Burning Atlanta

I oppose illegal immigration,  DUH, but I really loathe those that cheat them. Of course, I loathe those that sneak into this country and commit more crimes but, no matter, if you're going to be a weasel and knowingly hire illegals you should pay them the minimum wage if nothing else. If these allegations are true I hope the carwash owners are prosecuted and fined all to hell, with whatever amount of money going to those they cheated. Then I want the illegals deported and the cheaters in jail.

Alleged scumbags

A former Los Angeles carwash employee who alleges that he was fired for publicly speaking out about being illegally underpaid joined others Wednesday in calling for a boycott of local carwashes.

"This is a fight," Jose Torres said in Spanish during a news conference outside his former workplace, Vermont Hand Wash. "It was very risky speaking publicly, but here I am."

Torres and local labor leaders said he was fired about two weeks ago for speaking out about poor working conditions at the carwash. He said he worked there for more than three years and was paid between $35 and $40 for a 10-hour workday.

A Times investigation published in March showed that hand carwashes across the Southland often violate basic labor and immigration laws.

At a fifth of Southern California carwashes, employees in the last five years have formally accused owners of illegally underpaying them. Many workers said they received only tips for some or all of their shifts and some said they earned as little as $1.63 an hour.