No solace in Solis

President elect Obama has announced Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor. The daughter of Mexican and Nicaraguan immigrants her past record shows she is very pro union. Here are some of the money quotes:

"Solis is viewed as quite liberal and has sometimes been criticized as inflexible in advancing her causes."

"The business community's concern over the appointment is especially great because of a fight coming up next year over efforts to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, the top priority for labor unions. The measure is designed to boost union membership by having employees sign union cards to form unions instead of holding secret ballot elections."

As a union member nobody asked me whether I am in favor of the "Employee Free Choice Act" which basically does away with a secret ballot in union organizing elections. So workers will be at the mercy of strong arm tactics of Union thugs working for unionization votes. With a secret ballot the wishes of workers are protected. I hope Obama and Hilda Solis understand that.

Labor Day myth and the reality.

I am about to head off to work this Labor Day. I'm probably one of the few people working this day here in the U.S.. Even many of the illegal immigrants will be filling the parks enjoying the day off. I don't mind working but, paying taxes and subsidizing others and the businesses that hire illegals is another story altogether. The corrupt employers who hire the illegals keep crying about the "labor shortage" in this country as the reason why they hire illegal workers. But as this article in Business Process Management points out that they are ignoring the reality of the free market system. While at the same time ruining the country for their own greed. Here are some of the money quotes:

"But some economists and worker advocates argue the concept of a labor shortage is simply being used to keep wages down. "Employers are very quick to raise the specter of a labor shortage, but often it's another way of saying they can't find the workers they want at the price they're paying," says Jared Bernstein, senior economist for the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank in Washington. "They are unwilling to meet the price signal the market is sending, so they seek help in the form of a spigot like immigration."

"Most Americans certainly aren't finding their incomes exploding. The wages of 80% of the U.S. workforce -- made up of nonsupervisory workers -- have been stagnating since the late-1990s boom ended. On Aug. 20, the government released data that showed the average household income increased 4.1% in 2005, to $55,238. But that's still below the average household income in 2000."
Well I guess it's time to go to work.

Speaking of jobs to fill...

With the crackdown on illegal immigrants and more importantly those that hire them the lobbyists for the corrupt businesses that hire illegals are running around that the sky is falling if U.S. enforces it's laws on illegal immigration.
But, some economists are not buying it. Here is a recent smackdown quote from Business Process Management:

"David Rosenberg is one of a number of economists who say the concerns about too few workers are vastly overblown. Rosenberg recently studied the issue and put out a report entitled Is There a Labor Shortage? If employers are having trouble filling jobs, "perhaps they're not looking hard enough," he says."

Another immigration crisis in the Hamptons?

"Year after year, Dune Management depends on dozens of Dominican and Jamaican housekeeping and laundry workers to get through the summer season in the Hamptons.
But this year, federal officials surprised the company when they denied temporary visas for the workers." -Newsday

Hmmm, President George Bush wants a guest worker program as part of "comprehensive immigration reform" legislation. Then all of a sudden the Department of Labor puts the squeeze on a temporary visa program that has been working for years providing temporary labor for the hotels and resorts of the east end of Long Island. Something smells fishy especially since immigration reform is hot in Washington this year.

Here are the money quotes:
"I have never seen a bigger disaster than the Department of Labor has created this year," said Libby Whitley, president of Mid-Atlantic Solutions, a Virginia-based agency that handles the petitioning process for employers in several states, including New York."

So it looks the Bush administration deliberately created a crisis so that Bush and the pro-illegal amnesty groups including the gang of four and others could push through an immigration plan geared to their interests of businesses and pro-amnesty groups not those of the American people and U.S. border security.

"If we don't get them, I don't know what we would do," said Carolina Swanson, director of human resources for the company, which manages 16 resort and residential properties on the South Fork. "I really don't have a Plan B."

How about this for a plan B. Raise the salary you are offering so that it will be attractive to local citizens, High School and college students. I love it when businesses preach about the law of supply and demand when they raise their prices but, scream when it effects them.

"On Monday at 9 a.m., [Congressman Tim] Bishop and local officials will hold a public meeting with business owners at Gurney's Inn in Montauk to discuss solutions."

This fits in nicely with Congressman Tim Bishop's agenda which is in agreement with President Bush in regards to an amnesty for illegal immigrants already in the country meanwhile he voted against legislation that would have increased security at the borders and cracked down on illegal immigrants already in the country . Funny how quickly Congressman Bishop calls a meeting with business owners on Monday at 9 a.m. But, has ignored the concerns of his constituents for years about the hundreds of illegal immigrants loitering around in middle class communities all over his district on Long Island.

It certainly looks like this "visa crisis" was manufactured by those in Washington from President Bush to Congressman Bishop to give them cover to push through an immigration reform plan that helps businesses that want cheap disposable labor while ignoring the concerns of the middle class taxpayers who will be subsidizing this workforce. They must think we are fools.