Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Do What’s Right

—

by

James A. Bacon
in

Beneath the story of boom times in Northern Virginia is the story of day laborers, all too often immigrants, being exploited by unscrupulous contractors. From today’s Washington Post, a sample:

Adonay Hernandez, 26, of Arlington said he worked three days this month installing sheetrock at a home in Reston. The contractor gave him a check for only $300, instead of the promised wage of $364, Hernandez said. Then the check bounced, he said.

Fortunately, some day laborers, assisted by community service groups, are fighting back and getting justice:

In Prince William County, five Mexican immigrants won awards totaling more than $5,000 in small claims court from contractors.

In addition to the problem of not getting paid, many day laborers are getting no safety training before being assigned to dangerous work and many are sustaining injuries as a result.

I’m not in favor of setting up some new bureaucracy to police the cretinous contractors, but I think existing state agencies ought to come down like a ton of bricks on those who do not treat day laborers fairly. I think agencies can be more creative in establishing a presence to let contractors know they are being watched. It’s not like the day laborers don’t congregate in one place where someone could explain their rights or give them some safety tips.

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  1. Jim Bacon Avatar
    Jim Bacon

    In many if not most cases, the immigrants are illegal immigrants. Illegals are easier to exploit because they’re subject to being evicted from the country if they report their mistreatment.

    The appropriate action should be two-fold: Prosecute employers who abuse the immigrants. And send the illegals back to their home country. Tell them they’re welcome to return to the U.S. as long as they enter the country legally like millions of other immigrants do.

  2. James Young Avatar
    James Young

    Will,
    That’s what was supposed to happen with immigration “reform” passed in 1985. I heard numbers on the radio which identifies the problem as the fact that employer prosecutions declined precipitously throughout the 90s and the Great Prevaricator’s Administration. Sad to say, the decline has continued during the Bush 43 Administration, when the issue has become one of national security.

    I agree with those who identify this as the one great sleeper issue of the next few cycles, and that the party that grabs it will do well. I can’t see the Dems doing it, because they view illegals granted amnesty as a fabulous new voting bloc. Republicans are scared of their own shadows on the issue because of the California experience, and the fact that opponents use the nuclear bomb of political rhetoric — charges of racism — every time we try something substantive. I don’t know if there’s a way to thread the needle, but Republicans have to find a way to celebrate the contributions made by legal immigrants while toughening up enforcement against those who are breaking our laws.

  3. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Don’t assume day laborer equates with illegal. The two do not necessarily coincide. I will leave it at that.

    Will, kudos for acknowledging this serious problem. Human beings are human beings.

  4. Jim Bacon Avatar
    Jim Bacon

    Anonymous, I don’t equate day laborers will illegal aliens. I suggest only that those most likely to be exploited are illegal because they are the most vulnerable.

  5. Ray Hyde Avatar
    Ray Hyde

    Jim, it is not millions of legal immigrants, it is mor like hundreds otf thousands. the millions categoraizations may well be reserved for illegals.

    The problem is that there is no legal and effective way for an illegal to become legal.

    Recently, I had an impromptu conversation in a locla lunch emporium (in Spanish), with several young latino laborers.

    It developed that they were Salvadorean, and had come here to escape conditions at home. These were clean cut young laborers, and in clean clothes, despite their occupation. I told them, frankly, that I would not have approached if they were dressed like ladrons or bums.

    The spokesman of the group spoke more English than the others, and was consequently able to understand my poor Spanish. He agreed, “apparencia es muy importante aqui”.

    I asked how it was that someone so young was able to uproot himself from home and move far away. He said he had no real family at home that many Americans had been very helpful to him.

    He said that with hard work he was able to survive here, which was more than he could expect at home. At the same time, he acknowledged that the standard of living here was so high that he had to work harder and exercise more discipline in order to maintain a modest standard of living than at home.

    Still, he said, it is better than dying.

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