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twitterDAILY MEMO: labor:
Fired workers’ claims typical of nonnatives who mull union bids
They say employer questioned immigration status to foil plan
Steve Marcus
Paz Castillo, left, criticizes Republic Services’ working conditions at a Las Vegas City Council meeting Wednesday. With Castillo are Kevin Hardison, center, Teamsters Las Vegas Local 631 president, and translator Ernesto Castillo (no relation).
Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Sun Archives
- Hundreds hit Vegas streets for immigration reform (5-1-2009)
- Think tank: Tough times for Hispanics nationwide (6-11-2008)
- Report: Illegal immigrants contribute billions to state (5-23-2008)
- Immigrants boost economy -- but how much? (4-14-2008)
Elias Garcia and his co-workers were fed up.
They wanted more pay and better benefits for working the line at a Las Vegas recycling plant operated by Republic Services. More important, they wanted safer working conditions. They wanted to organize.
To hear them tell it, workers sorted residential and commercial waste in oppressive heat without proper ventilation and without adequate protection. They say the dust- and chemical-filled air caused them to develop breathing problems and rashes. Some were stuck with needles while sorting waste and allege they had to pay for their own safety equipment.
Workers, pushed to the point of exhaustion, were denied bathroom breaks, they say.
So Garcia opened his house to a Teamsters local.
What happened next, according to labor experts, is typical for a group of workers who have been historically exploited as cheap, replaceable labor.
The recycling employees soon found themselves being summoned to the plant’s head office, where management questioned their immigration status – and threatened termination if they could not provide the proper documents. In a matter of weeks, 30 workers were fired, according to Teamsters Local 631. Most of them were undocumented.
The fired workers are crying foul, saying they were targeted because of their union activity. Many, acknowledging their illegal status, say Republic has employed them for years. Some have been working at the recycling plant for more than a decade. The workers ask the question: Why now?
Republic says it was merely following immigration law.
As a result of its merger with Allied Waste Industries Inc. last year, the company adopted a stricter compliance program and initiated a companywide personnel audit in March, said Bob Coyle, Republic’s vice president of government affairs. The final report, issued last month, found that 23 employees had “questionable documents proving their ability to work legally in the United States,” he said.
All of those employees worked at the recycling plant.
Coyle said the firings had no connection to the Teamsters organizing drive, noting that the union already represents 1,100 of the company’s 1,500 employees. The local has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of the dismissed workers.
Labor leaders are also seeking to apply political pressure on the company, which has an exclusive franchise agreement in Southern Nevada. They brought a handful of workers and their families before the Clark County Commission and Las Vegas City Council this week to testify about poor working conditions – accusations Republic calls “absolutely untrue.”
In an interview, Coyle dismissed a list of the workers’ concerns, adding, “I’m surprised they didn’t say the kitchen sink is stopped-up too.” He said workers receive the proper equipment and necessary training. Medical waste, such as needles, is handled at a separate facility, not at the recycling center, Coyle said.
Regardless, the organizing fight is particularly salient in Nevada, which leads the nation in the percentage of illegal immigrants in the workforce. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, more than 12 percent of the state’s workers are undocumented.
Undocumented workers occupy a precarious position in the labor movement. Some see them undermining it because they are often willing to work for less money and under more dangerous conditions than legal residents. Others single out employers for turning a blind eye to immigration law when it bolsters the bottom line.
Labor experts say stories like those being told by the Las Vegas recycling plant workers are common.
“There is an unusual amount of coincidence between workers who seek to organize and employers suddenly becoming concerned with enforcing immigration law,” said Harley Shaiken, a labor and immigration expert at UC Berkeley. “It is clearly a phenomenon out there.”
Cornell University labor expert Kate Bronfenbrenner has found that employers make threats of referral to Immigration Customs and Enforcement in half of the campaigns involving workplaces with a majority of undocumented workers. They make those same threats 41 percent of the time when a shop is majority immigrant.
One of the most famous cases involved the Smithfield pork plant in Tar Heel, N.C., the world’s largest hog slaughterhouse.
Throughout the 1990s the company hired scores of Hispanic immigrants, offering low wages and grueling working conditions that many local residents had rejected. Many, if not most, were undocumented. And, according to the National Labor Relations Board, Smithfield management threatened Hispanic workers with immigration enforcement if they voted for union representation.
Then, with the union stepping up its organizing efforts and the Bush administration initiating workplace immigration raids, the company began demanding valid identification papers from Hispanic employees, ultimately firing some of them.
Undocumented workers, Bronfenbrenner said, are the most vulnerable in an organizing drive for one obvious reason: deportation.
Shaiken said the threats and firings have a chilling effect in the workplace, affecting legal and illegal workers alike. The message to employees is simple: Shut up and work.
“Singling out the most vulnerable makes everyone more vulnerable,” he said.
Discussion: 106 comments so far…
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Oh look, a big corporation ignoring the law when it is convenient and then cynically choosing when and where to obey the law in order to maximize profits. No government oversight needed there, the 'invisible hand' doing the right thing once again.
I'm curious to see where the local pseudo-patriot bigots end up on this story.
"Medical waste, such as needles, is handled at a separate facility, not at the recycling center, Coyle said."
By far the best line of the story.
"Oh look, a big corporation ignoring the law when it is convenient"
No different than the illegal immigrants who ignore immigration laws when it is convenient for them.
Maybe the workers were fired because they were breaking the law? No, let's conveniently ignore that and instead demonize big business.
Typical liberal/union thinking.. nothing new here.
What part of illegal don't people understad!!!! Why isn't Republic and the Teamsters up on charges??? They are no better than someone aiding a common criminal or being a part organized crime,then again in this case they are organizing criminals(ILLEGAL ALIENS)...Humm..That make's them acessories to both State and Federal laws I'm no lawyer but read the RICO act.I think it applies here more than than it did when the feds went after Rick Rizzilo n Company ..WTF! Then again the great Teamster leader Jimmy Hoffa had no mob ties and the trash biz was always ran by "Honest Family Guys"...LOL
ILLEGAL means ILLEGAL.
In a state with 12% unemployment we find 12% of the workers are illegally in this country. Why does this seem wrong?
Hell, I am a full blooded American and I was elated and proud when I was asked for proof of my citizenship. What's the problem?
I vote that if you are here illegally you don't have any rights,now if they were working with visa's i could understand.The country wants to know who's taking our jobs,well it's companies like this and it's going on everywhere we ARE SCREWING OURSELFS IT'S YOUR NEIGHBOR WHO'S RUNNING THE LOCAL RETAIL STORES AND ETC.SO DON'T GET MAD GET EVEN IF YOU KNOW IT'S GOING ON CALL YOUR LOCAL IMMGRATION OFFICE AND FILE COMPLAINTS AGAINST THESE PEOPLE.WE'RE THE ONES THAT LET IT HAPPEN.....
SINCE WHEN DOES THE LOCAL UNION REPRESNT ILLEGAL WORKERS,IF THAT'S GOING ON THEN MAYBE WE SHOULD START TAKING A LOOK AT THEM.EVERYONE COMPLAINS ABOUT HEALTH CARE COST YET WE KEEP LETTING THIS GO UNREPORTED.STAND UP GET A BACKBONE AND HELP INSTEAD OF COMPLAIN...
ALSO WHY DON'T YOU ROUND UP THE DRUG DEALERS THAT SIT IN FRONT OF STAR NURSERY EVERYDAY IN EVERY LOCATION IN TOWN THAT SHOULD BE ILLEGAL PICK THEM UP FOR LOTTERING I'M TOTALLY SICK OF IT.OUR NATION IS STRAPPED WITH VIOLENT CRIME BECAUSE WE OURSELVES AMERICANS CAN'T GET JOBS BECAUSE WE HAVE AN ILLEGAL POPULATION SO HIGH IT'S OUT OF CONTROL.PLEASE DON'T TELL ME THAT IS A UNION PRESIDENT STANDING THERE WITH AN ILLEGAL IF SO THEY SHOULD BOTH BE KICKED OUT.USA IS BECOMING THE MEXICO,I DON'T MIND THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE VISA'S AND ARE HERE UNDER LEGAL CIRUMSTANCES.NO MORE THIS HAS TO STOP.
Its a shame the Immigration folks can't be pried out of there nice airconditioned offices and start arresting illegals. Maybe they should be fired for not doing the job they were hired for!
ThisOneGuy is CORRRRRECT! Give that man a prize.
And just LISTEN to the pseudo-patriot bigots!!!
Republic, and others of their ilk, make me sick.
It's ok if you work here; just SHUT UP and do what we say. NO complaining about your horrible working conditions; remember, we can turn you in whenever we feel like it. heh heh.
Meanwhile, Repukelic has a billion dollar contract in place, making PROFIT hand over fist.
Sounds like a movie of the week to me.
If any of you are unemployed and looking for work, please feel free to apply. Oh wait, that job is beneath you. It's too dirty and it smells. You make the comments that "these people" are taking our jobs, let's face it folks; you wouldn't do that job. Before you start to repost about this comment, ask yourself, "would I do this for $ 10.00 or $ 12.00 an hour" and be honest.
gmag is the only bigot here, representing everything illegal about this country. give illegals more rights than those abiding by the laws, it's ok.
Send the thieving illegals back where they belong, and solve the unemployment problem in this state in one move. As far as the bogus claim that they are doing jobs Americans won't do, The border jumping cheats keep the wages low by undercutting honest, hard-working citizens. Get rid of the scum, make English the language spoken in the workplace, and Americans would gladly take the jobs.
If the company has unsafe working conditions, it doesn't matter who's working there. They should be reported, investigated, and if they're violating standards, penalities imposed. And if the complaint is valid, and complainants don't have a criminal record, reward them with work visas valid anywhere. (The idea of illegals snitching on their exploiters appeals to me.)
But the illegals shouldn't have been working there in the first place. A porous border and lackadaisical enforcement of immigration laws encourages worker exploitation. First, Americans are denied decent paying jobs, then, the illegals are taken advantage of. It's the inevitable result of Federal incompetency & Congressional indifference.
The borders & ports need to be secured, Real ID & e-Verify implemented (with significant employer penalties), and then a process devised for integrating most of the illegals using some sort of rational criteria that gets rid of the violent and gang-related but allows many (those who've been here several years or more, and women & children) to stay on some sort of probationary status (not quite a green card -- maybe an orange card that eventually leads to a green that eventually leads to citizenship).
We need workable solutions to our problems, not political naysaying or govt giveaways. And I'm just not seeing it from either side.
Hey "jaesun", get a clue, dude!
IT'S NOT ABOUT GIVING ILLEGAL WORKERS RIGHTS, you twit.
But of course, if I have to tell ya that, you won't get it anyway.
It is NOT ok for Republic to hire illegals. It's ILLEGAL.
It is NOT ok for Republic to exploit workers, illegal or otherwise. That is also illegal.
Why the heck would you blame the illegal worker?
Hey boys and girls
Everyone keeps blaming the illegals. If there were no jobs, they would not come. Simple supply and demand for all of you capitalists.
Solution- close down the businesses that hire them- put the employers that hire illegals in jail.
No jobs for the illegals -- no illegals.
trailspast... you took the words right out of my mouth. Thank you.
Personally, I don't care who comes to this country as long as they do it legally and follow the rules. Now 30 DOCUMENTED workers can now have jobs at Republic. I'm sick of all the employers here that turn their heads and use "illegals" as cheap labor. Trust me, the illegals standing in front of Star Nursery each and every day don't work cheap - it's a minimum of $10/hour. No breaks for those poor little illegal immigrants who continue to pour into our state expecting equal treatment, free medical, free welfare and every other government benefit known to man. I think Republic needs to be fined and I mean big time fined for their complicitness in all of this. The company that built our home used illegals and had we not noticed, the foundation was off 4 inches. No big deal, right? Time for every Nevada employer to say NO to hiring illegals - send 'em home to get the correct paperwork!
The details don't matter. They were illegal workers. They got fired because they could not provide proper documentation. And by law, the company was required to fire them. Now these workers can go back to Mexico which will allow properly documented workers to take up their jobs.
I am very surprised that this recycling center even had the balls to employ undocumented workers in the first place...
An industry such as this is subject to both OSHA and federal safety standards, in which if this reported article reference to lack of safety conditions are accurate - these workers slash whisleblowers should have reported this directly to the US Department of Labor, not the Las Vegas City Council that cannot and will not do anything to uphold the recycling company safety standards.
These workers do take a highly moderate risk of exposing themselves to all kinds of nasty elements to process and it is downright dangerous to your health, even with all the necessary safety equipment used you still pose a low risk.
Why is Republic Services hiring illegals? They are required by state law to check status of everyone they hire. Time to fine them big time. That will get their attention.
A lot of us are calling to end employment of illegals but now that a company start enforcing the law, some bleeding hearts are complaining. This is the best time to tighten up and really enforce the law because of the unemployment problem in the state. Legal citizens and residents first before illegals and we should be rejoicing. I can't blame those affected illegals and their relatives from complaining but tough, just go back to where you came from. Maybe it's also time to look at the union for having illegal workers in their membership.
gmag, point is, this illegal has no right to even try and complain about her work conditions and more pay. she shouldn't even have the job to complain about in the first place. technically (lol) she should just shut her mouth and be happy she has the job in the first place.
as JPM said:
"Oh look, a big corporation ignoring the law when it is convenient"
No different than the illegal immigrants who ignore immigration laws when it is convenient for them.
it's on both ends of the stick and goes both ways. yes, companies shouldn't hire them, but it's not soley on them.
don't know why criminals should expect what they do to be easy and cushy. they are breaking the law, and now they want them to make breaking the law easy and comfortable too? give me a break
"No different than the illegal immigrants who ignore immigration laws when it is convenient for them."
As a matter of fact it is completely different. The workers were working in dangerous conditions; breaking the law to feed themselves and their families. Republic was breaking the law to line their already fat pockets.
See the difference here? Food vs BMW? Rent vs Country club dues?
For the right wingers to NOT be uber angry at Republic shows a complete lack of thought and hypocrisy.
To be honest it sounds like the thing most people are complaining about is just immigration, not ILLEGAL immigration. Those guys in front of the nursery would be your best friend if only some bureaucrat somewhere would give them a piece of paper. That makes sense.
thisoneguy, illegal is illegal. if i rob a bank of $10 million and distribute to the poor, rob your house and give it to the poor, should i go get away with, receive the medal of honor, etc? i guess morality and "legal" is a grey line depending on whether it is food vs bmw lol
i guess you left wingers should be angry at the banks and not me for stealing your money
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Whether black or white, whether male or female, whether here legally or illegally... all human beings deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
Would any of the Republic Service's Administrators allow their own family, their own mothers, their own sisters and brothers to be subjected to the same work environment, at the same pay rate, as their former workers?
Comment removed by staff.
Until recently, employers have had limited tools for determining the imigration status of prospective employees. Illegal aliens simply need to buy fake ID, steal someone else's SSN, and they could get by most employers. Employers should make every effort to verify their employees, but until there are harsher penalties for the illegals, and more stringent documentetion for legal residents, they are not totally to blame when the thieving scum impersonate honest citizens.
Think about this the next time your in line for something.That person next to you may be here illeaglly and have a good paying job.Have free health care(because they know how to use the system)Food stamps,cash assitance and rent vouchers!All the while under the ss# of your next door neighbor?The reason i say this,is it took thousands of dollars and a few years to prove that i hadnt had surgery at UMC.And now they want union representation?You have got to be kidding!
oh boo hoo, the poor illegals - I could care less quite frankly. Maybe more companies should get investigated for the hiring of undocumented workers. (wasn't that a nice way of saying illegal alien mexicans who bring all their nasty diseases with them - like tuberculosis, small pox and other diseases that were eradicated until THE BIG INVASION!). Face it - Republic tried to skimp by hiring illegals, they merged with a company who actually does things by the book, so now the poor, fat, abused illegals who were making $15-$25/hr not the 10 or 12 they say. I mean come on, all illegals are liars, aren't they?
As for you, Thumper, hopefully you won't be with your "friend" when she gets busted for selling drugs. Being with this 'friend' anywhere will get you charged with the exact same charges she will get for selling, distributing and whatever other felonies they can dump on her! I'll bet she hides her dope in the tree out back, right? Your complicitness is showing!
if you hire them, they will come. don't blame someone trying to make life better when these big companies will hire them hardly any questions asked, oh except-will you work forever for minimum wage. not in favor of illegals, but ceo's love them, check out trop and las vegas blvd. at shift change.
Wow Republic is impressing me now! I was always complaining about the expense of the service. Now I am happy to pay if they are getting rid of the illegals in their ranks. I will never complain about the bill again. Keep cutting the illegals out of the business and I will vote to approve what ever increase it takes to keep only Americans working. These dirt bag illegals want to be protected then they should move back to Mexico and protest and demand rights there. Illegals do not deserve any protection in this country where they broke the law to invade. Send the invaders running back across the border.
The problem is Republic employing illegals in the first place. It seems like everyone on this is in the wrong. Republic for hiring illegals, the union for representing them and the illegals for breaking the law by coming into the country. Punish them all.
When looked at critically, recycling common household trash is a scam. Disagree? Wiki it or watch Penn & Teller's BS episode on Recycling.
Also what it with "undocumented"? call a spade a spade for once. Undocumented = illegal. It's not as if they forgot there papers that day, they don't have them. Not only should they be fired, forced to pay back any benefits they or there family received, but should be deported immediately. Also, republic needs to be fined through the nose as well, they are in no way innocent in this. A message needs to be sent loud and clear, you hire illegals, you will get hit where it counts the most, your bank account.
They're "undocumented" because that is their official status. "Illegal" is merely a colloquial term since being a human being isn't against the law.
Also, kudos to those eschewing convention through exclusive use of the Billy Mays key, because everyone knows that CAPS LOCK is cruise control for cool.
paplikplik: You and your illegal friends can all go back to Mexico. They are called "Illegals" because that's what they are. They committed a crime by invading our country. They continue to commit said crime by not leaving. They are "ILLEGALS" because they are outlaws! A bunch of leaches feeding off the American Tax Payer!
Listen, LV, buddy, I know that acting like a moron on the internets is your God-given right as a red-blooded American, so as an apparent "illegal" I won't steal that job from your capable hands. Lawncare, sure. Construction, okay. But by gum we will not be morons in place of native, "legal" Americans. We have standards, too, and that is a line we will not cross.
You're job is safe. Carry on, brave net warrior. A nation's hopes go with you as you battle the horde in your lonely outpost of cyberspace. Until nobody is wrong on the internet, Godspeed.
If you are afraid of people who don't look like you do or don't speak like you do that is mildly understandable. If you are worried that white people won't be the majority someday just say so. Seriously, be honest about your emotions and stop hiding behind this illegal vs legal immigration argument. It's just immigrants that you don't like, not their legal status. Man up and own your racist fears.
As for this story and some of the comments above, these pseudo-patriot bigots are simply the pawns of big business. Corporate apologist. To be sure, there are some problems with immigration in this country, but you are fooling yourself if you think that these corporations are looking out for their 'fellow Americans' out of any sense of patriotism or good citizenship. If it is worth their dime to hire undocumented workers they do it. If they could outsource trash sorting and make it profitable they would do it. These corporations are in it for money and nothing else. If they can get some uninformed people to shill for them along the way (and for free no less) they'll gladly take it.
I went to trade in my car today under the Cash for Clunkers deal. Seems I forgot my title for the clunker. I was "undocumented". So I had to go home. Funny how the term "undocumented" is worse for real citizens, and a piece of cake for illegals. Maybe we should send Republic IOU's in place of checks, and tell them we'll send the real documents later...
Sounds like you had a rough day ned, you're right though; having to drive home undoubtedly added at least an hour to your new car buying experience. That is terrible. Are you OK? Your tragic story is the stuff of award winning documentaries.
Mothers and babies spending days crawling around the desert, hiding from helicopters and the police, crossing a river to come here so they can sort your GARBAGE and get stuck by needles in the 120 degree heat for minimum wage sure is a cake walk by comparison.
Brilliant.
"I can't tell a Mexican from a Terrorist?
Can you?"
No, but I can't tell a butcher, a banker or a candle stick maker from a terrorist either. Can you?
This is the perfect storm. I hate illegals and I hate Republic Services.
Solution; Deport the illegals and fine Republic Services back to the stone age.
Another problem; County and City officials are in the pocket of Republic Services and their Monopoly.
Looks like the illegals are the only losers.
Thumper your well thought out post (including, I believe, Vanilla Ice and cartoon references?) has me stymied.
But while we are all here, and since you seem to be some sort of expert and all, why don't you tell us what a terrorist looks like?
I say we start going door to door and checking the legal status of every resident. No papers gets you a beat down and a bus seat. Don't let them take anything with them. Send them back across the border with nothing. Any and all money or property will be confiscated and sold. The proceeds can be used to build a wall and station armed guards along the top. Shoot to kill any and all illegals invading our country. We have been far to easy on these criminals way too long. Time to punish them for stealing from the American Tax Payer. Stomp out these roaches!
It's so entertaining to watch all the racist rats come out of the closet and expose themselves, then scurry back into their holes to hide. YOU are the "REAL Americans", right?
Oh I see. More cartoons. I would have never guessed.
If cartoons and racist caricatures are what you need to dehumanize people who don't look or speak like you do then maybe you had better reconsider some of your positions.
Soon the day will come when we can eradicate all these roaches from our country. Soon the day will come when these illegals and kids are pushed back across the border. Soon the day will come when our government starts to protect us against the invasion.
Thumper, That's a strange thing to say. I don't get it; are you trying to invite yourself over? I guess that would be OK, we might need more beer though.
Poor thumper. he just doesn't get it. but he sure has worked himself into a frothing frenzy.
and might I add;
koo koo. koo koo.
You've gone off the rails, thumper.
And you've crossed the line of decency. again.
give them an airconditioned bus ride back to mexico........
moron of the comment section goes to....
Jaesun for this gem: "yes, companies shouldn't hire them, but it's not soley on them."
IT IS ON THEM. If companies don't hire illegals there would barely be any, the logic is so simple I'm surprised a liberal basher like yourself can't comprehend it.
That being said, they should deport the "non-natives" and fine the crap out of Republic Services for hiring them in the first place.
So if they passed an amnesty law today for all of the "undocumented aliens" and they became card carrying, U.S. citizens overnight you'd accept them as Americans equal to yourself? I don't even really want an answer, just think about it and if the answer is anything other than "Yes" then you need to own up to your racist fears.
If the Federal System E-Verify used to check social security numbers was mandatory this kind of abuse of illegal aliens would not happen. Our Senator Harry Reid has stopped this law from getting to the floor of the Senate, passing this would make employers follow the law and hire Americans and legal immigrants.
koo koo. koo koo.
Good comparison; a concert and a minimum wage job sorting trash.
koo koo. koo koo.
kooo koo. koooo koo.
some days, it's just too easy.
b.t.w...
never have i been the bird.
gmag and unoguy. Let's do an experiment. Give us your addresses. We will post them in the paper along with the notation "free room and board to all". Before you can sneeze your pushed out of your house and your bank account drained feeding these people. Same thing would happen to this country if we just threw open the borders and let anyone in. It's all about the resources. Or the lack of them when we are overwhelmed with foreign bodies. Minimizing immigration is not about racism as you so ignorantly imply, but keeping our standard of living. It is about making sure the USA is NOT a garbage strewn and crime ridden barrio from sea to shining sea.
This country is debt ridden and mortgaging it's future. We don't have money to keep building schools and supplying services to those who have no concept of birth control or why it's necessary to learn English. We don't have the money to replace the hospitals our "guests" have bankrupted or put out of business. Our power grids are straining, water resources are drying up, and when the economy mends energy prices will skyrocket. Adding more immigrants will make those issues and others even worse. It's time we got our house in order and this issue is near the top of the list.
People don't find it amusing that so many of our "guests" are availing themselves of so many of our services and not paying for them so they can send the money back home. Or that so many of those "guests" can afford thousands for wheels and tires and thumping stereos in their rides so they look cool driving the family to the free food and medical care.
First it is this:
"Show me you checked in Brother. That's All."
Now it is this:
"Blanket Amnesty for 20-30 MILLION CRIMINALS tommorrow(sic)?
...20-30 MILLION THIRD WORLD ILLITERATES get a FREE PASS to OBLITERATE our already ailing hospitals, school systems, social services, etc..."
So obviously your problem is, in fact, with the people and NOT their immigration status. Bigotry is ugly, denial and cowardice are pathetic.
How sad.
Ay imegra, ocho penochas ay carumba....As Frank Zappa would say : Chechonas and Cerveza, Si !
Since Southern Nevada was part of Mexico at one time, technically they are not illegals, they are actually ''natives''.
And Santana was born in Mexico, too.
I don't think the moron has read a single one of my posts. The dolt can't even read. At least not with any comprehension. Nowhere in any of my posts do I advocate for "illegals".
That said, this guy has some serious, serious issues to deal with. Sad, pathetic, racist, ego-centric; just another punk. Dime a dozen here in the desert.
I think he needs his mouth washed out with soap.
Thumper, be a nice lil' rabbit and crawl back into the hole you popped out of. Yes, we certainly WILL let others be the judge. You are a certifiable, racist lunatic. Nuts. Koo Koo.
Over the top, off the rails, 'round the bend.
No one with an ounce of common sense & decency would back you up. You are a sick, twisted loser. You are the rabid pit bull, lunging from the end of your chain. You are also misinformed, misguided, uneducated and an especially poor excuse for a human being.
Clear?
Hi Ho Hi Ho it's off to work we go.
Now instead of shipping humans over from Africa they got a better racket having them walk themselves to you.Not only is it illegal to use illegal aliens for labor but it is immoral and unethical(you ask what does he mean by that?I mean to treat human beings in a way other than you would treat your own son or daughter.get it now?)Which is even worse in my book.
The Sun newspaper should call them what they are too, illegal aliens.Non natives what kind of nonsense is that.
Immigration authorities ought to get off their butts and get personnel over to Republic and start investigating.They can stop pretending that they didn't know.It is front page newsand the government needs money and there is a nice fat fine sitting right there waiting to be collected.Take some Health officials,too.They can check on the worker conditions where these illegal aliens were working.As an American I do not want to see anyone working in dangerous conditions where they would be injured in anyway.I'm sure they have loved ones too that they would like to return home to someday.
"If you see ILLEGALS in your work place, REPORT THEM IMMEDIATELY TO..."
Short of your racist cartoon you have yet to tell us what an 'illegal' looks like. You can't because they don't look any different than you or I. It is the piece of paper that makes citizens different from immigrants, but all you see is skin color and a different language.
Your obsession with checking "papers" and reporting people to the government coupled with your rabid fear of people who don't look like you tells me you are a closet Nazi. It's easy to do that on the web. I'm sure your poisonous opinions don't get expressed much in the real world; because you are afraid. So you get on here and act unreasonable, fantasize about being an ICE agent, lie and cite cartoons to attempt to make your little points, but at the end of the day really you're just scared. And I support your right to do all of those things and at the same time I truly feel sorry for you.
they're coming to take you away,
ho-ho hee-hee ha haaa!
To the funny farm, where life is beautiful all the time!
Ho-hoo hee-hee ha haa!
LOOO-COOO!
Republic, like any company, should not hire illegals. BUT - being the greedy pigs that they are, I can see that they would want to take advantage of paying less salary and benefits. Which is all good and fine until they decide that it's just not working out for them. If they can make an extra buck off of your garbage and someone's life blood - they will. We shouldn't be surprised by this.
So were those jobs filled with latin law abiding American Citizens or did they go out and refill those positions with more undocumented workers that aren't interested with starting a union? If the job is that bad go find another one. Like half the jobs in the casinos, if your undocumented or have fake papers we want you, we don't have time to check your status.
Wow. Did you really just write about people putting "Boogers" on a burrito? Cartoons, threats and boogers???
Fantastic.
What bothers me is that this should be going on 24/7. Republic Services should be commended but should be asked the question," Why did you take so long?". So now the punishment will come back and haunt them . If they have to hire citizens, the citizens will be more apt to report Republic Services for unsafe working conditions were illegals would have been afraid to. Hopefully this will make them clean up their act. Now that they have opened ICE's eyes, they will be getting a visit now and again.
Illegal aliens are nationals of another country. To be a racist, bigot you have got to be making comments about citizens of your own country.
I don't know where some of you people got your education from, but a neither a bigot or racist has nothing to do with statements made towards a national from another country.
It is very sad that some people make statements about our citizens when they have now idea what they are talking about. The laws of our land don't penalize us for undesireable comments made to foreigners. However there are many foreigners who show their respect towards the citizens of our United States. They are aware that it is not the citizens fault because our elected officials are airheads. However there are illegal aliens(I'm trying to put this nicely) who could care less about anything but them getting a job. Let the nationals of the United States live in tents, let them starve to death because as long as they can get away with murder they will continue to do it. To bad we don't have a Federal Government that was "of the people for the people".
"To be a racist, bigot you have got to be making comments about citizens of your own country."
What? What possible definition of racism are you working from here?
Race has everything to do with skin/eye/hair color and other physical traits and NOTHING to do with arbitrary political boundaries thought up by man in the last thousand years.
"The laws of our land don't penalize us for undesireable(sic) comments made to foreigners"
The laws of our land don't penalize us for the vast majority of comments one might make. But to be sure, a citizen of another country can sue a U.S. citizen for slander or libel.
Further U.S. civil and criminal laws apply to anyone on U.S. soil, believe it or not they ARE, in fact, human beings no matter what their passport says.
"I don't know where some of you people got your education from."
I'll let that gem speak for itself.
Any more ignorant lies you'd care to spread?
I don't understand how anyone can consider race to be relevant here. ALL workers were required to provide proof of status and those who could not were fired. Companies are not supposed to be hiring undocumented workers. I am disappointed in the Teamsters though. American companies and organizations should support Americans, not non-Americans.
Republic Services was wrong to hire illegal workers in the first place. That being said, I am pleased to see that they at least are trying to correct their mistake. What I don't understand is that the union, Teamsters Las Vegas Local 631, is objecting to the termination of illegal workers. The union should be protecting US workers' jobs and not just trying to protect the union dues they collect. Maybe a closer look at all the union members immigration status is called for.
Illegals come here to the USA of THIER OWN FREE WILL. They are willing to work for less money and under more dangerous conditions of THIER OWN FREE WILL. They really believe that America loves them and wants them here. No, it is not America that wants you here, is is the corporations and the employers that are willing to take advantage of YOUR WILLINGNESS TO BE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF. Now you want to bitch and complain about your situation. Guess what? it is the same situation that you left YOUR beloved Mexico for. Except here in the USA you got paid a little more for doing it.
How eloquent Vicky.
It would be easier to read your un American drivel if you proof read your own posts.
On top of your lousy grammar, your "argument" doesn't hold up logically or legally. No matter how a person comes to this country or for what reason, labor laws still apply, And like it or not, human rights laws still apply.
This is the "Land of the Free" and the "Home of the Brave..."
This country was intended to be a safe haven for people from other countries who were leaving bad situations. "Land of the Free"
Unfortunately today, the citizens of this country are needlessly terrified of people who do not look like themselves, as is so evident in many of the posts above. So much for "Home of the Brave..."
A sad state of affairs, the American spirit is dead.