"But when federal immigration agents raided a local plant and took away 361 illegal workers, Frank didn't get up and give the speech about illegals doing work Americans won't do.
You don't say that in New Bedford, a depressed factory and fishing town with a magnificent work ethic and an unemployment rate of 9.4 percent, the highest in Massachusetts. (The day of the raid, the copper company founded by Paul Revere in 1801 added to the misery by announcing plans to leave town.)
For the city's beaten-up working class, factory jobs are diamonds. After the raid, 400 people immediately applied for the openings.
Frank blasted the Defense Department for awarding more than $100 million in contracts to Michael Bianco Inc., which, it appears, was flagrantly employing illegal workers to sew military backpacks and other gear. Frank also quoted a Michael Bianco competitor who called him after the raid, saying, "Now I understand how they kept outbidding me."
What do you think?
2007-03-23
08:54:41
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13 answers
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asked by
DAR
7