Dear Editor:
In response to the wonderful letter by Irene Weiser of Stop
Family Violence I have only one thing to say - that it is indeed ironic
that we live in a country where our leaders can see fit to order life
support to be reconnected to a comotose woman in defiance of the wishes
of her next of kin, while essentially removing life support from a
woman who is very much alive and deserving of it, in defiance of a
significant lobby of American citizens, including many members of
Congress. In response to Mr. Alexander, I say, given his accurate
observations, wouldn't he then draw the inevitable conclusion that
Walmart either had no interest in finding a way to hire those workers
legally or to find US workers to fill those positions or it simply
wasn't possible, given the profit imperatives and the existent labor
pool in some areas where they operate. I think this case provides clear
evidence of what companies who may desire to abide by the law are up
against in terms of their ability to do so and continue to staff their
operations. Walmart is practically an institution on a par with church
in many communities throughout the heartland of this country, it's
where people gather on weekends, it's the only game in town in many
instances, and its alleged monopolistic business practices have come
under fire before. Willing or not, I don't think that even Walmart's
big machine is able to practice diligence with the contractors that
supply its workers, because the contractors are between a rock and a
hard place. There are not sufficient US workers out there who are
willing to take those jobs at those wages and working conditions , and
there simply are no current legal categories of immigration which
include the types of workers in question. You cannot get blood from a
stone! If you really want to witness the magnitude of the problem,
tell the government to bust all the contractors. After all, I believe
that they are the "employers" for purposes of maintaining I-9's on the
workers they supply or assign to companies like Walmart. Someone please
correct me if I'm wrong, but I do not believe that corporations are
responsible for keeping I-9's on their janitorial staff if that staff is
supplied by a contractor and is not directly employed by the
corporation. However, notwithstanding the lack of I-9 accountability,
corporations may still be liable for constructive knowledge. The
government already knows about these contractors, because they are among
the 245(i) employers whom the USCIS has pledged not to raid. (See my
Letter to the Editor of 9/26/2003). Now do you see the Catch-22.
SJD
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