On 9/10/2010 3:56 PM, aem wrote:
> The NY Times this week has a story about federal efforts to prosecute
> restaurants that hire illegal immigrants in their kitchens.
> http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/di...tml?ref=dining
>
> The punishments being sought seem quite severe, probably indicating
> the government's desire to be taken seriously. From the story, the
> scope of the practice seems large:
>
> "Out of a total of about 12.7 million workers in the restaurant
> industry, an estimated 1.4 million � both legal and illegal immigrants
> � are foreign born, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
> According to 2008 estimates from the Pew Hispanic Center, about 20
> percent of the nearly 2.6 million chefs, head cooks and cooks are
> illegal immigrants. Among the 360,000 dishwashers, 28 percent are
> undocumented, according to the estimates.
>
> "Those numbers sounded low to a Manhattan chef and restaurateur who
> spoke on the condition of anonymity because he does not want to draw
> attention to his TriBeCa restaurant.
>
> ' �We always, always hire the undocumented workers,� he said. �It�s
> not just me, it�s everybody in the industry. First, they are willing
> to do the work. Second, they are willing to learn. Third, they are not
> paid as well. It�s an economic decision. It�s less expensive to hire
> an undocumented person.� '
>
> So if restaurants replace all those workers, and raise prices to pay
> them, will you eat out as much as before? -aem

>
The law is on the books. Fine them. Seize their business. Send them to jail.
Many of the chains are following the law and and prices haven't risen.
How do you justify wage slavery regardless of being Illegal or not?????
That is what you are talking about. They pay them below minimum wage off
the books or otherwise.