Putting American’s Back to Work

One of the major items on President Obama’s agenda is stimulating the U.S. Economy and putting Americans back to work. With that in mind, we must ask ourselves why our government is continuing to issue H2B visas?

An H2B visa, is a work visa issued to unskilled laborers of foreign countries so they can come the the United States for up to ten months and work. Small and seasonal businesses claim they need these foreign workers as no U.S. Citizen is willing to work these part time or season jobs. They are even pressuring congress by telling them without these foreign workers to do seasonal work they will be forced to lay off their full time U.S. Workers. But are they telling the truth?

In many areas of the United States, Tourism is the number one business. While some states have year round tourism, many do not. There are almost entire towns and small cities whose work force is completely seasonal, and has been for many years. The residents of these towns not only are willing to work seasonal jobs, but are dependent on them to survive. Many of these areas, are finding their workers out of work due to the hiring of foreign workers who are issued H2B Visas.

Why would any worker, whose livelihood for years has dependent on season work, suddenly decide they were unwilling to work a seasonal job anymore? The answer is they wouldn’t.

Add to that the number of full time workers, who have been laid off, or lost their jobs and have little or no hope of finding full time employment at this stage. Is it really conceivable that these people would risk losing their homes, and their every thing else they process by refusing to take any job that was available? Of course not. While a few might be foolish enough to look for work that is better paying that seasonal work offers, the majority of those who have lost their jobs would be happy with anything that brings in a pay check.

So, now we must ask the question, how are these visas affecting jobs for U.S. Citizens?

In 2007, more than ¼ of the jobs in construction, forestry, and fishing were held by workers with H2B visas. And 15% of the jobs in hospitality fields particularly food services were held by these workers, while during the same year the amount of U.S. Citizens unemployed in these same fields doubled.

In 2008, the government did cut in half the issuance of H2B visas over the protests of many business. But that still left a lot of U.S. Citizens out of work while, many foreign workers held jobs they could have had.

I recently talked to a desk clerk at an area motel. The desk clerk told me that they had literally hundreds of applications for everything from house keeping to motel maintenance, but that they were not hiring. When asked he admitted that out of the 30 employees this particular motel had, 20 of them were Jamaicans here on work visas. That is 20 jobs, that U.S, citizens could have held at just that one motel.

The Grand Motel on Mackinac Island, Michigan hires 650 workers, two years ago more than half their staff was made up of foreign workers here on visas. That is over 325, Americans that could have been working that weren’t.

In another instance, a woman who has worked as a seasonal worker for years, called her employer to see when she could start back to work, as she generally goes back to work each year the middle of may. Her employer told her that business was slow in picking up so she should not expect to go back to work before the middle of may, as his foreign workers could handle the job until business picked up.

So, while this woman sits, without work wondering how she is going to pay the bills, foreign workers are working the job she could have been working.

Not only do these foreign workers keep, U.S. Citizens from working, but continuing to issue these visas will only slow down the economic stimulus.

While it is true, that these workers while they are here, buy food, clothing and essentials, in many cases they are given free or low cost housing, allowing them to bank their paychecks and take them home. While this might stimulate the economy, it is stimulating the economy of their country not ours.

Add to that, the fact that much of the cost these businesses ensue in bringing foreign workers over to the United States is passed on to U.S. Citizens through higher food prices, and other means. The hiring of these foreign workers is placing an added burden on the very people who are being kept from working by the hiring of these workers.

While I am sure that these foreign workers really need the jobs, and probably do a good job for their employers, it is time we put America first, and put American citizens back to work.