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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
| State Rep. John Galloway
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Galloway continues fight to save Pa. jobs
Plans to reintroduce his eVerify legislation in coming weeks
HARRISBURG, Jan. 25 – State Rep. John Galloway is preparing to reintroduce his eVerify legislation that is designed to protect Pennsylvania construction jobs.
Galloway's legislation passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in the House last summer but the state Senate failed to take action on them before the legislative session ended.
"We have to stop the practice of pushing tax-paying Pennsylvanians from the payrolls to the unemployment rolls by unscrupulous contractors," said Galloway, D-Bucks. "This practice hurts those who lose their jobs, their local community and taxpayers across the state."
Galloway said the practice of hiring undocumented construction workers hurts three groups of people:
1. Well-trained Pennsylvania construction workers who lose their jobs, or are forced to work for less money;
2. Pennsylvania taxpayers because illegal aliens generally don't pay taxes and yet, because of their low income, they and their families often use social services funded by taxpayers; and
3. The construction industry because contractors hiring illegal workers can take shortcuts with training and safety standards, in addition to lowering the pay for all construction workers.
The Center for Immigration Studies estimates that in April 2009, there were between 18,000 and 35,000 illegal construction workers in Pennsylvania.