A $34 an hour job American's won't do? Not quite.

The LA Times has an article today titled, no kidding, "A Job Americans Won't Do, Even at $34 an Hour".

What kind of job that pays $34 an hour won't American's do?

Could it be scrubbing containment vessels of spent nuclear reactors? Nope.

How about volunteering for open brain surgery at the local community college? Not quite.

Man-eating lion tamer? Wrong again.

The job is, gasp, landscaping.

The LA Times interviewed Cyndi Smallwood, a small business woman who runs Diversified Landscape right here in Riverside.

According to the Times:

Cyndi Smallwood is looking for a few strong men for her landscaping company. Guys with no fear of a hot sun, who can shovel dirt all day long. She'll pay as much as $34 an hour.

She can't find them.

If anyone bothers to read past the headline and first paragraph they will learn that Cyndi already has 12 employees. She says all of her employees are legally allowed to work here.

So what is the problem?

The real problem appears to be Cyndi's preferred method of advertising her $34 an hour job American's won't do; word of mouth. I'm sure she is reaching a vast audience doing that.

Now you may be wondering why anyone would pay $34 an hour for landscaping. Well it's not up to Cyndi. You see she does contract work for the State of California and they set the pay rates.

This afternoon Cyndi was on the John and Ken Show. She told them that since the article appeared in the LA Times this morning she has received over 30 resumes. Yep, 30 resumes in just a few short hours for a job American's won't do. Cyndi may want to re-think her not-so-hi-tech word of mouth advertising campaign.

John and Ken took some calls from the audience. Cyndi, who seems like a nice lady, appeared to get flustered that everyone who called in wanted the job.

At one point she asked a caller why he had never stopped on the side of the road and asked how much the guys shoveling dirt were making.

Well who in their right mind would do that? I always assumed the guys in the bright orange vests on the side of the highway were prisoners on some sort of work release program. Walking up to them and asking "Hey, how much ya making diggin that there hole fella" would get you a fist in your face for your trouble. Seriously, who knew these guys were making $34 an hour? It makes you wonder how much the 5 Cal-Trans guys standing around watching the one Cal-Trans guy dig a hole are making. It also partially explains why California has a $100 billion plus budget.

If you are looking for work send Cyndi your resume. Her fax number is 951-734-6565

Update: Michelle Malkin is all over this story and points out:

But it turns out there's a tiny bit more to the story that the LA Times isn't telling you. Reader Christopher L. wrote this morning to point out that a simple Google search shows that Cyndi Smallwood is president of the Orange County chapter of the California Landscape Contractors Association, and is a member of the association's "Immigration Task Force." The activist group opposes the "Punitive Immigration Reform Bill Proposed by Rep. Sensenbrenner."

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