Nickr42

I'm a Michigan Resident but had to come down to Tennessee because one of my builders started building down here in Spring Hill, TN., He likes my work so he asked me to come down when he had two homes ready. Man I tell you what I have never seen so many Mexicans in one sub. They seem to be in all the trades and they can't speak, they just smile and node. What's going on? Is there no american trades people in this area? Or are the builders just screwing everyone in this area and hiring the cheap mexican labor. Don't get me wrong some of them really do good work and some not, but should they be working and is anyone checking on them ?

Let us all know what you think ?

daArch

Most of the painters here in MA are Brazilian, as you say many are very good workers, but the communication issue is a BIG problem. Homeowner asks a question or gives directive and they smile and nod. Many are illegal and no taxes are paid and they take a lot less in pay. This makes for a VERY uneven playing field.

Another problem is the quality of work. Although they are good workers and INTERESTED in quality, that don't make them experienced. Like all inexperienced workers, you can't do good work if you don't know what you are doing.

Went to an estimate a couple of weeks ago and you know what ? there were painters working, both were BORN and BRED in the USA, EDUCATED in America, and spoke and communicated well in ENGLISH. They were doing REAL good work. They said they were often joked to about being citizens by birth.

While we're on the subject, here's a little something:

Press "1" for English : 1

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Active member, National Guild of Professional Paperhangers (NGPP)

Wallcovering Installations by Bill Archibald|paperhanger|Eastern Mass|Greater Boston Area|Dover|Wellesley|Franklin|Sharon|MA

back@it

Great link! I'll be passing that one on...

firemike

Excellent Link - It hit the nail on the head!

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-Mike-

boman47k

Man! Thats downright patriotic!

Workaholic

Spring Hill, pretty close to me, straight up the 65, less than an hour away.
Yes it is true that mexicans are in every trade down here. I wish that there was people to regulate this problem. Legal citizens can not live as cheap, or work as cheap as ther illegals. It is a regular epedemic that needs to be dealt with. In my opinion they are law breakers and should be dealt with as criminals. If i ran a red light in front of a cop would he turn a blind eye? Of course not, now if the car was packed with illegals this is what they do. I think illegals are much more of a problem than speeding tickets.

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Sean

Workaholic

Nick how does that work, is everything ready? Carpet in, shoe mold down? Or is there a touch up?

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Sean

THINKPAINTING

I am in Ma and all my painters are AMERICAN and very good workers

What I see from Illegals is many go off on there own and take mcuh of the work away because they work so cheap.

My drywall guy just lost 30 new homes to ILLEGALS for half his price and he has no other work......That is not right..........

On a recent commerical job all the wallcovering was done by mexican'sthe workmanship was awful.........but low bid wins....

I could go on and on.............I have lost about 30% of my customer base to Illegal contractors who used to work for other contractors but when out on there own..........they work 100 hrs a week have no idea how to estimate and they think the more work they have the more money they make..........

Tell me again why I fought for my country......:m ad:

MarvinWilleyJr

One day we showed up on the job we are doing at the navy base and 2 out of a crew of like 30 drywallers showed up. They tightened security at the gate and caught a ton on the mexicans without papers... Took them a few days to reup their crew with legitmate workers.

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A stupid man's report of what a clever man says is never accurate because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand.

Wolverine-Eric

As far as I am concerned... I class people that use illegals right up there with people who shop at Wal-Mart...

Both groups are self-centered greedy people who are willing to sell out their fellow Americans to save a couple of dollars!

If anyone doesn't mind buying products from countries (like China) where American jobs have been oursourced to, then you shouldn't mind people outsourcing your job either!

Ohhhhh... I bet that might hurt someone...

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Some things just shouldn't be mixed... like... Kids & Paint

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daArch

It's a serious issue, illegals in the work force. I am real glad that one of the trade mags had the balls to address it a few years ago.

On a grass roots level, we need to educate homeowners and contractors of the risks, libilities, and down right UNAMERICAN thinking involved in knowingly hiring illegals. Tell the homeowner that WHEN one of them gets hurts they ARE NOT INSURED so who will pay the medical bills ???? (Plus Shylock's legal fees). Inform the homeowner he/she has every right (and legal obligation) to check the legal status of anyone who works on their property. Make them realize the RISK they assume by allowing illegals on their property.

Tell the contractor WHEN they get reported all hell will break loose, as has happened here in ultra liberal Massachusetts.

The tolerance level for illegals in the work force has dimimished greatly over the past several years. We need to make sure our customers and contractors will not tolerate them also. Sure, the cost savings in labor may be significant, but the cost of legal trouble will far outweigh it WHEN they get caught. And make sure they understand THEY WILL BE REPORTED.

As I said, the issue needs to be taken to a grass roots level. Our "leaders" in DC certainly can't git er done. We be the people with the power. USE IT !!! If you see it, REPORT it.

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Active member, National Guild of Professional Paperhangers (NGPP)

Wallcovering Installations by Bill Archibald|paperhanger|Eastern Mass|Greater Boston Area|Dover|Wellesley|Franklin|Sharon|MA

Nickr42

Most of the time the kitchen and bath cabnets are in, the tile is in, the wood floors are in (sometimes finished sometimes not) and thats it. In Michigan I do about an hour or two of Touch-ups with this builder after the carpet gets put in, the electic, toilets,tops and wood floors stain.

Down here in Tennessee the cabinets were put in right after I finished painting (which worked out perfect cause the the guy doing the work had some respect for my work.) He did some good work. The tile goes in after the painter is done i'm told. (I rather it be done because I know something will get F'ed-up.) I'm told that tile guys are hard to find here. Carpet always goes in after the painting is done.

The shoe? Have not seen any on this job. See not, Ask not.

Touch-ups ? Well I guess he will have to fly me down or I will have to move here.??????? There is a lot of work. No, he's good at making sure things don't get screwed up. (In Michigan.) Will see.

ModernStyle

Embarass the people who hire the illegals, make signs that tell how they hire illegals and put them in their neighborhoods. Replace all the papers in their info boxes on their yard signs with papers telling how the rat bastards raped the American people to get this house done for a few thousand less.
Take pictures of illegals working at job sites and send them to the builder with an official sounding letter saying you are collecting evidence for a lawsuit against companies that hire illegals. Or you could send the builder an official sounding letter asking them if they would like to join your lawsuit against companies that hire illegals, telll them that they would be joining thousands of other companies around the nation to help stamp out illegal labor.
The government seems to love illegal aliens more then its own people so dont expect any help from them, but if the country is going to hell in a hand bag you should atleast get to mess with some people along the way.
All these scumbags that are using illegal labor in their companies now better wise up because once Pedro gets his papers he wont be satisfied with $6 an hour anymore. Do you really think a guy who picks fruit for next to nothing will want to keep that job once he has papers and no longer lives in fear of being sent home? Hell no, he will be looking to move on up and live the American dream. So we will need a whole new crop of illegals to do the work that the fat lazy Americans wont do.
They want to say the cost of deporting illegals wound be too much money. I will kick in on it, hell I will capture some if they need me to.
Get me a couple of horses and them big nets they used on Planet of the Apes. As far as getting them home, I like the old fasioned ways the best. We build a big catapult and launch em back over the river, unless they are Asian or Middleastern, then we will need a real big catapult. Or we could shoot them out of cannons like at the circus. If they survive the impact they will atleast walk with a limp and it will be easy to tell who we have deported before.

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“When you disarm your subjects you offend them by showing that either from cowardliness or lack of faith, you distrust them; and either conclusion will induce them to hate you” Machiavelli

Workaholic

Interesting. I did'nt figure that you got in last. I was thinking maybe he had another guy that came in to do the odds and ins like the shoe and nicks and dings. I do new construction primarily and we get in after the trim is up, then do our job, and then after all other trades leave we come in and do the odds and ins. Thats also when we do our stairs and shoe.

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Sean

drywallet

Modern you must really hate them! I do like the Idea of them having a limp so we can pick them out

ModernStyle

Whats not to hate?
They sneak into our country, live off of our social security, steal our jobs, run into our cars without auto insurance, then calls us racist if we ask them to go home.
My top guy is hispanic, born in Mexico, came here legally with his family at the age of 5. He hates the fact that when people see him, a hispanic, painting that they automatically assume he is illegal. The paint store we shop at tried to hire him out from under me so he could comunicate with their illegal customers, he declined, it would have been a paycut and he didnt want every illegal in town wanting a better deal on prices just because they were "his mexican brothers".
It is not anything against hispanic people, if the illegals were white, black or green I would hate them just the same, its about what is right.
No other country would let people enter illegally and steal from its citizens, but our does. The last thing Mexico wants is 20 million unemplyed people getting sent home, it would cause a revolution, which is what they need. The US doesnt want Mexico to have a revolution, because that would be bad for all of the business we let get sent down there. It is all about money, and the illegals are here to make sure your pile gets smaller.

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http://ModernStylePaint.com
“When you disarm your subjects you offend them by showing that either from cowardliness or lack of faith, you distrust them; and either conclusion will induce them to hate you” Machiavelli

premierpainter

Modern-
Just because they are Mexican does not always mean that they are Illegal. We have spanish workers and all pay taxes, have families and ARE infact LEGAL. Before you pass judgement on an entire class of hard working, good guys maybe you should do your homework for God's sake

concretemasonry

If the illegals were deported we would have no one to do the work.

Then we would have to import other labor since we have low unemployment now.

If we didn't import other labor all the local businesses that sell food, clothes, gas, car parts, medicine would lose business and be forced to paint their own building because they had the time to do it them selves.

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Dick

Engineer, designer and consultant recently active internationally on construction and design in about 35 countries.

Mach

Your right it's not for me to judge. I let the INS or what ever that new agency is sort them out when I give them a call telling them company X is operating in a dangerous manner. You want to weed out illegals take action.

mickeyco

Read his entire post

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