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Subject: Guest Workers

11/26/01

Page one of today's Los Angeles Times features a story about the unemployment status of African Americans [Jobless Blacks Face Steepest Challenge]. It's now 9.7%, up from 7.5% in January. The rate for Whites is 4.8%, up from 3.6% in January.

The primary reasons for high rates of Black unemployment are low levels of skills and educations.

There are approximately 10 million low-skilled Americans who have similar skills and education levels as the estimated 8 million illegal aliens. In many cases, these two labor segments compete with each other for jobs.

In spite of the above, the Bush Administration continues on with its mindless pursuit to grant amnesty to 8 million illegal aliens as part of a Guest Worker program. It seems to me that performing millions of illegal alien background checks is something of dubious merit. A real low brainer. Just as important, in light of our current recession, any guest worker program must be benchmarked by how many workers are needed and what kinds of skills and other qualifications they should bring with them. The program must match specific jobs with specific people who are granted entry for specific and limited periods of time. There must be equally specific conditions for economic downturns as with our current recession. And before that happens, there must be verifiable proof of the unavailability of American labor to perform these jobs. It's a myth that Americans won't do hard labor. The truth is that Americans won't live four or five families in a garage, and suffer similar indignities just to sell their labors at inhuman levels. So working conditions and wages must also be improved to attract low-skilled Americans and fairly compensate quest workers.

Any elected official who opts for a Guest Worker program without iron-clad fixes to each of the above issues deserves to be booted out-of-office at their next election.

MS