Immigrants: cheaper than you think

Many businesses have been very supportive of the Day without Immigrants protest:

Via Reuters:

Dozens of companies have sought advice from the Atlanta-based law firm of Jackson Lewis, which specializes in labor issues, said one of its partners, Jonathan Spitz.

"It shows the extent that people are taking this seriously," said Spitz, who said some companies were even considering opening on Sunday in order to close on Monday.

"There's been an awful lot of cooperation by companies and by employees," Spitz said. "No one who has called is looking to fire employees when there are better solutions."

And Via CNN:

Tyson Foods is shutting meatpacking plants on Monday, citing market conditions and a possible shortage of workers. Meatpacker Cargill Meat Solutions is giving 15,000 workers the day off so they can participate, The Associated Press reported.

This isn't a surprise, these stories are all from late last week. These businesses planned with their workers to shut down. And of course it's in their interest to do so. I've seen a lot of commentary about businesses wanting to continue to hire illegals because they're cheap, but they're cheaper than you think. It's not just about paying low, low wages - it's about avoiding paying the costs of making the workplace safe in dangerous trades like meatpacking or construction.

According to the site Occupational Hazards:

... a substantial increase in workplace fatalities for Latino and other immigrant workers. In 2004, the fatality rate among Latino workers was 19 percent higher than the fatal injury rate for all U.S. workers. At the national level, fatal injuries to immigrant Latino workers increased 11 percent from 2003 to 2004. Of the foreign-born workers who were fatally injured at work in 2004, 60 percent were Latino. The AFL-CIO attributes the sudden upsurge of workplace deaths on the reduction of OSHA's and the MSHA's budgets for the past 5 years.

It's in the interest of some employers to have a cheap workforce with a precarious immigration status. These businesses don't want to turn off the tap for cheap, compliant labor. But I suspect they're not much interested in serious immigration reform either.

Native born Americans might work for low wages, but they're less likely to put up with illegal employment practices - even in a climate where the Bush administration has slashed budgets for enforcement. Those with the ax of deportation hanging over their head are unlikely to complain about dangerous and deadly workplaces.

T-tags: immigration, labor, health and safety, OSHA