A story of lost 'stimulus jobs' to 'foreigners' in 2010. It started long ago in Oregon

Oregon Clear Cuts: Aerial View

Before you get to the main article on jobs being given to 'foreigners', jobs that Americans will not do or work as hard at, let me tell you about the HoeDads. The HoeDads started in 1971 and I used to know quite a few of them.

They were an independent bunch who embraced environmentalism, feminism, and deeply believed in reforestation, conservation and loathed the logging practice known as 'clear cutting' which was very poplular throughout the Pacific Northwest. I worked in the woods for over 12 years, as a faller, setting chokers, knot bumper, driving a water or fuel truck, and fought wild fires. It was through clear cutting a 60 acre unit that I met 'Goatman and Goat woman.' So called because they had a herd of 40 or so Nubian goats they contracted out to clear land of undesirable vegetation like Poison Oak, Vine Maple, Blackberry etc. GM and GW had several kids(not little goats)Moonbeam, Sunrise, Moonshadow and Eclipse. I 'kid' you not. Their goats were grazing in meadow where we had a permit to clear cut. Being members of the Hoedads they were

not happy. A peaceful argument ensued and my entire crew was invited to their camp. GM and GW lived out of a conveted 1954 International school bus and the rest of this HoeDad crew in similar rigs, some in tepees, tents, you name it. There was around 50 HoeDads in this group, the size varying as they left for various work throughout Oregon and Washington. Here is a Hoedad, what was used to plant trees by hand.

This was in the late 1970's, early 1980's. Most of the Hoedads at that time were tree planters and they used a 'hoedad(see picture) to plant the trees after units had been logged, often times clear cut. I planted trees when I was not loggging or fighting fires and it is hard, back busting work. You are in all kinds of weather, very steep terrain, carrying a large pack of seedling trees and equipment with you. Planitng 4 to 8 trees a minute was not unusual. I got along really well with the Hoedads, especially GM, GW and their children. They often invaded our home to use as a camp when they came to town for supplies or a much needed shower. Yes, they smelled like goats, think about it. I admired their work ethics, convictions and love for the land and all critters that lived in the woods. They came to respect me and the guys I worked with as they realized we loved the same things, wanted to protect the same things, we just went about it in different ways. Trees like the one shown in the above picture were a rarity by the mid 1980's. I did help fall numerous trees this size before logging, clear cutting in the old growth stands of timber was mostly stopped by the late 1980's, early 1990's.

Sadly, The HoeDads were victims of their own fortune, environmentalism and the glut of illegal aliens taking their jobs for sometimes a third of what the Hoedads were paid. I lost track of Goat man and Goat Woman in 1987. The HoeDads as a cooperative died in 1994.

Now what does this have to do with 2010 and a bunch of jobs lost to 'foreigners.' Read on to the article below. What really got me hopping mad was the comments about Americans not working as hard or wanting these jobs as badly as these 'foreigners.' These jobs pay $12.00 to $22.00 an hour. I have plenty of friends who ahve been unable to find work. I asked them about this and they were furious. Each and every one of them are as hard working, dependable and trustworthy as you can find. They would gladly take these jobs in a heart beat. I will put my friends up against anyone as far as effort, speed and quality of work. I have known many legal and illegal workers who busted their butts hard all day and night, ran circles around the Americans, the locals who we were working with at the time. It can go both ways. In this economy, all jobs should go to LEGAL Americans first. Then they need to prove themselves on the job. if they cannot handle it, I know plenty more who can, and are willing and able to do these jobs. It is OUR tax dollars being used to fund these jobs. They should go to legal Americans first. A shame that this sytem is so screwed up.

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Stimulus jobs go to foreign workers
Oregon contractors hiring for forest work, say qualified locals unavailable
By Keith Chu / The Bulletin

 July 25. 2010 WASHINGTON — Even as unemployment rates remain high across Central and Eastern Oregon, the state’s forest contractors are importing foreign workers — and using them on federal stimulus contracts that were designed to boost local economies.

The 2009 stimulus law — the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — allows federal agencies to award contracts to companies that use foreign labor on the jobs, even though the measure was largely intended to provide a short-term boost in U.S. employment. Just under $13 million in U.S. Forest Service contracts have been awarded to date to Oregon companies using seasonal foreign workers, according to an analysis by The Bulletin of federal visa and contract records. For their part, the companies importing workers say the foreigners work harder and faster than local applicants and are willing to do jobs the locals don’t want.

That’s cause for anger among many of those firms’ Central and Eastern Oregon competitors.

They argue that they’re being undercut by firms that use foreign labor and say the federal government isn’t doing enough to make sure their competitors are following all the rules.

Darst Atherly, owner of Atherly Contracting in Bend and Burns, said he was outbid by 50 percent on a recent federal contract by a firm using foreign labor.

“I can’t compete with that,” Atherly said.

American companies are allowed to recruit seasonal foreign workers for certain industries, such as seafood sorting and forest work, under the H-2B visa program. According to the Labor Department’s website, a company can recruit workers if it proves there aren’t unemployed U.S. citizens available to do the jobs and that bringing in workers won’t depress wages or worsen working conditions for U.S. workers. The program is separate from the H-2A temporary visas for farmworkers.

There’s nothing new about companies importing foreign workers for low-paying, labor-intensive jobs like forest and farm work. What makes this situation unique is that the federal stimulus bill requires contractors to pay higher wages — ranging from about $12 to $22 per hour for most forest work, what’s known as a “prevailing wage” under the Service Contract and Davis-Bacon acts. Those laws set higher minimum wages for workers on certain federal contracts.

Approval process
Even at those rates, however, at least eight Oregon forestry contractors this year asked to bring in foreign workers because they were unable to find U.S. labor.

U.S. Labor Department and Oregon Employment Department officials said corporations currently “self-attest,” or sign a form without providing other documentation, saying that they’ve been unable to find local workers willing or qualified for jobs. Several years ago, states had some oversight of H-2B workers, but today the U.S. Labor Department has sole responsibility, said Oregon Employment Department Legislative Manager Rebecca Nance.

“An H-2B employer doesn’t have to contact us like an (employer importing farmworkers) has to,” Nance said. “They can place their own job listing and self-attest to the outcome.”

Labor Department spokesman Michael Trupo wrote in an e-mail that the department audits some applications to ensure they’re meeting federal requirements. When The Bulletin asked to review the visa applications made by five companies that requested guest workers, Trupo wrote in an e-mail that the applications are available only by making a Freedom of Information Act request. The U.S. Forest Service was unable to determine whether complaints had been made against the four Oregon contractors with the most guest workers in a week’s time. Forest Service spokeswoman Valerie Baca did say that contractors must be in good standing when contracts are issued.

According to Labor Department records, the biggest importers of foreign labor were Central Point contractor G.E. Forestry, which received approval for 123 seasonal workers this year; Medford’s Cutting Edge Forestry, with 72; Ashland’s Summitt Forests Inc., with 66; and Ponderosa Reforestation, of Medford, with 39. Combined, the companies have received just more than $10 million in federal stimulus contracts for thinning and removing debris from Oregon forests.

G.E. Forestry office manager Victor Gomez said his company brings in visa workers because they do the job better than locals. A willingness to work quickly, especially, is what sets them apart, Gomez said. Although Gomez said he advertises jobs in local newspapers, few locals want the jobs after he explains the work required. The ones who do usually quit once they realize the amount of effort that G.E. demands, Gomez said.

“(Local workers) do it, but they can’t do it at the same pace; they can’t put out the same work as the other employees,” Gomez said. “They’re pushed to keep up with the other employees, and that’s when they don’t want to do it.”

Because foreign workers are here just to work, Gomez said, they’re often more motivated than U.S. employees.

“I think they’re more motivated for that money,” he said. “They don’t have unemployment to go on. If they don’t work, they go back to Mexico.”

High unemployment
Companies are requesting foreign workers at a time when the state has an unemployment rate above 10 percent; Crook County leads the state, at a seasonally adjusted 16 percent unemployment, and Deschutes is close behind at 14 percent, according to Oregon Employment Department statistics. The forest and construction industry in particular has a glut of unemployed workers, following the implosion of the region’s construction industry. Deschutes County lost 58 percent of its logging, mining and construction jobs between 2007 and this spring, according to the Employment Department.

Mike Wheelock, owner of Grayback Forestry in Merlin, said he used foreign workers in the middle part of the last decade, when the labor market was tight. But now he’s had no trouble finding willing workers.

“Right now, if I put an ad in, I could get anywhere from 200 to 400 applications from local workers,” Wheelock said.

Darst Atherly said he has so many inquiries from job seekers that he doesn’t need to advertise when a spot opens at his firm.

“I get three to five calls a week from people seeking employment, despite having no ads and despite telling people I’m not hiring,” Atherly said.

Overseeing H-2B visas
That has driven Atherly, Wheelock and other forest contractors to complain that their competitors might be skirting labor requirements that companies must advertise for jobs and accept American applicants before seeking foreign workers.

American University law professor Jayesh Rathod, who co-authored a recent report on abuses in the Maryland crab industry’s H-2B visa program, said critics have long questioned how closely the Department of Labor oversees the program.

“I think this is a general area of concern — how closely is the DOL looking at those attestations? Are they checking to see how thorough the recruitment process was, or are they accepting the claim on its face?” Rathod said.

Gomez dismissed complaints by other contractors as sour grapes. He said his company has to follow state and federal labor laws, just as other contractors must.

“I personally think it is just jealousy,” Gomez said.

It is NOT jealousy from these other contractors. I know for a fact that the laws and rules of the program from the DOL are often times skirted so the contractors can hire foreigners. With local unemployment rates as high as 16-18% in some counties in Oregon, give the jobs to those Americans who really want them. Not to the foreigners here on visas or illegaly. PatriotUSA