Aging population and housing

[Anonymous]

BG, certainly some portion of the Mexican national or other foreign workers in San Diego are green card holders. But for them it would be risky to cross the border daily because living abroad is by definition not allowed. (It is called permanent resident card and USCIS is strict on this).

Of course all of the non green card holders that work here also risk losing their Visa by crossing daily. One obvious trick around this is they live in San Diego or elsewhere during the week and return to TJ on weekend. Just try to cross the border to TJ on Friday night, it is 10 times more crowded than any other night.

But you are referring to “long time service sector employees” and using an example of a 20+ year employee at the Hotel Del is not very realistic. Do you really believe there are for instance room cleaners at the Hotel Del that have worked there doing that same job for 20+ years? Do you have an example of this? There is so much turn around on service sector jobs that is a ridiculous idea.

Also, why would they care if they are paying into FICA? Even with deductions, a minimum wage worker at Mcdonalds in San Diego is making 5 times what they would earn in TJ for the same job.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=deadzone]BG, certainly some portion of the Mexican national or other foreign workers in San Diego are green card holders. But for them it would be risky to cross the border daily because living abroad is by definition not allowed. (It is called permanent resident card and USCIS is strict on this).

Of course all of the non green card holders that work here also risk losing their Visa by crossing daily. One obvious trick around this is they live in San Diego or elsewhere during the week and return to TJ on weekend. Just try to cross the border to TJ on Friday night, it is 10 times more crowded than any other night.

But you are referring to “long time service sector employees” and using an example of a 20+ year employee at the Hotel Del is not very realistic. Do you really believe there are for instance room cleaners at the Hotel Del that have worked there doing that same job for 20+ years? Do you have an example of this? There is so much turn around on service sector jobs that is a ridiculous idea.

Also, why would they care if they are paying into FICA? Even with deductions, a minimum wage worker at Mcdonalds in San Diego is making 5 times what they would earn in TJ for the same job.[/quote]

When I worked in the service sector in SD in the ’70’s (three 4 and 5-star restaurants) we had a LOT of employees who crossed the border everyday to come to work. Many had worked there 5 to 25 years at that time. Maybe the work-permit procedure has changed over the years. I wasn’t in HR so I don’t know if these employees’ right to work was renewed by the house every year. We were all members of San Diego Food Handler’s Union Local 30 and had benefits through the union. I do not know if it is still in existence.

deadzone, it is VERY realistic that SD’s best hotels and restaurants have many employees with at least 20 years seniority. When people land well-tipping gigs at the best houses, especially coveted dinner wait staff slots, they typically never leave. I left because I did not want to work weekends and holidays anymore and took an entry level civil service position.

[Anonymous]

20 years seniority cleaning hotel rooms or washing dishes? I doubt it.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=deadzone]20 years seniority cleaning hotel rooms or washing dishes? I doubt it.[/quote]

Uhh, no, 20++ years bussing tables, bartending and waiting tables … or a combination thereof. All good money, deadzone.

I’m going to look at the “green card rules” tomorrow as time permits. I can’t imagine a “green card holder” isn’t allowed to live on whichever side of the border they wish in any given year. A US citizen is freely allowed to live on whichever side of the border they wish while working in the US. Believe it or not, LOTS of doctors, dentists, and lawyers do it … every day! And some don’t have a drop of “Hispanic” in them, lol ….

[bearishgurl]

I regularly made $265 week working 28-32 hours in these first-rate houses in the 1970’s. And I didn’t have enough “seniority” to have a dinner-shift schedule …. I worked the lunch shift and took an occasional dinner shift when another wait staff gave one up. The dinner wait staff made $360 to $400 week. This was AFTER the bartender and bus staff got their cut!

My rent was $140 month for a large (600 sf) studio with all hardwood floors with matching wood nails, a brass pull-down murphy bed, built in (elaborate) dresser with mirror and a huge walk-in closet. I even had my own brick patio with a built in BBQ! That $140 included ALL UTILITIES. Location: Banker’s Hill (SD) facing the bay and directly across the street from a famous local Mills Act historical-home-turned-office building.

I had a brand new car I paid $5400 for (cash). It was the only new car I have ever had which was all my own.

These union house jobs along SD Bay were among the best jobs SD had at the time which didn’t need a college degree …. and probably still are …. although I do not know if they are still represented … or not. They were DEFINITELY worth crossing the border for.

btw, the “minimum wage” in SD at the time was about $2.40 hr … and went up to $3.35 during my tenure as a wait staff. It typically took at least 10 years in a lunch wait staff position to have enough seniority to snag a dinner wait staff position …. when someone moved out of county/state … or died.

By ’83, then President Reagan had signed the “8% tip tax law.” I was already out of the profession by then but that was the end of the “glory days,” IMO, as 8% of a wait staff FOOD tab was taxed (on top of the tax on their minimum wage). Likewise for the bartender’s bar tabs plus food wait staff tabs of cocktails which they prepared.

[Anonymous]

To be on wait staff of a decent restaurant you have to speak English, that disqualifies the majority of the border crossers.

Greencard is called Permanent Resident Card. By definition they must maintain primary residency in the U.S. However, I assume it is very easy to lie about this just like the parents who use phony addresses to get their kids in a certain school. But the fact that you are documented electronically crossing every morning raises a red flag to Officials that you are not living in U.S. Do they actually enforce this? Who knows.

[Author]

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