Illegal aliens caught on their way to work at a federal housing project

Examiner.com ^ | December 28th, 2010 | Dave Gibson

[Kimberly GG]

“Because hiring illegals on a union crew defeats the purpose of hiring illegals. It’s just not done that often. “

I’m not so sure that illegals, as union members, receive the same ‘benefits’ or ‘pay’ as other union members...but I’ll bet they pay FULL union dues.

In many cases the unions are just as corrupt as the employers and will broker deals with employers... like reducing employees to part-time status, with less pay, no benefits, but, they still must pay FULL union dues. So much for the union backing their members.

[Plumberman27]

Not in Pennsylvania. The only licenses needed are electrical and plumbing. Any shoemaker can install furnaces, concrete, carpentry work. When one thinks about it those two sciences put all the other simple trades to shame. Any idiot can nail boards together or install ductwork. Wiring improperly can kill somebody and we all see the effects of bad plumbing and deaths caused by it through diseases.

[Plumberman27]

I have yet to see an illegal alien on project that is union employed by a union contractor. But i sure have seen tons of them on non union housing projects. I saw a whole neighborhood built by them and the work was lousy and very sub par. If i did not personally know the developer i would have turned him in.

[Lurker]

I have yet to see an illegal alien on project that is union employed by a union contractor.

Then you live in a pretty insulated little bubble. As in IT consultant I see both PW and union projects and I've seen just as many union workers who can't speak a lick of English as I do on PW projects.

On one project they're Jose, the next project they're Tomas...

If i did not personally know the developer i would have turned him in.

And yet for all your self-righteous blather you have no problem covering criminal activity up when it suits you. How very....hypocritical of you.

[triumphant values]

I’m not so sure that illegals, as union members, receive the same ‘benefits’ or ‘pay’ as other union members...but I’ll bet they pay FULL union dues.

In construction trade unions the benefits are paid out of the dues, so there's not any benefit to the union to have a less paid employee like an illegal.

It's not set up like a manufacturers union, because the benefits are portable.

Unions are afforded almost a mythical level of evilness on FR. It's quite bizarre when they make up 9% of the private workforce, but we still have a 3.4 trillion dollar federal government.

Did you ever consider someone was giving you a head fake, when they said "look over there at what those unions are doing" while they were cleaning out the till?

Just askin'.

[Kimberly GG]

I don’t necessarily disagree with you. Unions do have their place, IMO. I don’t necessarily agree with, for example, Ohio’s ‘at will’ work laws, where a non-union employee can be fired for absolutely any or no reason given. I worked 25 years in several corporate environments and, as an Exec. Asst. was treated like a dog. Why? Because they could and knew that, for the most part, single moms feel trapped. Even when I became disabled, I was refused any short or long term disability benefits and offered instead, termination with one month’s severence. Frankly, I’m still traumatized by the whole experience.

On the other hand, until my sons were 18 yrs. old they benefited medically from their father’s membership in a meat cutter’s union. He was a union steward and manager of his department. For a union job, the pay wasn’t excessive by any means, but the stability and medical benefits were good. However, when their father turned 50 (after 30 yrs of service) the union forced him to take a ‘buyout’ and he was replaced by 2 part-time employees....company saves by lower salaries, union gains because each pay full union dues. So what is he doing now? Cutting meat part-time, at an entry level salary and paying full union dues.

Honestly, sometimes I don’t know which is worse.