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TJ Maxx, work force under fire (worried about illegal immigrants)
Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, PA) ^ | 8/19/03 | MARK SCARAMASTRO and MICHAEL McNARNEY

Posted on 08/19/2003 8:25:53 AM PDT by Born Conservative

PITTSTON TOWNSHIP: Officials, citizens voice concerns about possible illegal immigrants. By MARK SCARAMASTRO and MICHAEL McNARNEY tlnews@leader.net

More than 40 township residents, many applauding speakers critical of what they believe is a largely Hispanic work force at the new TJ Maxx warehouse, jammed Monday night's meeting of the township supervisors. Police Chief Stephen Rinaldi - out of uniform but sitting at the supervisors table - told residents and township officials not to talk about the topic.

"Don't bring the immigrants up," Rinaldi told Tom Szumski of Boston Street, who had signed up at the start of the meeting to talk about TJ Maxx.

"Why not?" a lady in the back row shot back.

"I can't divulge the information," Rinaldi said. "It's being taken care of." Rinaldi offered to tell the lady in secret, after the meeting, what was happening.

But that didn't stop Szumski, Supervisor Anthony Attardo and others from speaking out.

Szumski was concerned that illegal aliens were working at the warehouse, in the Grimes Industrial Park, and asked supervisors to call the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service to make sure workers were in the country legally.

Szumski said he owned a contracting business in California for years but was put out of business by competition hiring illegal aliens as cheap labor. He doesn't want to see the area "overrun" by illegal immigrants, he said.

"They're not going to be paying any taxes, and they're going to be getting everything for free," Szumski said. "Where do you think they are coming from, Minnesota?"

Attardo proposed a resolution endorsing strict enforcement of immigration laws in the township, but it was not acted upon. He also wants Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Philadelphia, and U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pittsburgh, to help open an INS office in the Wilkes-Barre area.

The 1-million-square-foot TJ Maxx warehouse employs about 500 and is in a Keystone Opportunity Zone that exempts the company from most taxes. All the township sees from the operation, Attardo said, is $5 per year, per employee, or about $2,500.

"We made a big mistake when we zoned the property KOZ," Attardo said.

Attardo said that when a Scranton lawyer representing TJ Maxx approached the supervisors two years ago, the township was promised that TJ Maxx would hire local people and pay them $8 to $10 an hour for general labor and $14 to $16 an hour for supervisors. There was also to be a 50-cent raise after six months and full medical benefits after 90 days.

TJ Maxx pays $6.50 an hour and almost no local residents work there, Attardo said.

"We were lied to," Attardo said.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events; US: Pennsylvania
KEYWORDS: illegalimmigrants; retail; tjmaxx

1 posted on 08/19/2003 8:25:53 AM PDT by Born Conservative
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To: Born Conservative
The 1-million-square-foot TJ Maxx warehouse employs about 500 and is in a Keystone Opportunity Zone that exempts the company from most taxes. All the township sees from the operation, Attardo said, is $5 per year, per employee, or about $2,500.

I can certainly understand why the municipality thinks it is being screwed in this case, but let's be realistic here. The underlying economic problems in the Scranton region are such that nobody would even think of building a facility of this size in that area without substantial financial incentives.

2 posted on 08/19/2003 8:31:38 AM PDT by Alberta's Child
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To: Born Conservative
Economic boycotts are our only weapon.
3 posted on 08/19/2003 8:34:44 AM PDT by tkathy
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To: tkathy
"Economic boycotts are our only weapon."

Tight-wad Americans could care less about Illegals working in the country. So long as they can buy cheap stuff and get their yard mowed for a resonable price you'll never get any support.
4 posted on 08/19/2003 8:41:07 AM PDT by Rebelbase
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To: Rebelbase
The first candidate, President Bush or otherwise, be it a libertarian, independent, democrat who addresses the issue of jobs seriously, will get my vote in 2004.

We can not simply shut down plants and ship them to China, or open plants and stock them with illegals and continue having a middle class.

This issue is so obvious now, that anybody who doesn't address it, I will assume to be bought and paid for by the people who are screwing their fellow americans.

5 posted on 08/19/2003 8:47:37 AM PDT by dogbyte12
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To: Born Conservative
power to the citizenry
6 posted on 08/19/2003 8:48:40 AM PDT by Texas_Jarhead
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To: Alberta's Child
The underlying economic problems in the Scranton region are such that nobody would even think of building a facility of this size in that area without substantial financial incentives.

Actually, Scranton would be a good place for a distribution center for a discount store. There is good transportation in and out of the area, both train and truck and plenty of labor available due to the demise of the coal and steel industry.

7 posted on 08/19/2003 8:57:11 AM PDT by Eva
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To: Alberta's Child
The underlying economic problems in the Scranton

Even hiring illegal immigrants is getting so expensive in Scranton, they're hiring out prison inmates.

Is this the New Economy Version 2?
8 posted on 08/19/2003 8:59:13 AM PDT by lelio
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To: Eva
I would agree that Scranton is a good place for a distribution center for the factors you mentioned, but if that's truly the case then why aren't there more companies like TJ Maxx opening warehouses up there? And why did TJ Maxx need to take advantage of a tax abatement on that site?
9 posted on 08/19/2003 9:08:47 AM PDT by Alberta's Child
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To: Born Conservative
Anyone who knowingly aids, abets, hides, employs, feeds, or has knowledge of and fails to report illegal aliens residing in the United States to the authorities, should be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law including very stiff fines for each and every instance of the offence and serve substantial Federal prison time. Orange jumpsuits tend to adjust the attitude. Unless these criteria are met and vigorously enforced, we might as well get used to these stories about this country being undermined from within. TJ Max is contributing to the insecurity of the country just as much as a covert moneywire to an Al-Queda operative does, and as such should be investigated by the Office of Homeland Security. Now that we all know TJ Max's hiring policies, we, as consumers have a moral obligation and a patriotic duty to do business elsewhere.
10 posted on 08/19/2003 9:31:31 AM PDT by SpaceBar
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To: dogbyte12
Mrs. Warchild and I, and many of our friends, of all parties, are passing the word that the politician who seriously adresses the outsourcing/illegal problem in this country, will get our full support--regardless of who it is. We're arming China and employing Mexico, while our country goes to heck. Free trade be damned--we should come first under the law, not corporate profits.
11 posted on 08/19/2003 10:09:08 AM PDT by warchild9
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To: Born Conservative
Don't let them get away with this.
12 posted on 08/19/2003 11:08:14 AM PDT by freekitty
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