Powerful Florida state senator fired American citizens, hired guest workers instead, lawsuit says

[seafan]

From the St. Petersburg Times:


September 8, 2011

TALLAHASSEE — In the waning days of the 2011 legislative session, Sen. JD Alexander, one of the state's most powerful lawmakers, delivered an impassioned floor speech against a measure that would have required employers to check the immigration status of new hires.

Alexander, a Republican from Lake Wales, offered a firsthand account of housing guest workers from Mexico to help pick his crops.

"You can't get anybody to come do this stuff, folks. And it's the same thing, whether it's construction, or whether it's hotels. Americans don't want to do it," Alexander said moments before the Senate defeated the legislation, a top priority of Gov. Rick Scott.

Now, Alexander, who owns a farm in Polk County, is facing a lawsuit from two farmworkers who say he violated federal law by firing American citizens and green card holders and replacing them with guest workers.

JD Alexander is one of the most corrupt members of the Florida legislature.



He is one of two powerful leaders who will benefit from Rick Scott's approval of SunRail commuter rail after Scott destroyed the shovel-ready high-speed rail project for Florida. Alexander and one of his legislative cohorts just happen to own property close to CSX rail lines that are a part of Scott's deal for SunRail.


JD Alexander also pushed through stealth legislation, over industry uproar, radically changing the Florida Citrus Code, which governs the Citrus Department and its overseeing body, the Citrus Commission. This move infuriated members of Florida's largest citrus-growers group, as it took them by complete surprise. Ol' JD owns a few acres of citrus himself; it's probably quite useful to use his power to rewrite the rules to his own ultimate benefit, you see.


JD Alexander also pursued legislation opening up Florida offshore drilling during a time of widespread public outrage. That Big Oil money that would flow into his campaign coffers must have looked good to JD.


And when the lavish Taj Mahal courthouse funding came to light, in a time of great economic hardship for Floridians, there was old JD, along with Marco Rubio and many others, hailed as "heroes" for their grand push to pour taxpayers' money into the mahogany and granite and private bathrooms and workout rooms for the appellate judges who would call the new courthouse home.



And now, JD Alexander is being sued for firing American workers on his farm, and replacing them with guest workers who would only be allowed to work for him, or be forced back to their original impoverished country.

"Guest workers only can work for one employer, the one who got them their Visa. So they're less likely to complain," Schell said. "They want to hire the young motivated Mexican whose choice is to work here or go back to Third World poverty." Link

Floridians deserve better than JD Alexander.



JD Alexander has repeatedly abused his position in Florida's government to enrich himself mightily. And he should be removed from that position of power.