How foreign people can obtain workplace in Alaska? (Anchorage, Metlakatla: appliances, motel)

[NomadicBear]

Originally Posted by Chilkoot

Not that I agree with it but employers continue to hire out-of-country workers because their work ethic is higher than many here in the US that look for seasonal work. They normally get paid more in the US than in their countries and they show up to work when they're suppose to.

This is completely false. While I was paying my way through college, I was Bell Captain at a hotel/casino which would bring in seasonal help from eastern Europe every summer. Why? Because they would work for minimum wage and they were set up in low rent college dorms which allowed them to save most of their earnings. Back home, $20,000 US dollars would buy a nice flat. Their work ethic was neither impressive nor lackluster. They were basically the same as any other minimum wage worker. Some were good, some not so good. I remember several Irish kids being sent home for drinking on the job. The idea that these foreign workers are better than US workers is false, and an insult to Americans.

[Chilkoot]

Originally Posted by NomadicBear

This is completely false. While I was paying my way through college, I was Bell Captain at a hotel/casino which would bring in seasonal help from eastern Europe every summer. Why? Because they would work for minimum wage and they were set up in low rent college dorms which allowed them to save most of their earnings. Back home, $20,000 US dollars would buy a nice flat. Their work ethic was neither impressive nor lackluster. They were basically the same as any other minimum wage worker. Some were good, some not so good. I remember several Irish kids being sent home for drinking on the job. The idea that these foreign workers are better than US workers is false, and an insult to Americans.

I didn't say foreign workers were better than US workers. I said that their work ethic is higher than many in the US. I base this on speaking with employers everyday as a part of my job at the Dept of Labor and this is what I'm told. They will continue to hire foreign workers because of their work ethic.

Be as insulted as you want. You have based your opinion on one job you held in the past. I based my comments on speaking with many hiring managers.

[NomadicBear]

Originally Posted by Chilkoot

I didn't say foreign workers were better than US workers. I said that their work ethic is higher than many in the US. I base this on speaking with employers everyday as a part of my job at the Dept of Labor and this is what I'm told. They will continue to hire foreign workers because of their work ethic.

Be as insulted as you want. You have based your opinion on one job you held in the past. I based my comments on speaking with many hiring managers.

Yeah, and you base your "opinion" on the comments from the hiring managers of these large corporations- the very corporations who are busy insourcing cheap labor. Yeah, there's no conflict of interest there...

[Chilkoot]

NomadicBear, I really think we agree here. It is horrible that with this economy and the many US citizens who are unemployed that organizations are hiring foreigners. Maybe we should all be insulted that this is taking place.

[Metlakatla]

To the OP; on the site I posted there is some information about the 1-9 process.

I wouldn't count on farming; most of the available jobs are seasonal work in the tourism industry.

I know that for the most part if these jobs could be filled by American citizens, they would be. You've got to keep in mind the remote locations of some of these places that hire foreigners. Princess Resorts, for instance....the local population isn't anywhere near enough to meet their employment needs.

[melbern]

Have you thought about other places in Europe? You can move anywhere in the EU and legally work. It might be easier than finding work in the States.

[JohnPF]

The Mexicans beat you to that job... farm help that is.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by NomadicBear

This is completely false. While I was paying my way through college, I was Bell Captain at a hotel/casino which would bring in seasonal help from eastern Europe every summer. Why? Because they would work for minimum wage and they were set up in low rent college dorms which allowed them to save most of their earnings. Back home, $20,000 US dollars would buy a nice flat. Their work ethic was neither impressive nor lackluster. They were basically the same as any other minimum wage worker. Some were good, some not so good. I remember several Irish kids being sent home for drinking on the job. The idea that these foreign workers are better than US workers is false, and an insult to Americans.

And I'm guessing that this hotel/casino hired a good deal of U.S. workers as well, and didn't pay them any better than they paid the foreign workers. The US workers had the same chance to live in dorms and save their earnings. The companies that follow legal hiring practices with regards to foreign workers have to jump through a lot of hoops and basically prove that the positions they fill with foreign workers can't be otherwise filled.

Jobs in the hospitality industry typically begin at min. wage; right or wrong that's the way it's always been.

Originally Posted by Chilkoot

I didn't say foreign workers were better than US workers. I said that their work ethic is higher than many in the US. I base this on speaking with employers everyday as a part of my job at the Dept of Labor and this is what I'm told. They will continue to hire foreign workers because of their work ethic.

Be as insulted as you want. You have based your opinion on one job you held in the past. I based my comments on speaking with many hiring managers.

In my experience, Eastern European workers are among the best of Alaska's seasonal employees and I agree that on average a more mature work ethic is in place when compared to their US counterparts, with the possible exception of Mormon college students. There is a good reason why Alaska companies recruit heavily in Utah for seasonal positions.

Originally Posted by NomadicBear

Yeah, and you base your "opinion" on the comments from the hiring managers of these large corporations- the very corporations who are busy insourcing cheap labor. Yeah, there's no conflict of interest there...

I don't agree with you that the corporations are "insourcing" cheap labor. They need labor and the local communities don't have the necessary population base; no one is being screwed out of a job. I've never known of any local being denied employment at a corporation that also hires foreigners without good cause.

Originally Posted by Chilkoot

NomadicBear, I really think we agree here. It is horrible that with this economy and the many US citizens who are unemployed that organizations are hiring foreigners. Maybe we should all be insulted that this is taking place.

It will be interesting to see what happens this summer with this and I agree that citizens of the US should be given first priority for these jobs. By the same token, I recently talked to the graduating class of my winter home in Oregon about summer job opportunities in Alaska and elsewhere, almost all of them had reasons why they would prefer not to leave home. That's fine but nonetheless these jobs need to be filled.

These of course aren't family wage year round jobs; they are seasonal jobs and they're just fine for supplementing college or retirement expenses or providing people with access to a nomadic lifestyle; it works well for a lot of people.

Originally Posted by melbern

Have you thought about other places in Europe? You can move anywhere in the EU and legally work. It might be easier than finding work in the States.

The OP was asking about legal work opportunities in Alaska. They do exist, and the seasonal workers bring a lot of positive things to our state.

[JohnPF]

The only way an employer ca bring you to work in US is if their job search comes out empty. So they have to post an ad looking for an average position, but with extraordinary requirements. Some kind of a degree or specialisation that no ameriacan having it would apply for the job.
Thats how it works. No matter how many phone calls the company receives from qualifiied people, the interviewer can always say that they did not meet our critieria.Than with proof of advertising they bring you in.
I know of at least one guy who hardly spoke English and is now making over 200k a year, brought in this way.

[NomadicBear]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

And I'm guessing that this hotel/casino hired a good deal of U.S. workers as well, and didn't pay them any better than they paid the foreign workers. The US workers had the same chance to live in dorms and save their earnings.

I don't agree with you that the corporations are "insourcing" cheap labor. They need labor and the local communities don't have the necessary population base; no one is being screwed out of a job. I've never known of any local being denied employment at a corporation that also hires foreigners without good cause.

Wrong- these dorms were NOT available for the US workers. This was a package deal set up with the college so that Irish students could come for the summer and would be provided cheap lodging and a job, and would leave prior to the local students returning.

You can disagree all you want about the insourcing of cheap labor. Tell that to my cousin who is training eastern Indian H1B workers to take his job as a computer engineer for one of the largest insurance companies in this country. Talk to all of the journeymen drywallers who lost their jobs to illegal aliens. Talk to ALL tradesman in the construction industry. Talk to the truckers who have watched their wages fall, and jobs disappear as the industry is flooded with cheap labor. Talk to factory workers in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia who were replaced with illegal aliens working for less than minimum wage. Talk to the cable installers on the west coast whose industry is now cornered by illegal aliens. Talk to restaurant workers whose pay has stagnated due to this flood of cheap, replaceable labor. Talk to the seemingly infinite number of citizens whose wages, and quality of life have suffered greatly because of this corporate greed disease. By god, get out and talk to people.