LOS ANGELES — Leo W. Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers, wrote a blog for the Huffington Post that said many immigrants are lured across the U.S. border by a promise of work.
The Feb. 4 blog stated that employers such as carwashes, corporate farms, construction companies and lawn care businesses have enticed immigrants by providing jobs with no questions asked. The undocumented workers are then abused with impunity.
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The new legislation proposed by President Obama will provide a path to citizenship while securing the borders. It would also crack down on companies that lure workers into the country by illegally hiring them, according to the blog.
One Los Angeles employee Gerard cited in the story said he was promised $8 an hour at a carwash, but when he received his first paycheck he was paid $7 an hour and only compensated for half the hours worked.
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The employee stated that when he asked his co-workers about the wage theft, the owner had said he could do whatever he wanted because the workers had no rights.
The worker said if no path to citizenship is provided to the 11 million undocumented workers already in the U.S., business owners will continue to mistreat workers.
Read the entire blog here.
