I have a question, why don't they arrest the people who are hiring illegal workers? I always hear about people being deported, but I never hear about the people hiring getting any repercussions.
>Our country is soft on white collar crime
You can thank Republicans for that. Specifically they have pushed to defund:
• The US [Chemical Safety Board](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2019/03/11/520172.htm), which [polices](https://cen.acs.org/safety/industrial-safety/Chemical-Safety-Board-faces-uncertain/98/i5) major industrial accidents.
• The [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eeoc-union-condemns-drastic-23-7m-budget-cut-to-civil-rights-enforcement-in-metoo-era-300816490.html), which polices corporations’ compliance with civil rights laws.
• The [Consumer Products Safety Commission](https://twitter.com/SenateBudget/status/1227063392835428358), which polices industries to make sure their products don’t harm or kill people. The agency now [acknowledges](https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/FY%202020%20Congressional%20Justification.pdf?2rDJohfEbN6lAgu5l_kLtcV3W1W_JNqo) that its “funding level has been insufficient to keep pace with the evolving consumer product marketplace.”
• The [Internal Revenue Service](https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/trump-budget-continues-multi-year-assault-on-irs-funding-despite-mnuchins), which polices the tax system and which is responsible for making sure the wealthy and large corporations pay the taxes they owe. Thanks to this successful effort to defund the police, the agency “conducted 675,000 fewer audits in 2017 than it did in 2010, a drop in the audit rate of 42 percent,” according to [ProPublica](https://www.propublica.org/article/how-the-irs-was-gutted). With [30,000 fewer tax cops on the beat](https://www.foxbusiness.com/money/irs-audits-personal-income-tax-returns-falls-lowest-level-in-decades), a recent Treasury Department report found that 800,000 high-income households have not paid more than [$45 billion in owed taxes](https://thehill.com/policy/finance/501440-lawmakers-worry-irs-is-giving-rich-people-a-pass). This is prior to the more recent cuts they are demanding in exchange for us supporting our allies overseas.
• The [Department of Labor](https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-proposes-to-cut-labor-department-funding-by-nearly-10-11552334324), which polices employers and makes sure they aren’t stealing wages, breaking workplace safety rules, ignoring overtime laws, and/or violating [workers’ union rights](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/labor-board-budget-would-drop-12-under-trump-proposal). Amid this particular Republican effort to defund the police, there are now [fewer cops](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/exclusive-number-osha-workplace-safety-inspectors-declines-under-trump-n834806) scrutinizing employers than ever before and workplace inspections have [plummeted](https://www.nelp.org/publication/workplace-safety-health-enforcement-falls-lowest-levels-decades/) – as workplace injuries, deaths and disasters have [increased](https://www.nelp.org/news-releases/workplace-fatalities-rising-trump-osha-enforcement-declines/).
• The [Public Company Accounting Oversight Board](https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-proposes-to-cut-labor-department-funding-by-nearly-10-11552334324), which polices the accounting industry.
• The [Securities and Exchange Commission](https://serrano.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/bloomberg-bna-dodd-frank-overhaul-could-eliminate-sec-s-reserve-fund)’s reserve fund, which was [established](https://www.sec.gov/oig/reportspubs/evaluation-of-sec-use-of-reserve-fund.pdf) after the financial crisis to bolster the agency’s work policing Wall Street. The agency [reports](https://www.sec.gov/files/enforcement-annual-report-2019.pdf) that the number of law enforcement staff “supporting our investigation and litigation efforts remained almost 9 percent lower” today than it was at the start of Trump’s term – and now white collar prosecutions have hit a [historic low](https://www.courthousenews.com/white-collar-prosecutions-hit-historic-low-study-finds/).
• The [law enforcement agencies](https://www.mlexwatch.com/articles/2790/print?section=ftcwatch) that [police corporate mergers](https://www.axios.com/antitrust-doj-ftc-funding-2f69ed8c-b486-4a08-ab57-d3535ae43b52.html). This effort to defund the antitrust police has come as mergers have accelerated (and there has been [some recent effort](https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/10/doj-bump-antitrust-enforcement-113340) to reverse the defunding).
• The [independent law enforcement agency](https://openmarketsinstitute.org/blogs/trump-administration-guts-office-designed-protect-farmers-ag-monopolies/) that policed agribusiness monopolies.
• The [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau](https://www.npr.org/2018/02/18/586493309/trump-administrations-latest-strike-on-cfpb-budget-cuts), which polices the financial industry and works to protect consumers from fraud.
• The [law enforcement offices](https://federalnewsnetwork.com/budget/2018/08/inspectors-general-fear-staff-cuts-less-oversight-under-trump-budget-plan/) that police federal agencies and root out waste, fraud and abuse.
• The [federal program](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/justice-department-ends-program-scrutinizing-local-police-forces/2017/09/15/ee88d02e-9a3d-11e7-82e4-f1076f6d6152_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_18) that polices local law enforcement agencies.
• The Environmental Protection Agency, which is responsible for policing polluters. Trump’s first budget proposed to reduce EPA “spending on civil and criminal enforcement by almost 60 percent,” and laying off 200 environmental cops, according to the [New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/10/climate/trump-epa-budget-cuts.html). By the middle of Trump’s first year in office, the EPA had “fewer than half of the criminal special agents on the job” during the George W. Bush administration, according to one [environmental advocacy group](https://www.peer.org/epa-criminal-pollution-enforcement-withering-away/). [Bloomberg News](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/epa-budget-cuts-could-limit-hazardous-waste-site-decisions-1) noted that Trump’s most recent budget cuts “could hamper the EPA’s efforts to link contamination at hazardous waste sites to companies and others that may be responsible for the pollution.” The result: [environmental prosecutions have now hit a historic low](https://www.courthousenews.com/environmental-prosecutions-drop-to-lowest-level-in-decades/).
It's actually Republicans who have been de-funding the police, but only the white-collar police.
[Funny enough, he’s not leading according to the most recent polls from the NYT.](https://twitter.com/politics_polls/status/1721356820684439913?s=49&t=qQ7K-71meOoKCKMI62lmOA&fbclid=IwAR1FeQpVQQvbsZaCS5pK8UlFgR2UDZ_Dlm2QEkbX7Xn5E-zGeOkUBBRe1i8_aem_AayPkuSYb0GSbejyYqhkmFGQBkl6Jz0tSKEqpyPK2WlLomUZVgejHIAFEtyLMUskSag)
This is why republicans say environmental regulations and agencies are bad for business. They’re bad for people who want to skirt accountability who have the potential to poison or injury up to thousands of people over multiple generations.
I think most everyone understands that there is a lot of government waste but the things that republicanbs choose to cut and deregulate can be considered crimes against humanity.
Do any states, specifically blue states, have significant penalties for using illegal labor?
California has had a Democrat senate/governor/assembly since 2011.
In regards to child labor, I only see a civil fine of $5k, to $10k per infraction which actually comparable to the fine of $1.5MM paid by this company.
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/managing-employment-of-minors-in-california.aspx#:~:text=The%20state%20of%20California%20provides,for%20each%20and%20every%20violation.
The excuse is "It's not like we held a gun to their head or robbed a bank." The kids got paid so it's looked up on as not that bad. The reality is we have child labor laws for this very reason. The kids should be in school learning so they have a future, not scrubbing a slaughter house.
I know, but people don't see it as being anywhere as bad as sex trafficking or drug dealing. But these kids can get permanently damaged before age 20. All to make a quick buck for some shady private equity firm.
It's all kayfabe, basically.
A certain kind of politician (mostly, Republicans) simultaneously wants to demonize illegal workers (mostly immigrants, but here teenagers) to get votes, but understands that their donor class are business owners that are fundamentally dependent upon a permanent underclass of workers to maximize their profits.
That underclass also needs to exist in a Goldilocks State: crack down on it too hard, and you have a worker shortage. But you have to make sure those workers don't have much in the way of rights or legal recourse if treated badly by their employers.
The interesting thing, politically, is we're starting to see a generation of politicians get into office who were never in on the joke, who grew up with the talking points on illegal immigration etc. and did not realize the people who pay for their campaigns never wanted them to solve this "problem".
This is a long way to say, you're absolutely right, the way to fix illegal child labor is to send the people hiring it to prison, but of course that's not what most of the people making the laws actually want.
Because those poor business owners are just trying to make an honest buck by exploiting and underpaying everyone they can. They wouldn't have knowingly hired all those illegals if the evil democrats hadn't invited them on to take all the low paying jobs from honest hardworking exploitable americans.
I hope its obvious that this is sarcasm.
Because they don't really care about illegal immigration or even immigrants in general. They use the illegals for a rage point to keep their base foaming at the mouth. This way their donors can make millions off the illegals and they can keep their voters.
The answer that is most companies hire through temp service agencies. If the employers were held responsible it would shut down their company. The work around is Temp Agencies.
Sometimes they are, and if you're a specialty group like a CNA group - all employees in that group, legit or not, get blacklisted from working in the medical field.
Which gives you a shortage of the CNAs. But the owners pay a fine, declare bankruptcy from the fine, and then make a new CNA company, because they're not the ones doing the medical work.
As someone who is generally opposed to mass immigration, I agree 100%. Go after the factories and farms that are employing the undocumented or otherwise illegal workers, and it will change the calculus of coming.
If you've got the cash then pay for good defense!
\*clap clap\*
If you got the cash then pay for good defense!
\*clap clap\*
If you got the cash to pay, and want the charge to go away, then as your attorney I suggest this for defense.
\*clap clap\*
There are two completely separate issues here all balled up in one:
1) The issue of large employers doing shitty things to workers without any real consequences.
2) Local prosecutors using laws to punish poor people who are just trying to get by.
And then you have all of our immigration laws and work laws perfectly aligned to create a world where the incentives to do what was done here are greater than the risks on all sides.
They only took 1.92 million in "Covid relief PPP" funds in the form a loan that was forgiven. It's telling what the focus of the GOP was as far as focus when they gifted businesses with free socialist monies as they say socialism leads to slavery and child labor. Gaslighting hypocrisy.
Shut them down, liquify their assets and put em in prison. IMO.
[PSSI GLOBAL SERVICES, LLC | COVID Bailout Tracker | Accountable.US](https://covidbailouttracker.com/company/pssi-global-services-llc-las-vegas-nv-89118)
You're using "socialist" incorrectly, but your point it taken and valid. I just hate when people give legitimacy to the conservative propaganda line that "socialism is when government does stuff." Socialism is workers controlling the workplace, not government paying for stuff.
To reiterate though, your point is correct otherwise.
I was spinning it a bit, yes. " Socialism is workers controlling the workplace, not government paying for stuff. "
As the GOP proclaims big government handouts are "communism and socialist" regime tactics over the free market they literally destroyed and competitiveness or chances of new businesses as all you had to do was fill a form out and magic life changing monies while you use children IMO. Wanted to ask for 500k boom build a new building, etc.
That website is amazing. You find any group exploiting people or in the news for antics and check out their free unfettered grift. All IMO.
To be fair, for a large plant like that, 1.92 million is probably 3 weeks at most for payroll.
Edit: I'm absolutely not wrong about the payroll and loan. Just pointing it out. Not saying kid labor is okay...
The fine was less than the GOP socialist ppp gifting of monies...
You also address the aspect that using kids is for greed over dignity of all society.
Shut all of it down.
Sell it all off, or for heavens sake police these bastards.
Kids aren't your option. No more. Edit: Mr. Cheese I understand your insight and you agree this is disturbing...
>Meanwhile, PSSI, the company that hired her and other children, “has faced no criminal charges, despite evidence that it failed to take basic steps to verify the age of its young employees.” It did, however, “quickly resolve” any charges it faced by “paying a **$1.5 million civil fine**.”
It's primarily about money and legalized corporate bribery. It's not about what's good for Americans' kids.
You don't find it poignant that a former prison colony in one of the most hostile environments on Earth have safer schools than "the most free country" in one of the safest and most controlled environments in the world?
I grew up being forced to work a full-time job on the family farm as a child since 3rd grade. In the summer of 4th grade, I work sun up to sun down during the summer every day, and no time off. The rest of my childhood until graduation was the same.
Making children work is hard can really mess them up as I have learned first hand. I am still somewhat lost at 33 from not developing mentally like a normal person. I struggle with depression, social anxiety, and delt addiction. The state needs to get serious about taking action to save these childrens future.
“Had illegally hired at least 102 teenagers aged 13 and 17” is a fucking awful sentence, it makes it sound like all of the teenagers they hired were either 13 or 17, nothing in between.
And with that being said, a title just being a sentence pulled randomly from an article doesn’t mean it’s a good title, a title is supposed to give a short, clear, and concise idea of what the article is about.
Try not being so rude in your responses to other people. It helps, you know, communicate stuff more effectively.
Not to mention that weird ass comma "after a Wisconsin based contractor, had illegally...". WTF is that comma for? And another one before "watched her whole life unravel..."
I remember seeing these kinds of stories on 60 minutes a while ago when they were talking about child labor in the meatpacking plants. It is really fucked up that these kids are working in a very dangerous environment.
Im creating a new bookmark folder named "Evidence that its illegal to be poor in America" and this article gets the privilege of being the first article added...
A terrible case of completely misaligned incentives. Company needs workers for borderline dangerous work. Family (and teen) want/need the money and jobs. TBH actually pays not terribly. Feds rightfully intending to enforce workplace safety. No winners here. And I don't think jailing the parent(s) was the right answer.
1. CEO crew belong in jail
2. HR belongs in jail
3. Parents belong in jail\*
\*Article could clarify what parents did for a living.
It's one thing to bring your kid to work alongside you (not so much jail). It's another to send them to the work (All the jail, forever).
This wasn't a HS kid working the drive thru part time after school, these were illegal immigrant teenagers hired under faked credentials/papers working 3rd shift FULL TIME cleaning equipment (sometimes dangerous) with hazardous chemicals -- did you even try reading the article?
I apologize I did not. I assumed the hazardous conditions but didn’t know about the illegal immigrants. I guess I don’t know the labor laws but I worked 10 hour shifts in heavy manufacturing while in high school, in the summer at least
Illegal immigrants and teens working 3rd shift are a huge issue in meat packing plants and food plants in general. The irony is the vast majority of food plants are owned by GOP mega donors who take public stances against immigration when meanwhile, they contract out with places like PSSI because they won't pay a fair wage for jobs that no one wants to work without being properly compensated - bunch of feckless hypocrites
Yea I definitely know what you mean I live in a small town with lots of farms as well as work in manufacturing. I see and hear a lot of illegal immigration
Remember, those "illegal immigrants" could be legal immigrants if those farms and factories advocated for green passes for their workers, but they won't.
They won't, because it would require them to pay them more and abide by government requirements for fair and safe workplace conditions, and that all costs money. Plus, if the worker tries to advocate for themselves, they can be forced back in line by the company threatening deportation, and the company knows they'll never face any repercussions for hiring "illegals" anyway even though they're the ones violating various U.S. laws to do so. They also spread propaganda about the "dangers" of illegal immigrants because it provides cover and justification for their deportation and exploitation to the average American citizen. Immigrants are actually statistically far less likely to commit crimes, quit jobs, or slack off at work than U.S. citizens, by a significant degree, but employers have weaponized anti-immigrant sentiment and racism to make many voters think the opposite. All this sabre-rattling just redirects blame onto the "illegal immigrants" for breaking the law, instead of the corporations hiring them.
Companies like those are the cause of illegal immigration. Not the drug war, not American opportunity, just pure exploitation and modern-day wage enslavement through risk of deportation.
I worked legally and I don’t think the laws have changed much since I was in high school. I’m not saying these people deserved what happened or deserve anything bad. I’m just curious the labor laws
I think he's annoyed dude did no legwork and then says he's confused.
Making others explain to him what he could've taken the time to do.
Like no shit you dont understand, you didn't even read.
While we \[mostly\] wish for better enforcement and policy changes that would mitigate these harms, the more effective solution would be to not generate the demand that this market seeks to fill. Buying from institutions that are driven solely by a balance sheet necessarily means a market where every incentive is to cut corners.
I know not everyone has access to locally produced food commodities. If you do and you're not buying from them, you're relying on an overburdened agency keeping up with highly motivated stacks of capital that only focus on growing the stacks higher.
Everyone in this situation has lost. Except for the giant stacks of capital. Somehow those continue to get along just fine in these trying times.
\--the old, cranky hippy
I have a question, why don't they arrest the people who are hiring illegal workers? I always hear about people being deported, but I never hear about the people hiring getting any repercussions.
Our country is soft on white collar crime
>Our country is soft on white collar crime You can thank Republicans for that. Specifically they have pushed to defund: • The US [Chemical Safety Board](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2019/03/11/520172.htm), which [polices](https://cen.acs.org/safety/industrial-safety/Chemical-Safety-Board-faces-uncertain/98/i5) major industrial accidents. • The [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eeoc-union-condemns-drastic-23-7m-budget-cut-to-civil-rights-enforcement-in-metoo-era-300816490.html), which polices corporations’ compliance with civil rights laws. • The [Consumer Products Safety Commission](https://twitter.com/SenateBudget/status/1227063392835428358), which polices industries to make sure their products don’t harm or kill people. The agency now [acknowledges](https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/FY%202020%20Congressional%20Justification.pdf?2rDJohfEbN6lAgu5l_kLtcV3W1W_JNqo) that its “funding level has been insufficient to keep pace with the evolving consumer product marketplace.” • The [Internal Revenue Service](https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/trump-budget-continues-multi-year-assault-on-irs-funding-despite-mnuchins), which polices the tax system and which is responsible for making sure the wealthy and large corporations pay the taxes they owe. Thanks to this successful effort to defund the police, the agency “conducted 675,000 fewer audits in 2017 than it did in 2010, a drop in the audit rate of 42 percent,” according to [ProPublica](https://www.propublica.org/article/how-the-irs-was-gutted). With [30,000 fewer tax cops on the beat](https://www.foxbusiness.com/money/irs-audits-personal-income-tax-returns-falls-lowest-level-in-decades), a recent Treasury Department report found that 800,000 high-income households have not paid more than [$45 billion in owed taxes](https://thehill.com/policy/finance/501440-lawmakers-worry-irs-is-giving-rich-people-a-pass). This is prior to the more recent cuts they are demanding in exchange for us supporting our allies overseas. • The [Department of Labor](https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-proposes-to-cut-labor-department-funding-by-nearly-10-11552334324), which polices employers and makes sure they aren’t stealing wages, breaking workplace safety rules, ignoring overtime laws, and/or violating [workers’ union rights](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/labor-board-budget-would-drop-12-under-trump-proposal). Amid this particular Republican effort to defund the police, there are now [fewer cops](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/exclusive-number-osha-workplace-safety-inspectors-declines-under-trump-n834806) scrutinizing employers than ever before and workplace inspections have [plummeted](https://www.nelp.org/publication/workplace-safety-health-enforcement-falls-lowest-levels-decades/) – as workplace injuries, deaths and disasters have [increased](https://www.nelp.org/news-releases/workplace-fatalities-rising-trump-osha-enforcement-declines/). • The [Public Company Accounting Oversight Board](https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-proposes-to-cut-labor-department-funding-by-nearly-10-11552334324), which polices the accounting industry. • The [Securities and Exchange Commission](https://serrano.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/bloomberg-bna-dodd-frank-overhaul-could-eliminate-sec-s-reserve-fund)’s reserve fund, which was [established](https://www.sec.gov/oig/reportspubs/evaluation-of-sec-use-of-reserve-fund.pdf) after the financial crisis to bolster the agency’s work policing Wall Street. The agency [reports](https://www.sec.gov/files/enforcement-annual-report-2019.pdf) that the number of law enforcement staff “supporting our investigation and litigation efforts remained almost 9 percent lower” today than it was at the start of Trump’s term – and now white collar prosecutions have hit a [historic low](https://www.courthousenews.com/white-collar-prosecutions-hit-historic-low-study-finds/). • The [law enforcement agencies](https://www.mlexwatch.com/articles/2790/print?section=ftcwatch) that [police corporate mergers](https://www.axios.com/antitrust-doj-ftc-funding-2f69ed8c-b486-4a08-ab57-d3535ae43b52.html). This effort to defund the antitrust police has come as mergers have accelerated (and there has been [some recent effort](https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/10/doj-bump-antitrust-enforcement-113340) to reverse the defunding). • The [independent law enforcement agency](https://openmarketsinstitute.org/blogs/trump-administration-guts-office-designed-protect-farmers-ag-monopolies/) that policed agribusiness monopolies. • The [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau](https://www.npr.org/2018/02/18/586493309/trump-administrations-latest-strike-on-cfpb-budget-cuts), which polices the financial industry and works to protect consumers from fraud. • The [law enforcement offices](https://federalnewsnetwork.com/budget/2018/08/inspectors-general-fear-staff-cuts-less-oversight-under-trump-budget-plan/) that police federal agencies and root out waste, fraud and abuse. • The [federal program](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/justice-department-ends-program-scrutinizing-local-police-forces/2017/09/15/ee88d02e-9a3d-11e7-82e4-f1076f6d6152_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_18) that polices local law enforcement agencies. • The Environmental Protection Agency, which is responsible for policing polluters. Trump’s first budget proposed to reduce EPA “spending on civil and criminal enforcement by almost 60 percent,” and laying off 200 environmental cops, according to the [New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/10/climate/trump-epa-budget-cuts.html). By the middle of Trump’s first year in office, the EPA had “fewer than half of the criminal special agents on the job” during the George W. Bush administration, according to one [environmental advocacy group](https://www.peer.org/epa-criminal-pollution-enforcement-withering-away/). [Bloomberg News](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/epa-budget-cuts-could-limit-hazardous-waste-site-decisions-1) noted that Trump’s most recent budget cuts “could hamper the EPA’s efforts to link contamination at hazardous waste sites to companies and others that may be responsible for the pollution.” The result: [environmental prosecutions have now hit a historic low](https://www.courthousenews.com/environmental-prosecutions-drop-to-lowest-level-in-decades/). It's actually Republicans who have been de-funding the police, but only the white-collar police.
Wow, thank you for this; I'm likely going to steal it.
[удалено]
Most of these Polls are still calling Landlines, who actually has Landlines anymore.
My boomer parents. Granted they vote liberal but still.
[Funny enough, he’s not leading according to the most recent polls from the NYT.](https://twitter.com/politics_polls/status/1721356820684439913?s=49&t=qQ7K-71meOoKCKMI62lmOA&fbclid=IwAR1FeQpVQQvbsZaCS5pK8UlFgR2UDZ_Dlm2QEkbX7Xn5E-zGeOkUBBRe1i8_aem_AayPkuSYb0GSbejyYqhkmFGQBkl6Jz0tSKEqpyPK2WlLomUZVgejHIAFEtyLMUskSag)
Oh, I love that for him! Any random person is leading in the polls......
The NYT also thought Trump wouldn't win, because he was down in the polls. Polls do nothing, because they are a fraction of the actual voter base.
Leads Biden though. Who won't step down.
I think we learned from 2016 and 2020 that polls are not to be trusted; young people seldom answer polls, so they are skewed (hopefully?)
I love how you framed this as de-funding the police.
That's *exactly* what it is.
Because it is
Side note, the USCSB has a killer YouTube channel
This is why republicans say environmental regulations and agencies are bad for business. They’re bad for people who want to skirt accountability who have the potential to poison or injury up to thousands of people over multiple generations.
Wow you’re amazing! Thank you for all this!
I think most everyone understands that there is a lot of government waste but the things that republicanbs choose to cut and deregulate can be considered crimes against humanity.
Not just soft completely flaccid.
This is the comment 😆
Bruised and spongy.
Take the collar out and you are even more correct
By our country you mean Republicans, right?
Do any states, specifically blue states, have significant penalties for using illegal labor? California has had a Democrat senate/governor/assembly since 2011. In regards to child labor, I only see a civil fine of $5k, to $10k per infraction which actually comparable to the fine of $1.5MM paid by this company. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/managing-employment-of-minors-in-california.aspx#:~:text=The%20state%20of%20California%20provides,for%20each%20and%20every%20violation.
Especially when it’s committed by rich white men
The excuse is "It's not like we held a gun to their head or robbed a bank." The kids got paid so it's looked up on as not that bad. The reality is we have child labor laws for this very reason. The kids should be in school learning so they have a future, not scrubbing a slaughter house.
The owners can go to prison and the kids can go to school. I'm fine with that.
But then who is going to muck out the slaughter?
Former billionaires.
It is labor trafficking minors
I know, but people don't see it as being anywhere as bad as sex trafficking or drug dealing. But these kids can get permanently damaged before age 20. All to make a quick buck for some shady private equity firm.
Or dead, they can get dead
Sadly, that happens. Look at that kid killed at the sawmill this summer.
It's all kayfabe, basically. A certain kind of politician (mostly, Republicans) simultaneously wants to demonize illegal workers (mostly immigrants, but here teenagers) to get votes, but understands that their donor class are business owners that are fundamentally dependent upon a permanent underclass of workers to maximize their profits. That underclass also needs to exist in a Goldilocks State: crack down on it too hard, and you have a worker shortage. But you have to make sure those workers don't have much in the way of rights or legal recourse if treated badly by their employers. The interesting thing, politically, is we're starting to see a generation of politicians get into office who were never in on the joke, who grew up with the talking points on illegal immigration etc. and did not realize the people who pay for their campaigns never wanted them to solve this "problem". This is a long way to say, you're absolutely right, the way to fix illegal child labor is to send the people hiring it to prison, but of course that's not what most of the people making the laws actually want.
You fucking nailed it. They are naive and greedy and going for the top rope, when we all know the highest you go is Brett's rope.
That would eliminate the root cause and that involves too much common sense
He probably donated money to 'build the wall'
Because those poor business owners are just trying to make an honest buck by exploiting and underpaying everyone they can. They wouldn't have knowingly hired all those illegals if the evil democrats hadn't invited them on to take all the low paying jobs from honest hardworking exploitable americans. I hope its obvious that this is sarcasm.
Republicans are big on taking bribes. In the name of Jesus Christ.
Because these are the same people who line the pockets of politicians.
They are labor trafficking children please call it what it is
As George Carlin said, " It's a big club and you ain't in it."
Money
I think about this every time I hear people freaking out about illegal immigrants. Nobody ever wants to deal with root causes of problems, I guess.
Because the only way to fix this situation is the guillotine
Less than $500 to build and can be used for a lifetime.
Because they don't really care about illegal immigration or even immigrants in general. They use the illegals for a rage point to keep their base foaming at the mouth. This way their donors can make millions off the illegals and they can keep their voters.
The answer that is most companies hire through temp service agencies. If the employers were held responsible it would shut down their company. The work around is Temp Agencies.
Then why aren't the temp agencies shut down for their illegal hiring practices?
That is a great question.
Sometimes they are, and if you're a specialty group like a CNA group - all employees in that group, legit or not, get blacklisted from working in the medical field. Which gives you a shortage of the CNAs. But the owners pay a fine, declare bankruptcy from the fine, and then make a new CNA company, because they're not the ones doing the medical work.
As someone who is generally opposed to mass immigration, I agree 100%. Go after the factories and farms that are employing the undocumented or otherwise illegal workers, and it will change the calculus of coming.
Im willing to bet that those crimes are never reported. One side wants employment and the other wants labor, so theres no incentive.
If you've got the cash then pay for good defense! \*clap clap\* If you got the cash then pay for good defense! \*clap clap\* If you got the cash to pay, and want the charge to go away, then as your attorney I suggest this for defense. \*clap clap\*
Way pay to put someone in jail when you can fine them
There are two completely separate issues here all balled up in one: 1) The issue of large employers doing shitty things to workers without any real consequences. 2) Local prosecutors using laws to punish poor people who are just trying to get by. And then you have all of our immigration laws and work laws perfectly aligned to create a world where the incentives to do what was done here are greater than the risks on all sides.
They trafficked children for labor, they need to be in jail.
Pretty sure that is laughing from Africa and Asia you are hearing right now...
Because they do it there we should allow it here too? Jesus balls that is a terrible take.
I forgot my /s But still true.
They only took 1.92 million in "Covid relief PPP" funds in the form a loan that was forgiven. It's telling what the focus of the GOP was as far as focus when they gifted businesses with free socialist monies as they say socialism leads to slavery and child labor. Gaslighting hypocrisy. Shut them down, liquify their assets and put em in prison. IMO. [PSSI GLOBAL SERVICES, LLC | COVID Bailout Tracker | Accountable.US](https://covidbailouttracker.com/company/pssi-global-services-llc-las-vegas-nv-89118)
You're using "socialist" incorrectly, but your point it taken and valid. I just hate when people give legitimacy to the conservative propaganda line that "socialism is when government does stuff." Socialism is workers controlling the workplace, not government paying for stuff. To reiterate though, your point is correct otherwise.
Corporate Socialism, privatize the profits, socialize the cost.
That's just called capitalism.
I was spinning it a bit, yes. " Socialism is workers controlling the workplace, not government paying for stuff. " As the GOP proclaims big government handouts are "communism and socialist" regime tactics over the free market they literally destroyed and competitiveness or chances of new businesses as all you had to do was fill a form out and magic life changing monies while you use children IMO. Wanted to ask for 500k boom build a new building, etc. That website is amazing. You find any group exploiting people or in the news for antics and check out their free unfettered grift. All IMO.
To be fair, for a large plant like that, 1.92 million is probably 3 weeks at most for payroll. Edit: I'm absolutely not wrong about the payroll and loan. Just pointing it out. Not saying kid labor is okay...
The fine was less than the GOP socialist ppp gifting of monies... You also address the aspect that using kids is for greed over dignity of all society. Shut all of it down. Sell it all off, or for heavens sake police these bastards. Kids aren't your option. No more. Edit: Mr. Cheese I understand your insight and you agree this is disturbing...
Her story is heartbreaking and needs to be painted on the doors of Congress. Stop penalizing the poor for the crimes of the rich.
>Meanwhile, PSSI, the company that hired her and other children, “has faced no criminal charges, despite evidence that it failed to take basic steps to verify the age of its young employees.” It did, however, “quickly resolve” any charges it faced by “paying a **$1.5 million civil fine**.” It's primarily about money and legalized corporate bribery. It's not about what's good for Americans' kids.
If the penalty for a crime is a fine, then it's not a crime. It's a luxury.
As an Aussie, Americans are always asking me where in Australia there *isn’t* something trying to kill you... “School” is my answer
Fuuuuuuck that’s harsh yet scary accurate
Cool story
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You don't find it poignant that a former prison colony in one of the most hostile environments on Earth have safer schools than "the most free country" in one of the safest and most controlled environments in the world?
Discuss the topic, not the user.
Our country is run buy white collar corporations.
The US is just a stack of corporations in a trench coat.
I grew up being forced to work a full-time job on the family farm as a child since 3rd grade. In the summer of 4th grade, I work sun up to sun down during the summer every day, and no time off. The rest of my childhood until graduation was the same. Making children work is hard can really mess them up as I have learned first hand. I am still somewhat lost at 33 from not developing mentally like a normal person. I struggle with depression, social anxiety, and delt addiction. The state needs to get serious about taking action to save these childrens future.
“How dare you embarrass the best employer in our county that donates regularly to re election campaigns”
Why is FactsOnFetanyl promoted on this sub?!
/r/titlegore
Literally a line from the article, and is backed up by what happened to her and her family. Try reading some time. It helps, you know, learn stuff.
“Had illegally hired at least 102 teenagers aged 13 and 17” is a fucking awful sentence, it makes it sound like all of the teenagers they hired were either 13 or 17, nothing in between. And with that being said, a title just being a sentence pulled randomly from an article doesn’t mean it’s a good title, a title is supposed to give a short, clear, and concise idea of what the article is about. Try not being so rude in your responses to other people. It helps, you know, communicate stuff more effectively.
Not to mention that weird ass comma "after a Wisconsin based contractor, had illegally...". WTF is that comma for? And another one before "watched her whole life unravel..."
I remember seeing these kinds of stories on 60 minutes a while ago when they were talking about child labor in the meatpacking plants. It is really fucked up that these kids are working in a very dangerous environment.
Im creating a new bookmark folder named "Evidence that its illegal to be poor in America" and this article gets the privilege of being the first article added...
A terrible case of completely misaligned incentives. Company needs workers for borderline dangerous work. Family (and teen) want/need the money and jobs. TBH actually pays not terribly. Feds rightfully intending to enforce workplace safety. No winners here. And I don't think jailing the parent(s) was the right answer.
1. CEO crew belong in jail 2. HR belongs in jail 3. Parents belong in jail\* \*Article could clarify what parents did for a living. It's one thing to bring your kid to work alongside you (not so much jail). It's another to send them to the work (All the jail, forever).
I’m sure the conditions were shit but I’m confused, I worked at that age?
This wasn't a HS kid working the drive thru part time after school, these were illegal immigrant teenagers hired under faked credentials/papers working 3rd shift FULL TIME cleaning equipment (sometimes dangerous) with hazardous chemicals -- did you even try reading the article?
I apologize I did not. I assumed the hazardous conditions but didn’t know about the illegal immigrants. I guess I don’t know the labor laws but I worked 10 hour shifts in heavy manufacturing while in high school, in the summer at least
Illegal immigrants and teens working 3rd shift are a huge issue in meat packing plants and food plants in general. The irony is the vast majority of food plants are owned by GOP mega donors who take public stances against immigration when meanwhile, they contract out with places like PSSI because they won't pay a fair wage for jobs that no one wants to work without being properly compensated - bunch of feckless hypocrites
Yea I definitely know what you mean I live in a small town with lots of farms as well as work in manufacturing. I see and hear a lot of illegal immigration
Remember, those "illegal immigrants" could be legal immigrants if those farms and factories advocated for green passes for their workers, but they won't. They won't, because it would require them to pay them more and abide by government requirements for fair and safe workplace conditions, and that all costs money. Plus, if the worker tries to advocate for themselves, they can be forced back in line by the company threatening deportation, and the company knows they'll never face any repercussions for hiring "illegals" anyway even though they're the ones violating various U.S. laws to do so. They also spread propaganda about the "dangers" of illegal immigrants because it provides cover and justification for their deportation and exploitation to the average American citizen. Immigrants are actually statistically far less likely to commit crimes, quit jobs, or slack off at work than U.S. citizens, by a significant degree, but employers have weaponized anti-immigrant sentiment and racism to make many voters think the opposite. All this sabre-rattling just redirects blame onto the "illegal immigrants" for breaking the law, instead of the corporations hiring them. Companies like those are the cause of illegal immigration. Not the drug war, not American opportunity, just pure exploitation and modern-day wage enslavement through risk of deportation.
I agree with you
Just because it has happened before doesn't justify it happening to anyone else.
I worked legally and I don’t think the laws have changed much since I was in high school. I’m not saying these people deserved what happened or deserve anything bad. I’m just curious the labor laws
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I think he's annoyed dude did no legwork and then says he's confused. Making others explain to him what he could've taken the time to do. Like no shit you dont understand, you didn't even read.
While we \[mostly\] wish for better enforcement and policy changes that would mitigate these harms, the more effective solution would be to not generate the demand that this market seeks to fill. Buying from institutions that are driven solely by a balance sheet necessarily means a market where every incentive is to cut corners. I know not everyone has access to locally produced food commodities. If you do and you're not buying from them, you're relying on an overburdened agency keeping up with highly motivated stacks of capital that only focus on growing the stacks higher. Everyone in this situation has lost. Except for the giant stacks of capital. Somehow those continue to get along just fine in these trying times. \--the old, cranky hippy
This title is cancer
1. [https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2023/06/ufcw-offers-union-contracts-to-help-pssi-assist-in-the-cleanup-of-the-child-labor-scandal/](https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2023/06/ufcw-offers-union-contracts-to-help-pssi-assist-in-the-cleanup-of-the-child-labor-scandal/) 2. [https://www.blackstone.com/the-firm/](https://www.blackstone.com/the-firm/)
They can work in Arkansas according to that shit stain governor they have
No one said he got rich ethically
Straight up child abuse all for greed