GARY PAPINEAU

Competing with illegal workers
The fight for American jobs
By Richard Haddad, Payton Roundup
Tuesday, April 5, 2005

Standing on the sidewalk alongside Highway 87 in Payson, Gary Papineau holds a cardboard sign that reads, "I need work." But unlike other roadside panhandlers you might see in larger municipalities, Papineau's sign includes his phone number.
"I need a job," Papineau said. "I've seen people do this in Phoenix, but they're just looking for money. I'm really looking for work. Finding a job in this town isn't easy."
Papineau, who has experience in drywall work, blames part of his job-seeking woes on the increasing number of illegal immigrants crossing the U.S. border from Mexico. And with the opening of The Home Depot in Payson, Papineau believes the problem will only get worse.
"It's bad because most the (day laborers) workers are all from Mexico," he said. "I've lived up here for 13 years and I can't get a job with any of these companies. They move all these Mexicans up here to take the jobs. But here I am, an American, and they won't hire me."
"Home Depot's official policy is that undocumented workers are not allowed on our property," Shane Monahan, store manager for Payson's Home Depot, said. "I know it runs rampant in the Valley, but they are working with the Phoenix P.D. and trespassing charges are being filed and will be filed. I won't tolerate it at this store. I understand the sensitive nature of this -- that they're trying to support their families, but I've got a business to run and I can't let them sit out there and antagonize my customers."
Papineau is living with relatives in Payson, but said he has had to go to Phoenix to find work.
"I would stay up here if I had a job," he said.
Papineau is not alone in his concern over the loss of jobs for Americans.