Thread: Temp worker bill advances in Ariz. House

Temp worker bill advances in Ariz. House
Ronald J. Hansen
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 18, 2008 05:16 PM

Gene Feldman said he checks the employment eligibility of all the workers at his structural steel company and has advertised in an effort to fill empty jobs that pay at least $12 an hour.

Still, the Tempe business owner is losing workers.

"We've hired one person since Jan. 1. He came from out of state," Feldman told Arizona lawmakers. "I'm very confident about my business and very worried about the future."





Feldman, like many employers, wants the Legislature to pass a bill that would seek federal permission for Arizona to create and run a guest-worker program for Mexicans to fill jobs Americans aren't taking.

In the wake of the state's new employer-sanctions law, which threatens to pull licenses from businesses that knowingly employ illegal immigrants, the proposed legislation is seen as another bold step toward addressing a problem that federal authorities have not.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Bill Konopnicki, R-Safford, passed 6-0 Monday in a hearing of the House Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee that he chairs. Rep. Albert Tom, D-Chambers, voted present. A similar bill introduced by Sen. Marsha Arzberger, D-Willcox, is pending in the Senate.

At least 27 lawmakers have signed on as sponsors to the bills - 18 Democrats and nine Republicans. Lawmakers in Colorado and Kansas have inquired about the plan Arizona is considering, Arzberger said. Even so, it is unclear whether the bills have enough support to receive a vote in either chamber.

Critics have suggested a temporary-worker program needs to be passed by Congress, and that Americans would fill such jobs if wages were not undercut by foreign workers.

"This bill will allow many people who are here illegally . . . to get back-door amnesty," said Carl Seel, chairman of the PAChyderm Coalition, a pro-Republican organization that opposes the legislation. He tried to equate the proposal with slavery, a move Konopnicki rejected as untrue and off point.

Konopnicki stressed that the bill would create a two-year test program that allowed only legal immigrants from Mexico who would be screened and monitored. It doesn't offer a path to citizenship or residency and would require the workers to remain with a sponsoring employer.

Jennifer Allen, executive director of the Border Action Network, said the bill is a good start, but should ensure safe working conditions and promised wages for workers. Ideally, it should allow those workers to work with other employers if they want, she said.

The legislation comes as the Bush administration has proposed loosening and expanding the existing H-2A program for growers to hire foreign workers on a temporary basis. That program is considered overly cumbersome and is seldom used.

Reach the reporter at ronald.hansen@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4493.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... s0219.html

There are still a lot of Americans facing domestic unemployment in depressed areas around the United States. If the Arizona employers need workers it would be a good idea for them to advertise there.

$12 an hour ain't squat. They are still trying to run with their profit agenda by exploiting illegal aliens. The new law was intended to oust illegals and to replace them with American citizens who don't have jobs. The American citizens are not likely to accept those jobs for $12 an hour. Just because a company pays a position a certain amount doesn't mean that the company is correct in defining the correct wage for that job. A steel worker's position should pay more than $12 an hour.

Unlike many illegals, most Americans have too many roots and possessions to simply jump on a bus with a knapsack and go to AZ for $12 an hour. This is the wage the years of hiring illegals has brought about. What if Mr Steelman Business owner paid transportation, and moving expenses? I moved , years ago, from a very high cost of living area to a very nice area in the country. My job paid less than I was making in the previous location. (I am retired now.) The cost of living difference (Buying a house, taxes, etc), were significantly lower and I feel that I got a whole better life for a lot less money. I had more money in pocket after paying all my bills than I ever had in my life.
So Mr employer--dig down, offer M&L. Show the people how much houses rent or sell for in your area. Show them how good the schools can be when English is the language. You may be shocked to find more apllicants than you think.
Finally, if you are such a darn good businessman, why do I have to tell you this??
You got yourself in the trap through greed.

Originally Posted by Rockfish

$12 an hour ain't squat.

I totally agree, 20 years ago ironworkers were making twice that much!

On my way home tonight I had a thought. I maybe a slow thinker here. It seems that many of our technical jobs and call centers are being moved out of the country. NAFTA. It seems that maybe there are a corporations that would just have to pay to much money to move outside of the US like the others have. So, these corporations have made a deal with the government. If we can't afford to move our businesses off shore then lets bring the world to us. Thus the Bush administration moves in and BINGO! Illegal Immigration.
Lets make the middle class pay for schooling, health care and welfare to feed these people.
BINGO! In comes the Bush administration and Ilegal Immigration. If we can't send our jobs overseas then lets send them into the US to work. Either way the Bush's and the Clintons win. We still lose our jobs, either within or overseas.

Until the legals are brought in with the proper checks and balances, made to pay taxes and the employers are forced to pay them benefits there is going to be the same problems over and over again. If the illegal can still come and have babies and collect welfare the problem will never go away. No one can convince me that is this was not going on the illegals would all go home.
Make them make an honest day wages which includes taxation and the employees to pay benefits they would not be here. They would not be able to afford to buy those big SUV's and the gas they take to power them.

Originally Posted by Richard

There are still a lot of Americans facing domestic unemployment in depressed areas around the United States. If the Arizona employers need workers it would be a good idea for them to advertise there.

Michigan.....has one of the highest unemplyment rates in the country...advertise there. Offer to help them find affordable housing and they will come.....

I knew one ironworker who sometimes worked only half the year and turned down offers of double time work. East coast. however as the new home construction declines construction employees may also be interested. People do relocate . My best friend moved to Az in the late 90's. Lower wages but significatly lower cost of living. Maybe steel business owner should advertise in Ohio and Michigan. Many blue collar workers have lost their jobs there to Mexico and Red China.

Originally Posted by tubby

I knew one ironworker who sometimes worked only half the year and turned down offers of double time work. East coast. however as the new home construction declines construction employees may also be interested. People do relocate . My best friend moved to Az in the late 90's. Lower wages but significatly lower cost of living. Maybe steel business owner should advertise in Ohio and Michigan. Many blue collar workers have lost their jobs there to Mexico and Red China.

I can attest to that. I moved to AZ in '92 and believe it or not, this was still a decent place to live and a real land of opportunity in every sense of the word.

The majority of our neighbors were all transplants from out of state. We had a lot who came to work in manufacturing, tech, and other business fields like banking, but most were employed in the construction trades, most from areas where they spent the winters unemployed because they couldn't work in the weather, and this was Eden to them. No shortage of money to pay bills, their families had full coverage through their employers, they could finally afford to purchase a home, get rid of the clunkers and buy dependable vehicles, take vacations for the very first time ever. In other words....they were truly living the American Dream. True, the wages were lower but this was offset by the low cost of living, year round work, and more overtime than they could possibly imagine.

It's within the last 5-6 years that things have gone really wrong here. It was there, I'm sure, in a trickle but nothing that was noticeable. It's within that time frame that the negative impact became so widespread and apparent effecting huge numbers of people all at once.

It really is disgusting, and tragic, to see what has become of this state in such a short period of time.