Foreign Welders Got Booted out of Texas

Date: Friday, April 09, 2010 2:51 AM

<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 2098 -- 4/09/2010 >>>>>

A dozen Italian and Slovakian welders that were working on the Trinity River
bridge construction project got booted out of Texas -- or more accurately they
were not allowed to come back. Four workers employed by Italian steel
fabricator Cimolai got to stay in the U.S. to continue working.

In addition to the following new article on this story, be sure to watch the
video report because it is better than the text version: Feds:
Foreigners shouldn t be building Dallas bridge, by Byron Harris, WFAA-TV,
April 7, 2010.

The events that transpired since last year can read by using the following
links to my excellent and informative articles [all links below].

This story has a happy ending: most of the foreign workers were deemed to have
illegal visas, which means that Cimolai will have no choice but to hire Texan
welders to get the job done. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) determined that the foreign welders should have been using H-2B instead
of B-1 visas in order to hold these jobs in the U.S.
[NOTE: In my first article about the Trinity River bridge project (November
2009) I explained why using B-1 for these jobs is illegal but it took ICE
until now to come to the same conclusion. Duh!]

Actually the only thing new since the welders were not allowed back into the
U.S. in early February is that ICE made an official declaration that the
workers were in the U.S. illegally. None of this would have happened if it
wasn t for the persistent investigative reporting from journalist Byron Harris
of Dallas, Texas at WFAA-TV, so be sure to thank him [bharris@wfaa.com]. Let s
give a tip of our ten gallon hats to Harris and his brave editors at the TV
station because without their reporting this story would have never seen the
light of day!

Send message to WFAA: http://www.wfaa.com/on-tv/contact

It s not clear that even a single one of the illegal workers were deported
because the only ones that aren t working are the ones who left the U.S. for
Christmas vacations. Four of them are still in the U.S. and gainfully employed
by Cimolai. Unless ICE apprehends and deports them they will continue to work
while jobless Texans enjoy vacations at their own expense.

The Byron Harris article suggests that in addition to ICE, the DOL is doing an
investigation:

The U.S. Department of Labor is also investigating whether the
foreign workers are due additional pay for overtime and wage
differentials. The men were paid in their home country and did
not pay U.S. taxes. U.S law requires that they be paid the
prevailing wage, which is $13 an hour.

What s so sad is they re [the foreigners] getting the back
wages," said Mike Cunningham of the Texas Building Trades
Council. "American workers could have been making all of
this money."

I scoured the internet for a press release by ICE or the DOL about the
investigation but at the time of this writing haven t been able to find one.
If these guv agencies are doing something they are keeping it a well hidden
secret. That s not typical of either of these agencies because in high profile
cases they are usually quick to publish press releases.
What s going on with that?

Mike Cunningham s quote is excellent and proves Lesson #3 below. It would seem
that the union would be anxious to brag about their newfound victory over
cheap foreign labor, but the last time the Texas Building Trades Council
happened to mention the fiasco at the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge Project in
Dallas was on February 12, 2010.

Why is everyone but Bryon Harris and Mike Cunningham so darn quiet on this
major news event?

There are a few lessons that can be learned from the Trinity Bridge
incident:

1. All illegal aliens and visa violators should learn that once they sneak

into the U.S. they are home free. They should never cross the border for any
reason because there is no guarantee they will be let back in. As long as they
hold jobs and keep their nose clean they have nothing to worry about from ICE.

2. Anytime illegal aliens are underpaid they can expect the full force of

the U.S. government to make sure they get back-pay from their exploitative
employer. On the other hand, the Americans that got overlooked for the job
position should never expect so much as a crumb in compensation for the time
they lost while sitting on the bench.

3. The U.S. government will do everything it can to protect the rights of

illegal aliens. In contrast, U.S. citizens are on their own to compete in the
global economy and should never expect help from their own government --
especially if it involves the enforcement of immigration laws!

LINKS:

web version:
http://blog.vdare.com/archives/2010/04/09/foreign-welders-got-booted-out-of-texas/

Feds: Foreigners shouldn t be building Dallas bridge,by Byron Harris, WFAA-TV,
April 7, 2010 http://www.wfaa.com/news/investigates/CALATRAVA-BRIDGE-90044127.html#

Employment Based Visa Comparisons (compare B-1 and H-2B)
http://www.thesocialcontract.com/artman2/publish/tsc_20_2/tsc_20_2_sanchez.shtml

Italian Welders Work On Dallas Bridge -- Texans Remain Jobless, 11/23/2009
http://www.vdare.com/sanchez/091123_italian_welders.htm

Italian Welders Denied Entry to U.S., 2/7/2010
http://blog.vdare.com/archives/2010/02/07/italian-welders-denied-entry-to-us/

WFAA s Byron Harris On Immigration, 2/7/2010
http://blog.vdare.com/archives/2010/02/07/wfaas-byron-harris-on-immigration/

Texas Building Trades Council
http://www.texasbuildingtrades.org/foreign_labor.asp

Alert on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge Project in Dallas, 2/12/2010
http://www.texasbuildingtrades.org/viewarticle.asp?a=6947

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.wfaa.com/news/investigates/CALATRAVA-BRIDGE-90044127.html

Feds: Foreigners shouldn't be building Dallas bridge

by BYRON HARRIS / WFAA-TV

Posted on April 6, 2010 at 9:39 PM

Updated Wednesday, Apr 7 at 12:28 AM
Related:

* Italian workers lose visas after WFAA investigation
* Italians, not Texans, building signature Dallas bridge
* Why not build the bridge with American-made steel?
* More from News 8 Investigates

NEWS 8 INVESTIGATES

DALLAS -- Last fall, a News 8 investigation revealed that a dozen workers
building the new Calatrava bridge across the Trinity River in Dallas used
questionable visas to enter to the United States.

The workers brought in from Italy and Eastern Europe under a State Department
ruling that permits specialized employees to repair machinery.
The workers in question were welding the new bridge together rather than
repairing equipment.

In a letter to Rep. Lamar Smith, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement now
says the workers were here illegally. They have been sent home to Italy and
Slovakia.

An additional four workers employed by Italian steel fabricator Cimolai remain
in the United States while their cases get additional consideration.

The U.S. Department of Labor is also investigating whether the foreign workers
are due additional pay for overtime and wage differentials. The men were paid
in their home country and did not pay U.S. taxes. U.S law requires that they
be paid the prevailing wage, which is $13 an hour.

"What's so sad is they're [the foreigners] getting the back wages," said Mike
Cunnigham of the Texas Building Trades Council. "American workers could have
been making all of this money."

E-mail bharris@wfaa.com

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