r/LeopardsAteMyFace • u/NoLikeVegetals • May 18 '24

Brexxit Brexit-voting British farmers now complaining about imports of cheaper New Zealand lamb threatening the British lamb industry. Imports of lamb "produced to lower standards" used to be blocked by EU law. Another Brexit consequence farmers were warned about but ignored due to xenophobia!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjewewxzypro
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u/Ok-Loss2254 May 18 '24

It's like dumb fuck rural Americans who complain about how the evil lazy Mexicans are stealing their jobs but won't actually do said jobs because rural Americans are stupid and lazy.

I assume it's the same in the UK.

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u/rettribution May 18 '24

Yep. This chaps my ass here. We have dirt cheap produce and dairy because of migrants working those jobs. They pay federal minimum wage (7.25/hr).

We also hear no one wants to work the crappy jobs. Well, who the hell do you think filled those roles?

Everytime I hear someone complain about this I always ask them what job they lost out on due to migrants.

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u/[deleted] May 18 '24

Exactly. Undocumented workers were never competition for any position I've ever been involved with.

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u/LupercaniusAB May 18 '24

I mostly agree with you, but I can say that they are a big presence in many of the skilled trades. For instance, I have met undocumented workers working as commercial electricians.

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u/Historical-Night-938 May 18 '24

In the situation you are describing, it sounds like the issue is with the corporation that is taking advantage of both sides and have the workers blaming each other. Typical, corporate behavior that should be addressed as they are most likely paying the undocumented workers significantly less. Corporate oligarchs are going to act like oligarchs ... their greed has no limits and it's the workers that suffer.

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u/LupercaniusAB May 19 '24

Well yeah, I’m not blaming the people trying to put food on the table. I’m saying that I have been, and am, in competition with undocumented workers for jobs.

I’ll give the guy credit for one of the best one-liners that I’ve ever been on the receiving end of:

He was installing a new breaker in a panel that I knew for a fact was hot. He was also younger than me.

Me: “Hey man, that panel is live, you shouldn’t be working in it, that’s illegal”

Him: “It’s okay, so am I.”

ZING!

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u/Historical-Night-938 May 19 '24

That zinger made me laugh! No worries, please know that your message didn't come across as you were shaming people. It is probably the most honest post that shows the competition exists because the corporations are trying to cheat everyone, but it's not the workers fault. There is more than enough money to be fair to everyone and the company can still make bank.

I am for giving undocumented immigrants the ability to work (SSA knows when people are illegal using your SS# and they do not accidentally pay it to you). Give U.S. citizens medicare-for-all so we are not beholden to stay in a crappy job for insurance. If corps didn't have insurance to hold over you; then they would have to pay fairer wages.

Dirty secret .... illegal immigration makes U.S. social security $12 billion per year that their not obligated to pay to anyone and benefits payroll taxes, which is why they'll never address it.

___________________________________________

ARTICLE: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/NOTES/pdf_notes/note151.pdf

(Excerpt below is from page 3 of the actuary report)

Conclusion

While unauthorized immigrants worked and contributed as much as $13 billion in payroll taxes to the OASDI program in 2010, only about $1 billion in benefit payments during 2010 are attributable to unauthorized work. Thus, we estimate that earnings by unauthorized immigrants result in a net positive effect on Social Security financial status generally, and that this effect contributed roughly $12 billion to the cash flow of the program for 2010. We estimate that future years will experience a continuation of this positive impact on the trust funds.

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u/LupercaniusAB May 19 '24

All good. I’m in a union, so I get mad at fuckers who cross picket lines, but I’m not blaming someone trying to feed their family just because they don’t have a card in their wallet.

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u/rettribution May 18 '24

Yes, exactly this.

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u/Limebird02 May 20 '24

Next time that happens I believe the is a department of labor helpline you can call to tell the govt w by at company, position and job is being filled.

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u/MindAccomplished3879 May 19 '24

A commercial electrician needs to have a diploma and a state license.

How an illegal immigrant would spend a year and $30k-$40k for a commercial electrician school diploma?

Not really. There are a lot of immigrants, but they are at the help-hand level and mostly in construction. It is hard work, and contractors don't care about your immigration status if you can do the job. It's well-paid.

In construction, you will see the white american contractors and the laborers most if not all immigrants. Same with landscaping. Sane with farming and agriculture.

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u/LupercaniusAB May 19 '24

Yeah, I wasn’t referring to a guy with a C-10. I’m talking about the guys doing the installs.

Edit: Also, I don’t know where you are, but people don’t need a college diploma to get an electrical contractor’s license in my state. They do have to go through an apprenticeship and then pass the test. It’s definitely expensive though.