Mandatory drug testing would be a good start. If I have to submit to drug testing to work, then they need to be required to draw a check.

I bet removing the ones that it would weed out from being eligible would pay for the cost of the drug testing, too.

I may be wrong on Milroe… I thought I was wrong once before but I was mistaken. 😂

That is exactly how it has happened up to this point. And all the illegal employees that El Jefe has may also have paperwork. Who knows if it is real or not?

The problem I see with all this is that now, El Jefe won’t be able to get a new crew to work for his new company. The ONLY way I see this deal not causing a big problem with the construction industry is if ICE lets the illegals go that do not have a criminal (other than being here illegally) record. And how do they even know who they really are if they are illegals? It’s a dang mess. I just hope Trump hasn’t made it worse.

Why have to have the labor burden of 50-60 employees as subcontractor when you can keep 5-6 guys and 1099 the labor out and be shielded from the responsibility. Subs have become product/installation brokers in the last 10 years.

That’s right. It’s good business.

You cant compete unless you use that model.

That was my point, if there isnt illegals, that'll end that. If it causes problems. Good. Hope they go out out of business. They wasn't concerned when the American companies were put out of business so illegal immigrant owned companies could take their place. Serves them right.

For a majority the people in Fairhope would stand in front of ICE blocking them from doing their jobs.

I understand your point. My point is there are no replacements. So me and you are the end consumer here. We will suffer along with everyone else. Inflation will get much worse.

American companies were put out of business over the past 30 yrs or so by their legal American employees and the US govt. The majority of the labor employees were dopeheads with poor work ethic and a sense of entitlement. Not all, but the majority were. The generation coming up behind them was allowed by those same dopehead parents, to do nothing but stay inside and play video games and lay on the couch all day, so none of them have ever worked a hard day's labor and feel that they are too good to start. Then, with nobody policing unemployment or welfare in any way, and congress continuing to increase the bennies every single year, it got to the point that they could make as much or more money, just staying home. Which they did. Covid just exacerbated the problem and the govt made it possible, and even easier, to get paid for doing nothing at all. American worker's attitudes, laziness, lack of ambition and poor work ethic are the reason that the majority of those American companies you're referencing ended up going out of business. The owners just finally had enough of the hassle of trying to deal with govt regs, HR, labor management, the constant turnover and trying to find people that would actually show up and work hard for that fair day's pay. Dont believe me, try to find construction workers, heavy equipment operators and OTR truck drivers that can pass both a background check, and a full panel drug screen. 20 will apply and when you tell them you are serious about those 2 requirements, 18 will walk out the door because they cannot pass one, or the other, or both. The American companies that wanted to stay in business had no choice but to move to the subcontract "labor broker" model in order to be able to continue to staff jobs and complete work while passing all that liability on to El Jefe. I'll also mention this. If you're going to pay $30/hr each to a 6 man framing crew, do you want to pay it to the all American crew that will finish framing one house a week or the all hispanic crew that will complete 3 in the same amount of time. Quality of work will be pretty much the same with either. This is the real problem and unless you deal with blue collar workers and laborers on a daily basis, it's hard to understand. It's much easier to just blame the illegals. And for the record, I do think they should be deported because crossing illegally is a criminal offense.

I dont know what world you're living in. But this isnt something I heard around the water cooler. This is something I grew up in. You trying to tell us mexicans dont do drugs or commit crimes. GTFO of here with that silliness.

I have zero sympathy for someone who has been here for years and years taking US dollars and sending it back down to Mexico/Central America via Western Union and never once bothered to try and become legal. The excuse that the "employer" had no other option is lame. We all were a part of creating and supporting the problem and now both sides get to deal with it and figure out a way forward.

Lastly, talked to a contractor buddy on the eastern shore about 10 minutes ago, and he said that there were 7 people arrested yesterday by ICE in south Baldwin, when they hit a DR Horton job site. (boy I called that one in my post above). They hit a couple other tract builder's sites, but word had already spread (cell phones make ICE's job a hard one) and the ones that they were looking for at the other locations were in already in the wind.

Never said they didn't and not saying they dont. I'm telling your dumbass why those American companies went out of business and why the ones that didnt, are now using foreign labor brokers and sub-contracting, instead of running 40-50 legal American guys on their payroll like they used to. I could also mention the fraudulent lawsuits, work comp fraud, fraudulent disability claims, not taking care of equipment, showing up drunk or high, no call no shows, and a myriad of other great things that the American workers put their business owners through on a daily basis, that simply did not happen 35 years ago. Goodman, until you're actually owning and/or running a business, dealing with it on a daily basis, taking the personal risk and dealing with cashflow, financing, labor, insurance, abundance of work, lack of work, govt regs, taxes, reporting requirements, collecting money from deadbeat clients, material shortages, price escalations, HR, on job performance, deadlines and all the headaches that come with it, you might want to just keep your pie hole shut about what you think you know about things. Just go to work 5 days a week for someone else, that is actually taking the risk of having a business and providing you with that job that you have, and be glad that you can collect that weekly paycheck. Like I said above, I agree that they should be deported because they are here illegally, but the American govt and the American workers themselves, have caused a huge part of the problem that is now finally having to be addressed and dealt with, and it is going to be very painful to our country in the short term. It's just like America's drug problem. If there wasnt a demand, there wouldn't be someone attempting to fill it. In the case of labor, it is actually a need because there are a huge number of working age, legal Americans that have simply removed themselves from the workplace/labor pool and are nowhere to be found. That is our government's fault for creating a nanny state where people can get paid and actually live pretty well, for simply staying at home and walking to the mailbox to collect a check. It's also why our country is 36 trillion in debt. Any blue collar white or black American that is dependable, hard-working, clean, and good, or even just decent at his craft, can find a job at will, and pretty much name his price. They simply are not there to do it. I'd love to hire 5 more guys right now but they are simply not there to be found and I'm not going to pay a dopehead $30/hr plus benefits to swing a hammer and only show up 3 days a week, and then fart around for half the day on his cell phone when he should be working. Ask anyone on here that actually owns or runs a business, how hard it is to find even decent help, that will show up 5 days a week, and work hard while they are on the job. The overall work ethic for a large part of the American workforce is in the toilet.

Yall hired "cheap" immigrants, starved american business owners out and now complain there's no one who wants to work. You should move your company to mexico, you can hire all the wonderfull hardworking mexicans you want.

Winner winner chicken dinner!

Could not have said it any better.

Your reading comprehension score is very low Goodman. It's obvious that you know nothing whatsoever about the construction industry but I mistakenly assumed you could at least read. The hispanic labor is not cheaper than the American labor and hasnt been for a very long time. Their pricing is the exact same as any American sub doing the same work. "Cheap" never enters the equation. Only difference is that they actually show up, and knock the work out in roughly half the time as a comparable American subcontractor because they actually "work" while they are on the job. They have GL insurance, W/C, FEIN, business licenses, and all the same as their American counterparts. I'd love to find some good hard working American construction labor. Since you're so well versed on the subject, why dont you help me and all the others on this site, that are constantly complaining about not being able to find labor, get fully staffed with some good Ol' American labor. We are all in the same boat as far as finding good hardworking qualified people. We run ads and attempt to find these unicorns that you speak of. Where are they all hiding Goodman? Tell us because we'd love to tap into this virgin labor pool that you seem to think exists somewhere.

Correct.

i dont need reading comp, because this isn't something I read. Its something I lived. This problem didn't just start. 20 years ago yall sold out and started hiring mexicans because it was cheaper. This caused Americans wages to stay lower. No Americans wanted to work for half price for twice as long. Mexican business owners would do jobs at cost and put americans out of work. They could do the job cheaper because 10 of them lived in an apartment and got drove to work in a van. Then they'd move their family up her and put them on welfare.People like you totally collapsed the blue collar workforce and businesses. Now you conveniently claim no Americans will work. For the 20-30 years yall have took away any incentive for people to work construction.
Usually the ones saying "americans wont work' also pay someone else to do their yardwork. lol

So since you cant find Americans who'll work and your labor pool is being rounded up by ICE. What yall gonna do, start doing the work yourselves or find another job?