I am the owner of an open/merit shop steel erection company. After years of a challenging relationship with the unions, I now find myself closely allied with the local unions in an effort to protect American jobs.
During the Biden administration, millions of illegal aliens poured over our borders, putting American jobs under attack. Some unscrupulous companies hire illegal aliens over hardworking Americans, while other companies unknowingly hire illegal aliens who were given work permits at the border. Hiring illegal aliens over American workers undercuts wages and benefits and takes work away from honest companies that put Americans first.
The construction industry is one of the main industries that has been negatively impacted by this flood of immigration. Although New Hampshire is not a sanctuary state, New England’s construction market is a regional market, and New Hampshire is surrounded by sanctuary states. To add insult to injury, we are now seeing erection companies from sanctuary states beyond New England coming in and taking work while American workers, both open shop and union, sit idle.
Examples of companies hiring illegal aliens over American workers are all around us. I recently was informed of a company that voiced a complaint to the DOL in Maine over a specific company on a specific job using illegal aliens over American steel erectors. The response was that the DOL wasn’t concerned with immigration status. Another example was a company that was using illegal aliens and rotating them out every few days to make it more difficult to track.
Companies use cheap illegal labor for a variety of reasons. They will argue that the labor pool is too small, and they can’t find workers. But that argument doesn’t hold up when the union halls are full, and honest open shop companies can’t compete on labor costs. Many illegal immigrants are exploited for cheap labor. But an illegal immigrant is not just an “undocumented immigrant,” they’re also an undocumented worker. This can lead to job-site safety and legal issues. Often, illegal immigrants are paid cash to avoid requirements such as OSHA training, health insurance, workers’ compensation coverage, and state and federal taxes. This not only undercuts American wages and honest companies but also puts the illegal worker at risk of injury without any medical coverage or recourse.
Here’s the reality. Sanctuary states welcome illegal aliens, unscrupulous companies hire illegal aliens, and then those companies can underbid using cheap illegal labor. Unfortunately, because we are a regional construction market, there is no one monitoring it at the state line. We hold companies responsible for their own hiring. But if no one is monitoring it, then who is protecting American jobs? At this point, the unions and honest open shop companies are left trying to fight for the American worker.
