioned family values; they live them. And those of us who cherish our faith and love our country can only rejoice at their devotion to both.

As chairmen, CEOs and stockholders, we call on Congress to act – to go back to Washington and pass realistic immigration reform that provides the workers we need to keep our businesses growing.

We understand that this will include workplace enforcement. In fact, we welcome reform that gives us the tools to stay on the right side of the law. The important thing is that this vital part of the economy be brought under the rule and protection of the law.

Neither the immigrants here today nor those we will need in the future should have to live in the shadows. These are good people with good values doing work that we need done, reaching for the American Dream and helping make it a reality for all. As we value the work, let us value the worker – and let's fix the law so that it serves all Americans.

Signed,

Bo Pilgrim
Pilgrim's Pride, Pittsburg

Harold Simmons
Contran Corporation, Dallas

Bob Perry
Perry Homes, Houston

Vance Miller
Henry S. Miller, Dallas

J. Huffines
Huffines Auto Group, Dallas

Red McCombs
McCombs Enterprises, San Antonio

W.L. Hunt
Hunt Building Corporation, El Paso

James Leininger
M.D., San Antonio

Phil Adams
Phil Adams Company, Bryan

Bob Barnes
Schlotzsky's, Austin

Kent Hance
Hance Scarborough Wright, Dallas

Tom Loeffler
Loeffler Tuggey Pauerstein Rosenthal LLP, San Antonio

Louis Beecherl
Beecherl Investments, Dallas

Henry J. "Bud" Smith
Bud Smith Organization, Dallas

Dennis Nixon
IBC Bank, Laredo

Ernesto Ancira Jr.
Ancira Enterprises, San Antonio

Tom Hewitt
Interstate Hotels & Resorts

Tom Corcoran
FelCor Lodging Trust Inc.

Lionel Sosa
MATT.org, San Antonio

Henry Cisneros
CityView, San Antonio

Henry R. Muñoz III
Kell Muñoz Architects, San Antonio

Harold MacDowell
TDIndustries, Dallas

Pedro Aguirre
Aguirre Corporation, Dallas

Robert "Buddy" Barnes
Dee Brown Inc., Garland

Stephen M. Pitt
Boulder Imports, Houston

Brad Bouma
Select Milk Producers Inc., Plainview

Wayne Palla
Dairy Farmers of America, Grapevine

Jim Baird
Lone Star Milk Producers Inc., Windthorst

Randy Davis
Greenleaf Nursery, El Campo

Josh Bracken
Nicholson-Hardie Garden Centers, Dallas

David R. Pinkus
Tawakoni Plant Farm, Wills Point

Don Darby
Darby Greenhouses & Farms, Jacksonville

Georges Le Mener
Accor North America, Carrollton

Stevan Porter
InterContinental Hotels Group

John Caparella
Gaylord Hotels

Tony Farris
Quorum Hotels

These businesses should be boycotted as they may already be employing illegals. We need more educated English speaking people or those willing to learn English in this country. I know of cases where people that are here from England, South Africa, and Canada; can only keep getting work visas and not residency. They work in nursing, boat navigation systems and/or repairs and other jobs where they are needed. Why don't businesses fight to allow those people to stay as residents? They already speak the language, pay taxes, have health insurance and keep their money in the United States, thereby fuelling our economy. Those people are now the victims of discrimination and not Hispanics.

I have the feeling all these guys are for Jorges "Comprehensive Reform". Haven't read thoroughly but if I read between the lines you hear things like "we don't try to hire illegals", "the government hasn't given us the tools", "can't find workers" couple all this with a report I heard on the radio this AM from Dallas Morning News, since 2005, household incomes in the North Texas area adjusted for inflation is down on average by 16%. This report said squarely that it is due to "migration". Another way of saying Illegals. The poverty rate in North Texas is also up 2%.

The one cantaloupe farmer who watched 400,000 in produce rot in his field cause he couldn't find workers...give me a break...so he just stood their scratching his ass wondering what to do...try thinking...try something new and different like pay an American Citizen a decent wage and you will fill that field with high school and college students needing to make money. More of the same whining dribble.

Their next PR move will be to like concerned businesses in America fighting for The Constitution and upholding the law. Where is that bucket?

Trouble

This group of employers is trying to make us feel sympathetic towards their "plight." There may be a somewhat shrinking pool of American workers, but there are ways around that. For example, mold your company to do business with 5 to 8 employees, for example, than using 20 or 30. Too bad if it means less "big" jobs.

I've been thinking that local companies should partner with local high schools and vocational schools and community colleges to find employees, from their communities. It'd be a win-win situation. It would help the problem somewhat.

All of the "additional" construction expansion would be unnecessary if the illegals were kicked out. With less population, the roads would need less repair, schools wouldn't be as overcrowded, etc.

Ostrich

Jacoby said she still hopes for an immigration bill before the November election and believes only about 20 percent of the public favors a tough, enforcement-only approach.

Man, this lady must be living in the twilight zone!

Corporate America is beginning to get very nervous now and as a result the fangs are starting to come out! These folks have a one-track mind that is only concerned about net profit for their companies and businesses - forget what's good for America and the American public in general.

The truth about cheap labor

Isn't cheap labor what the whole immigration issue is about? Business's don't want to pay a decent wage, consumers don't want expensive produce.

Government will tell you Americans don't want the jobs but the bottom line is cheap labor is a myth, a farce, a lie.

Take for example, an illegal who sneaks in here with his wife and five children, takes a job at a lower wage. At that wage, with six dependents, he pays no income tax, but when he files income tax he gets an earned income credit of $3,200 free, qualifies for Section 8 housing and subsidized rent, qualifies for food stamps, free health care, children get free breakfasts and lunches at school, which requires bilingual teachers and books, gets relief on high energy bills. If they become aged, blind or disabled, they qualify for SSI. When that happens they can qualify for Medicare. All this at the taxpayers' expense.

Not a worry about car insurance, life insurance or homeowners insurance. Taxpayers provide Spanish-language signs, bulletins and printed material. He cannot be fired, harassed or sued. He and his family receive the equivalent of $20 to $30 an hour in benefits. Working Americans are lucky to have $5 or $6 an hour left after paying their bills and his. We also pay for increased crime and trash cleanup.

Cheap labor? Yeah, right. Work hard and pay your taxes, 12 million illegal aliens are counting on you!