Chp 6 Undocumented Labor in U.S. Industries

Vocabulary flashcards summarizing key terms, policies, events, and economic concepts related to undocumented labor in U.S. construction, meatpacking, and service industries.

Outsourcing

The practice of moving labor-intensive manufacturing abroad to cut costs, leading to U.S. factory job losses after the late 1970s.

In-sourcing

Keeping production in the United States but recruiting low-wage immigrant—often undocumented—labor to rural or non-union sites (e.g., meatpacking, construction).

Manufacturing Employment Decline

U.S. factory jobs fell from 20 million in 1979 to 11 million in 2012 as companies shifted work overseas.

Construction Employment Boom

U.S. construction jobs doubled between 1970 and 2006 to 7.7 million, heavily fueled by undocumented immigrant labor.

Unionization Rate in Construction

Dropped from about 40 % in the 1970s to 14 % in 2011, weakening wages and protections.

Subprime-Loan Housing Boom

Low interest and risky mortgages (1990s-2000s) spurred rapid residential construction using cheap undocumented labor.

Payroll Fraud

Illegally classifying employees as independent contractors to evade taxes, minimum wages, and benefits (41 % of Texas construction workers affected).

Hazardous Texas Construction

One in five Texas construction workers is hospitalized for job injuries; the state records the nation’s highest construction fatalities.

Employer Sanctions Waiver

Temporary suspension of penalties for hiring undocumented workers (e.g., Katrina 2005) that let contractors openly recruit them.

Houston 1970s Construction Boom

Oil-driven surge that drew large numbers of low-wage Mexican undocumented workers for commercial and housing projects.

Operation Vanguard (1999)

INS audit of all Nebraska meatpackers’ records; 4,700 questioned, 13 % of workforce fled, causing $20 million economic loss.

Meatpacking Wage Decline

Real wages in meatpacking fell about 45 % between 1980 and 2007 as plants relocated to rural areas and hired immigrants.

Swift Raids (2006)

ICE arrested 1,300 workers at six Swift meatpacking plants; citizens and legal residents were later recruited from Burma and Africa to replace them.

Bracero Program Link

Communities in Michoacán that once sent braceros later supplied undocumented migrants to rural meatpacking plants like Swift.

Agriprocessors/Postville Raid (2008)

ICE arrested 389 mostly Guatemalan workers at Iowa kosher plant—the largest single-site immigration raid in U.S. history.

Aggravated Identity Theft Charges

Felony counts leveled against Postville workers, despite scant evidence, to pressure guilty pleas for lesser SSN misuse charges.

Micronesian Palau Recruitments

Desperate move by Agriprocessors to import 170 legally eligible Palauans after losing undocumented staff.

E-Verify

Federal database system (created 1997) that checks new hires’ work authorization; voluntary at first, later mandatory for federal agencies and some states.

Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) 1996

Law that established the pilot program later called E-Verify and toughened immigration enforcement provisions.

GAO Critique of E-Verify

Government Accountability Office found high error rates and false alarms in audits from 2005-2011.

Statewide E-Verify Mandates

Laws such as Arizona 2007 requiring all employers to use E-Verify, despite business opposition.

Service-Sector Niches

Small, often unregulated jobs (landscaping, nannying, newspaper delivery) that rely heavily on undocumented labor.

Landscaping Industry Growth

Expanded alongside construction since the 1970s; 73 % of Washington D.C.–area landscapers are immigrants, many undocumented.

California Landscape Contractors Association

Trade group that supports legalization, citing chronic labor shortages and a "don’t ask, don’t tell" hiring dilemma.

Nanny Industry Expansion

Rise in personalized child-care services as dual-earner households grow; widely employs undocumented women.

Zoe Baird Incident

Clinton’s first attorney-general nominee withdrew in 1993 after revelations she employed undocumented nanny and chauffeur, spotlighting the "nanny problem."

Independent-Contractor Newspaper Delivery

Publishers outsource routes to drivers labeled as contractors who supply cars, fuel, bags, and earn below minimum wage—often filled by undocumented immigrants.

Housing Bubble Labor Effect

Cheap undocumented construction labor lowered building costs, inflating demand and contributing to the 2000s housing bubble.

Prince William County Ordinance (2007)

Virginia rule directing police to check immigration status; exodus of immigrants hurt local businesses, housing, and schools.

A Day Without a Mexican

2004 satire showing California’s collapse after all Mexicans disappear, illustrating economic dependence on immigrant labor.

9500 Liberty

Documentary chronicling Prince William County’s anti-immigrant policy and its negative economic fallout.

George Borjas Thesis

Economist’s argument that undocumented immigration depresses wages for low-skilled native workers.

Productivity-Boost Argument

Counter-view that undocumented labor raises overall employment and wages by lowering costs and stimulating demand.

Undocumented Worker Share in Meatpacking

By the late 1990s, about 25 % of meatpacking workers were estimated to lack authorization.

Nebraska Cattlemen’s Losses

Industry group estimated $5 million lost after Operation Vanguard workforce depletion.

Maya Quiche Workers

Guatemalan indigenous group comprising much of the workforce at Swift’s Cactus, Texas, meatpacking plant.

Union Packinghouse Workers

Strong multiracial unions in 1940s-50s meatpacking (e.g., United Packinghouse Workers) that later eroded with plant relocations.

Payroll Tax Evasion via Independent Contractors

Strategy used in construction and newspaper delivery to avoid taxes, minimum wage, and benefits obligations.

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Hiring

Employers’ practice of ignoring workers’ legal status while relying on their labor, common in landscaping and construction.

Federal Prevailing Wage Waiver

Post-Katrina suspension of Davis-Bacon wage rules on federally funded reconstruction, allowing lower pay for workers.

Undocumentedness as Mechanism for Inequality

Concept that legal exclusion of workers sustains high U.S. consumption and economic stratification.

Consumption Illusion

Appearance of middle-class affluence maintained by inexpensive goods and services produced by exploited undocumented labor.

Service-Sector Job Creation by Immigrants

Undocumented workers not only fill but generate employment through spending, productivity, and tax contributions.

State with Highest Undocumented Rate (2008)

Nevada, where undocumented immigrants comprised about 12 % of the labor force, especially in construction and tourism.

Hurricane Ike Cleanup Labor

2008 Texas rebuilding effort that relied heavily on undocumented immigrants for debris removal and repairs.