TUCSON CITIZEN:  Fri., Jan. 19, 2007

Bosses fight back in immigration debate

Claudine LoManaco

 

            Sheridan Bailey said he is tired of being painted as a greedy business owner who wants to get rich off cheap, immigrant labor and steal jobs from U.S. citizens.  Now, he's speaking out.

            "I've had enough," said Bailey, who recently started the Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform. "Legislators aren't hearing anything from the people who are creating jobs. The only people talking are (extremists), the ones that want to hunt people down and send them back to Mexico."

            In the past couple of years, Bailey has struggled to find workers for his steel fabrication company in Phoenix.  That is despite placing ads in newspapers and increasing his wages to $18 an hour from $15.  It's a familiar complaint among Tucson-area business owners, who report labor shortages yet have been afraid to speak up for fear of repercussions by activists and the government, Bailey said.

            Bailey said he supports an overhaul of the country's immigration system, and hopes the formation of the coalition will encourage business owners to speak up.  

            The government's confusing immigration laws are unnerving for employers, said Frank Siquieros, who owns Mountain Power Electrical Contractor Inc. in Tucson.  Employers are restricted by law in the kinds of questions they can ask of employees, and too many questions can bring on discrimination lawsuits, he said.

            "We're not allowed to ask the typical questions like: 'Were you born in this country? Did you go to school here?' " Siquieros said. "You can't even ask them if they're legal or not. All you can do is just ask for their identification."

FULL STORY:   http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/39159.php