Let's face it- Americans do not want to do low skill, low wage work! (employee, owner)

[Rocco Barbosa]

I have clients that are in the janitorial and landscaping business.

They cannot attract Native born Americans because the work is crappy and the pay is low. I watch my clients get frustrated because no one can speak English.

I'm all for people working but it's hard trying to speak to people that cannot take basic instructions.


And please don't give me that "oh, they work so hard" bull.

Because many of them are very lazy. I've fired a lot of foreigners over the years. Many are bone dead lazy. No different than American workers

[s1alker]

Originally Posted by Rocco Barbosa

I have clients that are in the janitorial and landscaping business.

They cannot attract Native born Americans because the work is crappy and the pay is low. I watch my clients get frustrated because no one can speak English.

Pay a living wage and benefits and you will get people to do these jobs. I know at my local school district you have janitors working there as a life long career because it pays decent wages and benefits.

[Moriarti]

Originally Posted by Rocco Barbosa

I have clients that are in the janitorial and landscaping business.

They cannot attract Native born Americans because the work is crappy and the pay is low. I watch my clients get frustrated because no one can speak English.

I'm all for people working but it's hard trying to speak to people that cannot take basic instructions.


And please don't give me that "oh, they work so hard" bull.

Because many of them are very lazy. I've fired a lot of foreigners over the years. Many are bone dead lazy. No different than American workers

What's your point?

Ever hear of the idiom, "An honest day's work for an honest day's pay"? Why should American's deserve anything less? Your clients are frustrated that they can't exploit native-born Americans like they can immigrants? Good grief man.

[RogersParkGuy]

Originally Posted by Rocco Barbosa

I have clients that are in the janitorial and landscaping business.

They cannot attract Native born Americans because the work is crappy and the pay is low. I watch my clients get frustrated because no one can speak English.

I'm all for people working but it's hard trying to speak to people that cannot take basic instructions.


And please don't give me that "oh, they work so hard" bull.

Because many of them are very lazy. I've fired a lot of foreigners over the years. Many are bone dead lazy. No different than American workers

So you're upset because people don't want to work for crappy wages?

[sjdemak]

A school maintenance man gets paid at-least $15/hr, and has benefits. Maybe if your clients paid real wages you wouldn't have this problem.

[andywire]

Wages are a function of supply and demand. If people aren't lining up to do your work, than the pay is not high enough. Even if you did raise the wage though, very few Americans are looking for this type of work for the simple reason that it has always paid very little. Americans know better than to chase such low hanging fruit.

Originally Posted by sjdemak

A school maintenance man gets paid at-least $15/hr, and has benefits. Maybe if your clients paid real wages you wouldn't have this problem.

That is not really a low skill job. Maintenance in a school setting requires some mechanical know how an addition to a work ethic. It's not rocket science. Some of it is probably similar to household maintenance, but there are tons of people in this country that can't even handle that.

[Reenale]

Ran out of a pool of slaves...boo hoo

[bUU]

Originally Posted by andywire

Wages are a function of supply and demand.

No. They're not. We very deliberately have a hybrid economy to keep the exploitative tendencies of those who would exploit financial power in check. Wages, since they affect people - human beings - are naturally supposed to be affected by both economic considerations (supply and demand) and civic considerations (living wages). There is no question that egoistic right-wingers have badly corrupted the balance of power in the labor marketplace between economic and civic considerations over the last generation - the doubling of economic injustice over that period is one clear indicator of this [recent news] - but that doesn't make their corrupted intentions de facto reality. Many people realize the patently offensive nature of that corruption, and are working to arrest it, reverse it, and put our nation back on track in terms of economic justice.

[nicet4]

Originally Posted by Rocco Barbosa

I have clients that are in the janitorial and landscaping business.

They cannot attract Native born Americans because the work is crappy and the pay is low. I watch my clients get frustrated because no one can speak English.

I'm all for people working but it's hard trying to speak to people that cannot take basic instructions.


And please don't give me that "oh, they work so hard" bull.

Because many of them are very lazy. I've fired a lot of foreigners over the years. Many are bone dead lazy. No different than American workers

I'm getting at the age where I just don't want to do yard work anymore, I am physically able but would rather spend my time at the gym, so I hire my yard work done.

It's a legitimate single owner company having one employee where the guy carries workers compensation and other required insurance so I don't get nailed if one of them gets hurt on the job.

This year I paid $400 for "spring cleaning" and planting flowers. Two workers here all day.

I pay $45 two to thee times a month from April to November.

For $45 these guys are in and out in 30 to 45 minutes tops. They have the machinery to do the job and fast. They mow, they trim, they vacuum and my yard always looks really great they are very well worth it. I have them on an as needed basis which is when they go by and my yard needs it they do it without asking and send me a bill once a month. Very good dependable service and I've never had the feeling I was being taken advantage of.

With truck, trailer and equipment I would guess there's $30,000 invested in the business. The mower is the king of mowers.. it cuts and vacuums at the same time and they're done with my 15,000 sq ft yard in about 20 minutes with mowing. Very impressive.

These two people have built the business up to where they have to fit you in and in spring and fall you will find them working 12 hour days and Saturday but never on Sunday.

They are always busy and most likely the business grosses $2,000 weekly for eight months out of the year.

Most likely gross $75,000.

How bad can workers comp and insurance for two guys be? $3,000 on the high side?

Other overhead, fuel and equipment expense is maybe $10,000 on the high side?

Around here the worker kid probably gets paid $12/hr for 1,500 hours = $18,000 annually. We'll call it $20,000 to cover payroll taxes. Hey, for this job you don't need a college degree.

I would calculate the owner receives a net of somewhere between $40,000 and $50,000 a year. Hey, it's a $20 to $25 an hour job that I wouldn't call exactly high stress and from December to March they do very little so he heads to Florida for four months. Excuse me as I cry my eyes out.

If it's $45,000 working eight months after expenses that's equivalent to $5,600 monthly or $1,300 weekly. I know the guy turns down work.

Think of it and don't knock it, for some people this would be the perfect, best ever job where you are always outside. I've watched them and the work isn't hard they spend 75% of their time here riding around on a mower. You are your own boss in control of your own future and get three to four months vacation every year?

We need to have more recognition that we are all different and unique, for some here this sort of work might sound worst others but for some of us something like this might be right up our alley.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by RogersParkGuy

So you're upset because people don't want to work for crappy wages?

Not so crappy when most of these workers have at least $800 a month to send home in remittances -- after housing, food and other living costs. Remittances to just Mexico are over $2 billion a month! Remittances to all the Central American nations is way up -- the pay can't be that bad.

One big problem - it's not just landscaping and housekeeping that Americans won't do. Cheap foreign workers are the only ones who will work in construction and in factories and in fast food and other restaurants. Even teaching jobs now are being filled with illegals. The list of jobs Americans won't do is getting too long.