California gets taste of life without immigrant workers

AP on Bakersfield Californian ^ | 5/1/06 | Lisa Leff - ap

[Randy Larsen]

clalupa(s)=chalupa(s)

[timestax]

those illegals are killing the "golden goose".

[Captainpaintball]

To use a turn of phraase made popular by noted Playboy bunny Gloria Steinem...

A day without an illegal... is like a fish without a bicycle!!!

[NormsRevenge]

Quotes from California's immigration rallies
The Bakersfield Californian

http://www.bakersfield.com/119/story/49235.html

Quotes from California's immigration rallies:

"This country needs us. We are the strong arms doing all the tough jobs." Donna Maria Mostache, 43, an illegal immigrant from Mexico protesting in Los Angeles.

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"We're here. And all we're asking is fair treatment for everyone. We don't want immigrants to be criminalized." Catalina Hernandez, a protester who marched to Los Angeles City Hall with a niece and nephew.

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"We pay our taxes, we obey the law, we are learning English, our lives are here." Monica de la Torre, a 24-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico, at the Los Angeles demonstration.

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"If he's even five minutes late, I worry that he'll never come home. This is in our face every day. And it's not just about Mexicans. It's about people like me. It's about all of us. It's about what it means to be American." Linnea Pierrard, 37, a teacher who attended a San Francisco rally with her husband, an illegal immigrant.

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"What everyone here is doing is making themselves visible instead of being inside working in a kitchen or taking care of other people's kids - doing jobs that other people don't want to do." Daniel Gonzalez, a 25-year-old Los Angeles artist who is the son of Mexican immigrants.

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"We can't have any more people come here." Police Lt. Art DeClercq in Huntington Park, where some 25,000 people jammed a park.

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"I find this kind of occasion a civil exultation where people basically celebrate diversity and the multicultural essence of America." Steven Black, 44, a U.S. citizen originally from Canada, at a San Francisco rally.

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"I said they are going to be with me - protesting." Ruby Martinez, explaining that she refused to write a sick note to explain her children's absence from school to attend the Los Angeles protest.

[VOA]

Jack Kyser, chief economist of the Los Angeles Economic development Corp.,
said the economic fallout of the one-day boycott could be as high as
$200 million in Los Angeles County. The estimate, a fraction of
the $1.2 billion in economic activity the county generates daily,
consisted of business lost on Monday and took into consideration commerce
that would be made up later in the week.

Talk about an under-reported metric.
So the boycott ain't the big economic earthquake predicted by
the La Raza and MeChA activists.
When you look at the effect of a $200 million dollar loss on one
year's bidness.

And Kyser is often on Los Angeles-area TV giving economic forecasts
for the area.

Too bad the forecast couldn't include all the money saved on tranquilizers
and antidepressants a lot of folks could forego with the reductions
in traffic, noise and other urban aggravations caused by the illegals' overload
of the infrastructure.

[Kellis91789]

Good for you ! But asking for a little more sugar never hurt !

[Kellis91789]

If only they were that bright ...

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Mexican restaurants can expect a dearth of ''gringo'' customers for a long time to come.

Well said. I'll eat at Taco Bell instead.

[djreece]

Thank you for posting this. I was especially interested in this tidbit:

Sean McNally, a spokesman for Grimmway Farms in Bakersfield, said the company was down to less than 30 percent of its normal work force, but didn't have to close any of its vegetable-growing operations.

"We made it clear there would be no repercussions if they wanted to take that day off. We wanted them to feel free to express themselves," McNally said.

I have been taking notes on companies and businesses that I typically patronize. I used to buy Grimmway carrots, but now I know better. :-)

Today was a great service to those of us who want to make sure our hard-earned dollars support those who love the U.S. and respect our laws.

[EternalVigilance]

I think its great that Americans were there to do the jobs that illegal immigrants wouldnt do.

That one'd go down in the alltime FReeper Hall of Fame, if there was one! :-)

[Kellis91789]

Be sure to drop them a note so they understand why they lost your business.

[talmand]

Here in Las Vegas the only difference I saw was the home and garden store down the road from the house didn't have thirty immigrants standing around waiting for work. Today there were about six or seven. Traffic seemed the same to me on the way to work. One local news report claimed thousands marched on Fremont St. while a later report claimed hundreds of thousands marched on Fremont. Not sure which was correct but from the video I've seen the hundreds of thousands is slightly off. As if that many could fit on Fremont in the first place.

Have a friend that's high up in one of the casino hotels on the strip that was told to go to work today in blue jeans in case they needed more bodies to make beds and clean rooms. Apparently around six called in sick so he got to spend the day in comfortable clothes for a change.

I imagine around here the hispanic areas were the hardest hit which is stupid because that's the opposite of the supposed goal. The whole thing is just stupid.

[TheSpottedOwl]

I wonder if the illegals were gone, would you still have legal day laborers in your area???

I suggested to my 18 yr old son that he should hang out in front of Home Depot. He can't find any work. He even applied at a restaurant where the owner is supposedly friends with his father. No dice.

Bartering and networking doesn't pay the bills. Maybe every unemployed American should show up at Home Depot the next time the illegals take the day off.

[MissAmericanPie]

I see a multitude of illegals at the mall, but they never seem to have a bag in their hands, indicating they have purchased anything. Walmart is a different story, they actually roll a cart around and buy stuff.

[LadyNavyVet]

So if your remodeling job done by illegals had gone well, you WOULD be willing to hire illegals again?

[TLI]

Went to Walmart for the first time in 3 yrs,

Me as well. It was packed. I also did a bit of driving around on a long lunch. 100% open. All normal. I am in north Dallas.

[stylin_geek]

Well, the people who are staging these rallies are operating under the illusion that illegals are indispensable. I find the arrogance of that position to be astounding. You know the old saying, "The graveyards are full of indispensable men."

[SierraWasp]

Did you come down across the bridge to get that, or have they put one in up where you live?

[Watershed]

are you confessing to supporting illegals, or distinguishing between those here legally doing the right thing and those who aren't?

Huh??? I was simply reporting some good news about some dedicated employees who were rewarded. Illegals? Actually, no---American hispanic citizens.

[Schatze]

The weather this past winter was quite challenging ...

If it makes you feel any better, the weather in California sucked this winter. We had seven weeks of nothing but rain in the Bay Area.

I understand why you felt the need to leave. Things are bad enough now, but if we get a demonrat governor, I may have to pack my bags, too.