A few months ago, I authored a two-part column on this page underscoring the concern of a growing labor shortage that has befallen troubled construction contractors of late. I subsequently introduced a possible remedy that I believe could go a long way toward addressing the matter. In spite of fluctuating levels, the dire consequences of this warning have not abated.
The contributing problems have been pretty clearly defined, with a rapidly aging workforce, poor compensation and weak recruitment foremost among them. These issues have plagued our economy in general for a number of years, and are more recently creating quite the pickle for commercial drywall subs and their estimating progeny.
My proposed resolution to this issue involved pairing it with another labor-related problem, that of an excessive influx of undocumented (illegal) immigrants into our populace. Here I must restate that I mean to address this topic as a relevant economic issue, not a politically motivated one. Just consider the circumstance: a construction industry with a critical labor deficiency, and an influx of unemployed workers.
A mutually acceptable marriage of the issues seems intuitive. Simple, right? But as is often the case, simple can translate to simplistic, and stumbling blocks have inevitably emerged. A plethora of administrative issues has reared its ugly head—prickly details that are way above my pay grade, I must admit. I began to lose my incentive to continue.
And just as I was about abandon my theorized solution as a dead end, I was reprieved by a number of respondents—sympathetic contractors who thought I was indeed onto something positive (ah, leave it to those who are directly impacted to resolve a problem created by indifferent bureaucrats). The self-described term for the middle-of-the-road (i.e., between open borders and deportation) stratagem developed by these astute construction managers is “ID and Tax.” Briefly described, ID and Tax is an adult version of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), a successful program that has allowed immigrant youngsters (age 16 and younger) who arrived in the United States with temporary protection against deportation.
For better clarification, I should provide a list of qualifiers for the Tax and ID plan suggested by these contractors:
Skill level. The program would allow contractors to hire workers who are known to have the skills needed to perform the tasks associated with the proposed positions. Many worker candidates were previously employed, but were terminated due to ICE audits and E-verify rejections (I personally know of an entire fully experienced plastering department that was eliminated due to E-verify rejections).
Administrative costs. Contractors would be responsible to get workers over to the Department of Homeland Security for background checks, to develop and maintain a tamper-proof ID system (such as facial recognition) and would maintain an official registry to track status of workers.
Temporary permit. The plan suggests a two- to three-year temporary work permit with no eligibility for welfare and no path to citizenship.
Revenue addition. Workers would be shepherded under W-2 oversight, rather than functioning as independent contractors. This takes workers out of the shadow economy and would potentially add billions to Social Security coffers and other payroll taxes. Just to sweeten the pot, these contractors have proposed a $500 “bounty” for each new hire to help defray the added cost of border security ($500 is a bargain for an experienced worker). This, as opposed to the cost of billions that mass deportations are projected to incur.
Executive order. Like DACA, ID and Tax would operate as an executive order, thus circumventing an inevitably onerous legislative stalemate. And while executive orders may be a hot-button issue politically, their efficacy for cutting through miles of red tape are with question.
Security. Eligibility would be restricted to those with no felony violations.
These proposals made by responsible construction contractors not only offer a positive framework for at least partially addressing labor issues surrounding immigration, but they also tend to negate many of the objections that a majority of Americans have expressed to existing conditions associated with the influx of undocumented migrants. By reducing unemployment, the attendant issues of overcrowding tend to diminish.
But more to the point, these suggestions offer an effective way to alleviate the current labor shortage, our original topic. And as experience dictates, increases in the labor rolls tend to allow wage levels to taper off. Now, how’s that for incentive?
