AFL-CIO Calls Del Monte 'Irresponsible' (Tuesday's immigration raid and arrests in Portland)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.koin.com/Global/story.asp?S=6654361

AFL-CIO Calls Del Monte 'Irresponsible'

PORTLAND - Tom Chamberlain, president of the AFL-CIO, is weighing in on Tuesday's immigration raid and arrests in Portland:

It's irresponsible for corporations like Fresh Del Monte to import workers to the state when Oregon has plenty of skilled food processing workers right here at home. Ironically, many of our best food processing workers have seen their jobs outsourced in recent years. This anti-worker, anti-family practice is rewarded by our nation's faulty trade and immigration laws.

So-called "free trade" polices help fuel this problem by pitting American workers and workers in other nations against each other. Oregon's food processing workers at Simplot in Hermiston and Agrifrozen in Woodburn have seen their family-wage jobs outsourced in recent years. And workers south of the border have seen their own standard of living fall, and are forced to come here looking for work. When all is said and done, Oregon workers have seen their good jobs replaced by minimum-wage ones like those at Fresh Del Monte.

I question Del Monte on their dubious public relations response to the raid, in which they said they are "interested in bringing these people to justice." In fact it's Fresh Del Monte, which build a business model that denies local Oregon workers fair pay and instead systemically import cheaper labor, that should be brought to justice. They are calling for punishment of the very men and women who make their company profitable. It's wrong that our nation's immigration laws are more punitive toward the men and women who are working to support their families, than on the corporations that exploit them.

The ICE raid on working men and women is a shameful illustration of what's wrong with our nation's trade and immigration laws. The President and Congress need to stop playing games and pass comprehensive immigration reform that values workers and families, both citizen and immigrant.

6/13/2007

[havocmom]

1. Almost time to eat the (ultra) rich.

They are sure feasting high on us.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. They should also raid

RR Donnelly in Gresham
70% of the local contruction sites
and
Most Labor Ready locations


except this time, I want only the CEO's to go to jail. :mad:

[mema42]

4. report them

If you have reason to believe they are hiring those here illegally, report them to DHS, INS or whoever.

If the illegal immigrants aren't here and they can't find employees the government will raise legal immigration rates. That is the way the system is actually supposed to work. Not failing to enforce the law so a bunch of people are in basic slavery, nor supporting the that slavery because of compassion.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

5. see post #3

these 3rd party employers take the brunt of the fines, move to another state and change their names.

but it's a start. :thumbsup:

[mema42]

3. 3rd party firm hiring

A third party firm was being used for the hiring. They even gave the workers false ID's

There is a copy of the document available on the web of the whole investigation though I lost the link.

I'm glad they got caught and if it takes INS to stop these hiring practices it is about time.

What were they supposed to do? Let the people continue to work under the conditions they were working under?

The ACLU can just leave some battles alone when it comes to hiring illegals. Sometimes it is in the best interest of the employee the the place get busted. There was social security fraud, employee abuse, and a lot of other stuff going on. Notice that some of the employees using fake social security numbers had criminal records. This is what is wrong with illegal immigration. It supports a crime ridden society and that is the businesses too. Even if the majority of the people doing it aren't criminals, they are taken advantage of by the criminals involved with it. Legal immigration is 100 times better.

http://www.foodproductiondaily-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=77421-del-monte-immigration-labor

ICE also executed a separate search warrant at the Fresh Del Monte office within the plant.
The production workers at Fresh Del Monte are actually employees of American Staffing Resources, Inc, the ICE stated.
"The premises of the businesses would contain evidence of the production and distribution of forged documents and of the employment of illegal aliens," the ICE stated.
About 90 per cent of American Staffing's employees were using social security numbers that belonged to other persons or were made up, the ICE alleged.
"Some of the individuals using those Social Security numbers apparently have criminal records, have previously been deported, or are wanted on warrants of deportation," the ICE alleged.
ICE began the undercover operation in January this year at American Staffing Resources and Del Monte's premises.
"During the course of that operation, the undercover informant openly discussed with managers at both Del Monte and American Staffing Resources, Inc. that he was not legally in the United States and did not have the proper identification to work," the ICE alleged. "An employee of American Staffing Resources, Inc. provided him with a counterfeit Social Security card, and later provided him with counterfeit social security cards and counterfeit resident alien cards for others."
Based on the agent's affidavit, the magistrate judge authorized ICE and social security agents to search for evidence of federal crimes that included the hiring illegal aliens, harboring illegal aliens, encouraging illegal aliens to reside in the US, identity theft; immigration document fraud, and Social Security fraud.
In a separate, simultaneous action, ICE also obtained court authorisation to search the Del Monte premises for illegal aliens.