Thread: Work ethic, not wages, is why employers hire illegal immigra

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February 5, 2007


Ruben Navarrette
Work ethic, not wages, is why employers hire illegal immigrants
February 5, 2007


SAN DIEGO -- It's the big lie of the immigration debate: Namely, that Americans would eagerly and gladly do the jobs being done by illegal immigrants if only wages were higher.
It started out as a rebuttal to President Bush's insistence that illegal immigrants "do jobs that Americans won't do." Anti-illegal immigrant crusaders responded that these are actually "jobs that Americans won't do . . . for the wages offered."
There are actually people out there who like to believe that there's some magical hourly or daily wage that an employer could offer at which a slew of Americans would leave their desk jobs and line up for a chance to do some of the hardest, dirtiest and crummiest jobs our society has to offer. In many cases, there is no such wage.
Still, someone has to do these types of jobs. And when employers try to fill them with illegal immigrants, they get crossways with native-born workers who are suddenly eager to do the very jobs that they and their families have shunned for a generation.
A recently filed class-action lawsuit against Tyson Foods Inc. insists that the world's largest meat processing company has kept wages low by hiring illegal immigrants. The suit by former and current employees alleges that the company violated federal racketeering law, and that wages have dropped between 10 percent and 30 percent since the company began hiring large numbers of illegal immigrants. If the claim is successful, the alleged damages could exceed $150 million.
Tyson has been in the headlines before. In 2003, the company was acquitted in federal court of charges that it conspired to run an employee-recruitment initiative that resembled a smuggling operation. The government alleged that Tyson managers hired intermediaries to transport hundreds of illegal immigrants across the U.S.-Mexico border and place them in more than a dozen Tyson plants.
Meanwhile, two months ago federal immigration agents raided a number of Swift & Co. meatpacking plants and arrested hundreds of illegal immigrants, some of whom were charged with identity theft.
We're told that employers hire illegal immigrants because they're willing to work for less than American workers. But it's more complicated. The issue is also how immigrants, illegal or not, approach the very institution of work. While many native-born Americans have come to consider labor a nuisance -- especially if it is low-skilled, physical labor -- immigrants have tended to see work as an opportunity to get ahead in America and fulfill the promise that brought them here.
Think about your own immigrant parents or grandparents, and what they were willing to do for a dollar. Then think about what you would do.
Of course, employers shouldn't knowingly hire illegal immigrants, and those who do so should be punished. But, as I've come to realize over the years, the fact that employers are hiring illegal immigrants doesn't necessarily amount to exploitation. And, from what I gather, many employers resent the accusation.
I've heard from employers who say that, when they try to hire Americans, all they get are headaches and demands and complaints and demands and attitude and more demands. Once on the job, the employers say, many of these employees don't want to work; in fact, they spend their energy trying to find creative ways not to work and still get paid. Some quit after only a few weeks on the job, but not before making the employer feel as if they're doing him a favor instead of the other way around. In some cases, even the low-skilled are demanding high salaries because they value their time as much as the high-skilled workers do.
This might include the workers at a construction firm in Denver that was recently the subject of a report by Tom Brokaw of NBC. In the segment, the owner of the firm complained that some of the American workers he hired for as much as $15 an hour would quit after only a few weeks on the job. What was the problem there? Certainly not the wages.
One employer told me that when she hired the native-born she got a barrage of questions: "How much does this job pay? What are the benefits? How much vacation time do I get?" But when she hired immigrants, some of whom may have been illegal, she got only one question: "How much work can you give me?" Now, which one would you rather have working for you?
I still don't condone the hiring of illegal immigrants, but I'm beginning to understand it.

This 'explanation' lets the employer off the hook for workplace safety, a living wage, and 100 years of labor rights progress.

There is an economics to illegal immigration that we all see. The larger numbers of people per housing unit, the lower standard of living, the reliance on various types of public assistance, using the emergency room as their primary physician, not having drivers insurance, etc.

If we are not willing to live like I just described, does that make us unreasonable and greedy? Does that mean we're not willing to work hard? Or does it mean that pumping huge numbers of desperate, docile people into our labor market is devaluing human life?

One employer told me that when she hired the native-born she got a barrage of questions: "How much does this job pay? What are the benefits? How much vacation time do I get?" But when she hired immigrants, some of whom may have been illegal, she got only one question: "How much work can you give me?" Now, which one would you rather have working for you?

Pleeeeeeese, give me a break! What does this employer think is going to happen when all those illegals she's hiring become legal and no longer fear la-Migra, the man, police, ICE or whatever law enforcement agency happens to be busting their butt at the moment? She shouldn't for one minute presume that these folks won't then start making demands and start insisting on a living wage. IMO, the illegals have already proven, through protest and marches, that when they come out of the shadows - they're coming out in full-force! Legalizing the illegals currently in the United States is only a temporary fix. Sure it'll move the issue out of the spotlight for 5-10 years, but the illegal hiring will continue because our government doesn't have the will to sustain any kind of serious enforcement against the companies or future illegals. Hey, there are just too many pork projects to spend our money on.

This discussion shouldn't even be happening until our border is at least 90% secured against future illegal crossings. Personally, I think we're along way from that 90% number.

FYI: I believe most of us can agree that our government isn't competent enough to secure our border 100% against illegal intrusions.

Most of the illegals from mexico are the low lives that don't want to work but want to be given the benefits that belong to americans. We have americans that want to work and can do the jobs. Enough of the lies from the pro-amnesty group.

One employer told me that when she hired the native-born she got a barrage of questions: "How much does this job pay? What are the benefits? How much vacation time do I get?" But when she hired immigrants, some of whom may have been illegal, she got only one question: "How much work can you give me?" Now, which one would you rather have working for you?

Maybe the 'native-born' don't want to be treated as slaves and know that they have certain rights and expectations in a modern economy...
Did that ever occur to you Mr. Navarette, or said employer person?
The reason illegals will go along with such exploitation is they have little or no other choice (are, in essence, modern day 'slaves').

All this talk about ethics. Where are the employers ethics when he replaces an American neighbor, taxpayer customer and Vet with an
illegal boot licking invader?

Does the high ethical employers kids have to go to a sub standard school?

You employers make me sick. Ruin America for profit

Typical Ruben. Create a huge generalization /stereotype from a pair of anecdotes. Next week he'll be blaming others for doing that. It's amazing that they print his tripe. He wouldn't last a couple of pages in forum or blog.

pulease.....spare me this "work ethic" nonsense. My experience
with the work ethic of laborer hispanics is that they do less work,
a LOT less work, IF they speak English. The better their English,
the less is their work ethic. The younger, the more docile and
hardworking is the worker. However, when a laborer hits 40, and he speaks English, he brings a 20 year old who does the work. The 40 year olds are those that benefited from the last amnesty, and do they
have a screw the gringo (or gringa, if there is such a word).

The article sarcastically asks if well paid white collar workers are going to take some of these low wage, lower skill jobs. Of course not! But as I try to explain to people here in northern NJ (which is quite affluent) we have millions of people in this country who actually don't go to college - or even finish high school for that matter. Let's at least try to get these people the jobs we are currently giving to illegal immigrants - and of course pay them decent wages. If I could really be convinced that the only way to fill certain jobs was with immigrant labor I would be open to it - but of course even then it would have to be regulated, not this out of control b.s we have going on now.

Work ethic, not wages, is why employers hire illegal immigrants

Really? I thought it was because they did not want to have pay for things like health insurance.