Thread: Iowa Workers lose jobs, pay to immigrants

Roofers,other workers lose jobs, pay to immigrants

By LEE ROOD • lrood@dmreg.com • October 3, 2010

What has been good for state coffers, some industries and immigrant families has been hard on some workers.

At the Roofers Local Union 142 in Des Moines, Bob Pearson can tell you all about the good-paying union jobs lost in an industry he says has been overrun in recent years by undocumented workers.

Pearson, the union's business manager, said just three union shops for roofers exist now in the region covering central and western Iow

Union workers make $11 to $30 an hour, he said, but it's not uncommon to find undocumented workers tearing off roofs for cash, making less than the $7.25-an-hour minimum wage.

"It's a major problem in this business," he said. "We've lost all the union shops in Nebraska. They've got people there working for a fourth of what they should be making. It's like they are coming up by the semi-full, and it's the business owners who are profiting."

But even as workers such as roofers and construction employees cry foul, business owners in agriculture and food processing say immigrant workers are still needed.

Farmers across the state have said Iowa needs a worker program that would allow them to tap migrant labor for extended periods. Aging populations dominate rural areas in Iowa, where local workers are hard to find.

"I can't hire a nonexistent work force," said Darin Dykstra, whose 3,000-head dairy operation in northwest Iowa relies on immigrant labor.

Dykstra, of Maurice, pays roughly $10.50 to $16 an hour, plus health care and paid vacation after three months. He said local workers tend to quit after a few shifts, so all but one of his 32 employees are Hispanic immigrants. The same is true of his whole industry, he said.

"If all the dairies in Iowa were raided tomorrow, it would be a disaster for the state," he said.

Dykstra said his operation runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so he needs reliable workers.

The Hispanics he has employed are reliable, and "I think they are also more in touch with agriculture," he said.

Dykstra said he has listened to people such as U.S. Rep. Steve King, the western Iowa Republican, call loudly for greater enforcement, but he said Congress first needs to offer employers workable programs - like a guest worker program - that aren't cumbersome.

This year, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, a former Iowa governor, told Politico that without labor provided by unauthorized immigrants, Americans would spend a lot more - "three, four or five times more - for food, or we would have to import food and have all the food security risks."

King criticized those comments, saying illegal immigrants were taking American jobs and sapping social safety-net programs.

Economists say changes in immigration don't tend to affect the unemployment rate.

Anti-illegal immigration groups such as FAIR have argued that the presence of unauthorized immigrants in Iowa has not only driven down wages but also driven up the price of housing and health care in heavily Hispanic areas, such as Buena Vista County.

Research by Harvard University professor George Borjas has documented immigration-related wage reductions. By increasing the labor supply, immigration reduced the average annual earnings of U.S.-born men by an estimated $1,700, or roughly 4 percent.

The impact was greatest, about 7.4 percent, among those born in the United States who did not graduate from high school - roughly the poorest one-tenth of the work force at the time. Roughly 90 percent of adults in Iowa households have high school diplomas or more education, according to the latest three-year estimates - 2006-08 - from the U.S. Census.

The reduction in earnings occurred regardless of whether the immigrants were legal or illegal, permanent or temporary. It was the presence of additional workers that reduced wages, not their legal status.

While some lawmakers favor requiring better verification of workers' status using programs like E-Verify, business leaders worry about the expense and accuracy of such systems.

Ed Wallace of the Iowa Taxpayers Association said his group represents 160 companies, many of them multinational in biosciences and agriculture.

"Many of them want to do due diligence and want to make sure they have documented people," he said. "But it can be sometimes very, very difficult."
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/articl ... immigrants

Dykstra, of Maurice, pays roughly $10.50 to $16 an hour, plus health care and paid vacation after three months. He said local workers tend to quit after a few shifts, so all but one of his 32 employees are Hispanic immigrants. The same is true of his whole industry, he said.

BULL **** ( pun intended!) if this guy offered $16 an hour he'd have to beat AMERICAN workers off of him with a stick!

Anti-illegal immigration groups such as FAIR have argued that the presence of unauthorized immigrants in Iowa has not only driven down wages but also driven up the price of housing and health care in heavily Hispanic areas, such as Buena Vista County.

Research by Harvard University professor George Borjas has documented immigration-related wage reductions. By increasing the labor supply, immigration reduced the average annual earnings of U.S.-born men by an estimated $1,700, or roughly 4 percent.

My husband was a framer of new homes for years. There were many times when he could not find work. We would drive around the area and see many hispanics framing houses. When we would stop and try to talk with them only one or two could speak any english. We would tell them that we are hiring people who are here legally and was told no one had a green card.
The video below reminds me of my husband.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KGlBHyVeYU

Originally Posted by nomas

Dykstra, of Maurice, pays roughly $10.50 to $16 an hour, plus health care and paid vacation after three months. He said local workers tend to quit after a few shifts, so all but one of his 32 employees are Hispanic immigrants. The same is true of his whole industry, he said.

BULL **** ( pun intended!) if this guy offered $16 an hour he'd have to beat AMERICAN workers off of him with a stick!

[quote:19uy9j10]
Anti-illegal immigration groups such as FAIR have argued that the presence of unauthorized immigrants in Iowa has not only driven down wages but also driven up the price of housing and health care in heavily Hispanic areas, such as Buena Vista County.

Research by Harvard University professor George Borjas has documented immigration-relatedwage reductions. By increasing the labor supply, immigration reduced the average annual earnings of U.S.-born men by an estimated $1,700, or roughly 4 percent.

[/quote:19uy9j10]

Immigration related. Oh really?? How about criminal related wage reductions. This has NOTHING to do with immigration! An immigrant, by definition will be legal, pay taxes and compete in a job market with others on the same level playing field. What is it with these fools, do they really not know or understand the difference??

With 3000 cows the man can afford a dairy milking robot one of the fastest selling items in the automation field. Meanwhile who is paying for these peoples childrens education and family health, we are.

Aging populations dominate rural areas in Iowa, where local workers are hard to find.

Because the illegal aliens have driven all the young people out.

Dixie

added to homepage
http://www.alipac.us/article5709.html

Originally Posted by Dixie

Aging populations dominate rural areas in Iowa, where local workers are hard to find.

Because the illegal aliens have driven all the young people out.

Dixie

Yes and I'm thankful that my adult children have not decided to live in my town. Two of the main reasons we stay here is because my DH is getting close to retirement age and we must have health insurance. Retirement may be the time for us to leave too.

I've told you guys what IA's have done to my job, now my son is suffering the same thing, they do not want my job, it's to dirty and hard. The only immigrants in the fields are newbees who have not had a chance to shop around yet. They all want the good jobs, the cush jobs the easy good paying jobs that we'd all love to have.(dream act) I feel so betrayed by this country! Dems, Repubs. doesn't matter they are all liars and thieves, funny every IA I ever met was the same damn way. The few roofs we've been getting is because we're willing to do them for 200 or 300 dollars less then the IA's Illegal Immigrant is to soft of a analogy for these people. They turned they're own country into a giant porta pot. drug warehouse,munitions depot, bed bugs were erradicated from the the U.S. back in the 50's and no one but you has the guts to say why they're back, along with scabies, mrsa,Tb and every thing else America spent alot of time and money to get rid of. well we're spending a lot of time and money now only it isn't getting rid of it. Sorry I just saw the words Roofing and illegal immigrants and just felt betrayed all over again. Mandatory E-verify that's our only defense against this intrusion of the quality of our lives. Just gettin' by isn't quality. Thanks Alipac for bein' here.

Originally Posted by stevetheroofer

They turned they're own country into a giant porta pot. drug warehouse,munitions depot, bed bugs were erradicated from the the U.S. back in the 50's and no one but you has the guts to say why they're back, along with scabies, mrsa,Tb and every thing else America spent alot of time and money to get rid of. well we're spending a lot of time and money now only it isn't getting rid of it. Sorry I just saw the words Roofing and illegal immigrants and just felt betrayed all over again. Mandatory E-verify that's our only defense against this intrusion of the quality of our lives. Just gettin' by isn't quality. Thanks Alipac for bein' here.

I know how you feel Steve. We are glad you are here, this site gives me hope that enough people are willing to finally take a stand!

Some in my family thought I was taking things to the extreme, until that is they paid attention to how much Corporate America has betrayed us! Just to show them I challenged them to actually READ the label! What used to say "MADE IN AMERICA" now reads made in China, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador. My point being that these comapnies took OUR jobs to another Country, but actually expect us to still support them? NOT HAPPENIN' ( for me at least), they will not get one dime of my money. I also call the company on the fact that they have betrayed the US worker in their time of need. I may be only one person, but word of mouth still carries weight when people ask for a reccomendation ( spelling?)!