[Democrat] Lawmaker rips golf club for employing [legal] immigrants

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | July 01, 2006 | Dennis B. Roddy

[grundle]

State Rep. Tony DeLuca, D-Penn Hills -- whose grandparents came here from Italy -- has issued an open letter denouncing Fox Chapel Golf Club for hiring immigrants to maintain its greens.

The open letter complains that the club is "robbing our college students and residents of jobs." The grounds-keeping jobs pay $7 per hour and include a house the six workers, hired from Mexico, share in the nearby town of Blawnox.

The men, who began work April 1 and will remain on the job until Dec. 1, were hired legally through the H-2B seasonal worker visa program that permits companies to hire immigrants for jobs they were unable to fill.

"I have no problem with immigrants. I find it ironic that an affluent country club has to go and bring H-2B visas in here to cut grass when we've got college kids trying to earn a buck to pay their tuitions," Mr. DeLuca said yesterday. "You mean to tell me we're short of people cutting grass now in this country?"

"We advertised the jobs," said David Cecil, the club's manager. "We received zero applications. That would pretty much thwart Rep. DeLuca's claim that we're taking jobs from people willing to work. We weren't." Mr. Cecil said several country clubs in the area also employ immigrants as groundskeepers.

[jiggyboy]

It's probably the usual scam: advertise to the minimum degree and length of time required by law, and include subsidized housing as part of a wage that can thus be even lower than mininum wage. It's designed specifically so that no locals would apply.

[cripplecreek]

"We received zero applications. That would pretty much thwart Rep. DeLuca's claim that we're taking jobs from people willing to work. We weren't."

If they can prove it I agree.

[Lancey Howard]

Smart. A private business should be able to hire the cheapest workers it can legally employ.

[Adder]

I have no problem with the jobs going to LEGAL immigrants.

Why does deLuca? Does he not get the debate? Or is he trying to muddy the waters? Deliberately.

[RexBeach]

Hey, Tony, take a breath.

[VeritatisSplendor]

"Smart. A private business should be able to hire the cheapest workers it can legally employ."

Key word is "legally." Should they be able to bring in foreign workers for the lowest wage they can? No doubt there are Chinese or Zimbabwean people who would be thrilled to do this work for $1 an hour and a cot.

Mrs VS

[Shermy]

Or no advertisements at all.

Another scam, how fitting for a country club.

[Sapper26]

Out of curiousity, what's this DeLuca's position on illegal immigration?

[MoralSense]

Blawnox? I thought Oxnard was an ugly name for a town.

[verbal voter]

HB2's historically have gone to entertainers, lifeguards and other skilled but time sensitive positions. Recently European soccer coaches have squeezed out lifeguards. It will balance out when the time limit(9 or less months) is done---unless HB2's break the law.

[verbal voter]

HB2's historically have gone to entertainers, lifeguards and other skilled but time sensitive positions. Recently European soccer coaches have squeezed out lifeguards. It will balance out when the time limit(9 or less months) is done---unless HB2's break the law.

[RFT1]

Not so smart. A business that usdes these kinds of tactics will eventually find themselves facing an electorate that will have little problem focing "business" paying the highest taxes possible. All this cheap labor at all and any cost nonsense that so many "business" are doing right now is terribly short sighted.

[Marine Inspector]

It's designed specifically so that no locals would apply.

BINGO! We have a winner!

[freedumb2003]

Racist hypocrite. Standard Fare for the Left.