November 18, 2005
Illegal aliens & Wal-Mart
100 Arrested at Wal-Mart Construction Site
Federal immigration agents detained more than 100 workers at a construction site for a new Wal-Mart distribution center, authorities said.
The workers, who Wal-Mart said were employed by a subcontractor and not by the retailing giant, were detained Thursday on suspected immigration violations, said Department of Homeland Security spokesman Marc Raimondi. They were being taken to Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers for processing, he said.
Of course, immediately Wal-Mart is going to get blamed for this. The fact that this was a subcontractor won’t mean anything. Of course, it is partly due to the fact that Wal-Mart is going to contract out to the cheapest bidder, who is more likely to be using illegal alien labor than not.
So I’m sure there is an indirect culpability to Wal-Mart, and I think we must all get mad at them for hiring companies that will pay immigrant workers $2/hour, well below the minimum wage…
At least 120 illegal immigrants, most of them from Mexico, were detained, Schuylkill County Sheriff Frank McAndrew said. He said he began investigating the site and contacted federal officials after getting complaints from local tradespeople.
“You’ve got a situation here where illegal immigrants are coming into Schuylkill County and taking (local union workers’) jobs for eight bucks an hour. They are working for poverty wages, and creating unemployment because our skilled tradesmen are out of work,” McAndrew said.
Wait… Did he say eight bucks an hour? So these workers are making $3/hour over minimum wage? But I guess they’re taking jobs away from “skilled” tradesman. Which, of course, I’m sure will mean that the rash of Walmart stores collapsing and crushing shoppers over the last few years was caused by unskilled labor building them…
Hmmm, now that I think of it, I can’t think of a single Wal-Mart store that has collapsed…
AHA! I think I’ve figured it out! Local cartel UNION employees want to charge more for their labor than the market is willing to pay. They’re getting upset, because there are people willing to do a satisfactory job for less money than they charge. Instead of compete with those laborers, I guess that means they’re going to have to call in the feds to crack down on the illegals who are doing their jobs happily for well above minimum wage!
This is protectionism, folks, plain and simple. Although I’m one to argue that minimum wage laws tend to be discriminatory and hurt low-wage workers more than they help, that doesn’t even enter into the discussion, because these workers are making more than that. This is a case of a cartel union trying to force lower-priced competition out of the market.
Of course, this is going to be spun in the media as an anti-Walmart story. And it will be spun as employers “exploiting” immigrant labor. Now, I think our entire immigration system is completely whacked out, but that’s not the issue here. These illegal alien laborers are making a heck of a lot more than they could be in Mexico, and I’m sure they don’t feel exploited. In this place, the only party getting exploited will be the customers and/or shareholders of Wal-Mart. The cartel union will be protected, and Wal-Mart will be charged more money to build their distribution center. And as businesses always do, that cost will be borne either by customers in the form of higher prices, or borne by shareholders in the form of lower returns.
Always remember, folks. When you’re uncompetitive in the market, it’s a lot easier to get the government to shut down your competitors than try to become competitive. Sadly, it’s become the American Way.
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I agree totally Brad.