Turner Promises Turnaround
As pressure mounts on the city to fire Turner Construction Company as prime contractor on the new Duval County Courthouse, the company’s public relations arm did its bit to quiet the clamor with assurance the company is doing everything it can to keep illegal workers off the job.
A total of 19 undocumented workers have been arrested at or near the construction site since September, including four the Folio Weekly first reported were arrested by Border Patron on Monday morning. Additionally, 100 employees gave the city false information on forms verifying their legal status, the T-U reported Tuesday.
Turner said that in addition to requiring all employees provide extra documentation, it is using the Internet-based system E-Verify to check the status of all employees on the site. E-Verify is a U.S. government site that connects to Social Security and Homeland Security databases. The PR statement didn’t address how a third of employees seemingly slipped by the E-Verify check. The company didn’t respond yet to emailed questions.
Click below to read the complete letter sent to the media Tuesday by Turner Construction Company’s public relations office.
— Susan Eastman
Turner Construction Company Statement
November 10, 2009
Turner Construction Company has a firm policy in place that does not tolerate or condone the hiring of undocumented workers for any of its projects. Furthermore, Turner’s agreements with its subcontractors on the Duval County Courthouse require that all workers provide proper employment documentation.
Turner, in cooperation with the City of Jacksonville, the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), have established strict measures on this project, which assist the Federal agencies in conducting extensive background checks on the employees to verify compliance with employment eligibility regulations.
As a result of the procedures established for this project, we have been informed that two subcontractors working on the courthouse project employed workers who provided information that did not match Federal records. Our understanding at this time indicates that individual employees of a subcontractor under contract with Turner may have submitted falsified employment documentation, which in turn led to the employment of those individuals. The fact that the documentation was falsified was identifiable to the ICE officials but was not known to Turner or, to our knowledge, to Turner’s subcontractor.
In addition, Turner has met with representatives of all subcontractors involved with the project to reinforce their contractual and legal obligations to employ only workers who provide proper documentation.
Screening methods to verify that all employees working on the project have valid documentation include use of the E-Verify system, which, through the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security databases, confirms the workers’ employment eligibility.
We will continue to cooperate with the City and all Federal agencies to monitor compliance with employment law and Turner’s policies.
— Shannon Eckhart, public relations manager of Turner Construction Company
November 13th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
The politicians are irreversible committed now to the E-Verify system of verifying legal workers. Sen. Harry Reid and his cronies may have–ONLY–authorized it for only 3 years, but they will have all hell to pay, if the originally tried to kill it.. They have managed to soften 287 G, the arrest and detain mechanism, given to regular police to fight illegal immigration. The same situation is in slowing ICE from expanding their duties, by executing lightening raids on suspicious businesses that are using large amounts of foreign labor. But right now the feds are building on E-Verify with great success, no matter what the open border opponents say? Another key component of Illegal immigration enforcement is knowing when tourists leave the country? Plans are being finalized to implement a data base of eye and fingerprint scans, when a person leaves the airport for departure.
I am sure with this coupled with entry customs inspection the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will be able to detect visa over-stays? Along with further cultivation of E-Verify the US will have a much strengthened prevention against illegal immigrants. Very soon the mainstream of the American population will be confronted with this new Comprehension Immigration Reform. This should not be left for either the Democratic leadership or the minority Republicans to decide? We can no longer trust either party, to carry out the wishes of all of us. My thought would be a national referendum, but even though we are a Democracy we are over and over again–cheated by our legislators, who are in deep collusion with business organizations and the open-border entities? Those of us, who have a high respect for what citizenship means, should blast–ALL–Senators and Representatives and call 202-224-3121.
TELL THEM THEY MIGHT FORCE THROUGH ANOTHER BLANKET AMNESTY? BUT HAVE THEY EVEN CONSIDERED THAT MILLIONS WORLDWIDE HAVE ALREADY BEEN ALERTED TO A NEW PATH TO CITIZENSHIP? ALL THESE ALIENS HAVE TO DO IS CLIMB THE UNDERMANNED BORDER FENCE AND WAIT FOR THE NEW ACT TO PASS?
Have our lawmakers had any comprehension of the dire predicament of not only the government welfare programs? Have they any conceivable idea of low income job loss to the American worker? Have Politicians even taken into consideration what is expected of the middle class taxpayers? Are Lawmakers not disturbed with OVERPOPULATION by 2050, according to the Census Bureau that will bring upon us all serious shortage of drinking water, energy and oil? Now learn about the corruption at state and federal level from JUDICIAL WATCH. Then read NUMBERSUSA to see the immigration enforcement gradings of our politicians, and then take back you vote. Finally see details of the forthcoming overpopulation at CAPSWEB. Only the American people should decide the future of America? Not the special interest lobbyists, not the open border groups, nor the legislators who have completely ignored–THE PEOPLE’S–wishes for far too long?
November 15th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Why are they even being given the chance to turn anything around? Run their asses out of the city and get WW Gay, MJ Woods, Cogburn elec, Miller elec, Center Borthers, hell you could even throw some of the work Chuck Stanfords way. There are a lot of good, hard working local men and women in the trades who are Jacksonville residents. But for some reason it is accepted wisdom that things should be as cheap as possible, hence the wal mart for every hundred residents in Duval County.
If you want a successful city, if you want people to prosper, you MUST have a strong labor movement with a strong working class!
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