I worked for 20 years in manufacturing, eventually obtaining manager title in a medium sized firm. 

When my company moved out of the SF bay area, I chose to stay here.  Part of the reason for my decision was the sudden lack of executive support I received. 

Fast-forward:  I ran into one of my old co-workers the other day who told me that he’d heard that they wanted to squeeze me out because I wasn’t a ‘team player’.   I asked him what they’d meant by that, he told me that the president cited my lack of ability in securing inexpensive workers that he saw on the street corners each morning. 

I immediately recalled the situation.   He asked me about hiring these folks,  I told him they were probably illegal but I’d go find out.  I did and they were.   I told him so.   He thanked me for trying, and that was that (I thought). 

A couple of weeks later he asked me about those workers on the corners again.  I reminded him that they (admittedly) were illegal.  He told me to try again.  I did, and they still were illegal (big surprise).   Not only that, they laughed at working for $7.50 per hour, saying they make between $12.00 to $15.00 under the table.  I told him, he thanked me.

About a month later in my morning meeting the VP told one of the staffers (who was Hispanic) that the president wanted her to go down and speak to these folks about working at our company.  I raised hell about this, and they all backed down.

I thought that it was a quirk in our president’s personality but apparently not.  The more I think about it, the company was attempting to set me up as the fall guy, in case the INS decided to poke around.  I would have recruited, hired, and been in charge of these folks  thus the executives would’ve had the cheap labor and the perfect scapegoat if things went sour.

I’d also been vocal about hiring only folks who had passable English literacy.  This was primarily due to efficiency in production.  But, we were also required by law to provide safety training regarding operation of machinery, disaster, etc.  It was practically impossible for me to personally determine whether an employee was suitably trained if I couldn’t speak directly to him.  I also administered a test to determine what percentage of employees could follow simple written work/safety instructions. Amazingly, less than 50% were able to.

In retrospect, I suppose all this contributed to my ‘being squeezed out’.  I acted in good faith trying to follow the guidelines of the company, and the laws of the country.   Having spoken to other managers and supervisors in my area, mine is hardly an isolated case.  When the government won’t enforce the law, businesses will take advantage, and decent, law-abiding Americans will suffer.

This is our future in post-American America.