Exclusive community bans undocumented workers

[Liberal_in_LA]

seems illegal somehow.

Exclusive community bans undocumented workers

http://www.wptv.com/mostpopular/story/Exclusive-community-bans-undocumented-workers/A82sqX0glUOAMzaUDxZEzg.cspx


Exclusive community bans undocumented workers

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FL -- John's Island, a luxurious waterfront community of more than 1300 properties, is taking its "exclusive" reputation to a new level.

Starting February 1st, the John's Island Property Owners' Association launched a new policy requiring anyone who wants to trim hedges, clean houses, or do any kind of business in the neighborhood to "have a valid U.S. Driver's License or ID card."

Workers are now asked to show proof of I.D. at the front gate to the development. They're given a copy of the new policy, written in both English and Spanish, which reads: "If you have an employee that is an illegal alien DO NOT send them to John's Island."

The policy goes on to state that anyone without a U.S. license or I.D. will be "turned away."

Chuck Sereika owns Clean House Services, a housekeeping company that's done business on John's Island for two years. He said he recently had an employee who is a U.S. citizen of Puerto Rican heritage turned away at the gate because he did not have his driver's license with him.

"It's profiling," says Sereika, who says neither he nor any of his caucasian employees have been asked to show I.D.

------------------------------------

Jerry Burr, direcotr of security at John's Island, says his employees have had to turn workers away at the gate, but he says after a month of the policy, most day-laborers who don't have documentation have stopped coming to the community.

He says John's Island has had no problem finding hundreds of landscapers and other laborers who are willing to do work on property who can present a U.S. driver's license or work visas.

[Hello_Kitty]

1. If they're profiling by race, that's wrong. Otherwise I have no problem with the policy. eom

[kiva]

2. Quick, someone call John McCain.

"He says John's Island has had no problem finding hundreds of landscapers and other laborers who are willing to do work on property who can present a U.S. driver's license or work visas."

Ask McCain again to explain why we need undocumented workers because, you know, Americans won't do those jobs.

[Motown_Johnny]

3. I work for a landscape company and my pay is lower because I need to compete with illegal workers

because other companies use them and can charge less for the same work than the company I work for can afford to charge.

I wish everyone would do this.

Illegal labor is ILLEGAL!!!

[southerncrone]

6. A friend's husband has the same problem in the roofing business.

I contend that is why illegal aliens were "tolerated" for so long....to infiltrate our work force to drive down wages across the board, not just for themselves. At least that has been the real outcome.

Perhaps we can get this country to enforce its laws once again & we will all benefit.

[Motown_Johnny]

7. worst thing is, I used to work in Restaurants and switched because the illegal labor was

infiltrating the labor market and holding down wages. A few years later I started running into the same thing in landscaping.

I don't blame the workers, but the policies that allow them to do this just suck ass. What is it I pay my taxes for again?

[southerncrone]

9. Indeed. Why are we paying these clowns to betray us?

What can we do?

We're either working our asses off to pay the bills, or running ourselves ragged trying to find employment.....either way, we're too busy to keep an eye on what they are doing TO us in DC.

Lobbyists run the country at the bequest of the corporate empire. We are but the drones.

[SoCalDem]

8. A guy we hired, pays his people $14 an hour and gives them benefits

My son almost went to work for him :)

[ORDagnabbit]

4. sounds good to me... hire american citizens first

[Hekate]

5. It is far from illegal to require proof of right to work in US as condition of employment...

I had to do it myself the last time I took a temp job at the County, and that was over 15 years ago. I'm white and was born in California, yet I had to provide more than one form of ID indicating citizenship. A green card is acceptable for non-citizens, but all prospective employees have to do this.

These folks at John's Island may have a problem if they are screening on the basis of color or apparent ethnicity, rather than holding everyone to the same standard. However, on the face of it they seem to be trying to do the right thing, because as Nanny-gate proved back in the Clinton administration, employers can get into a lot of trouble for hiring illegals if they are caught.

Hekate