Donald Trump Will Make Some Foreign Workers Take a Pay Cut at Mar-a-Lago
Since then-candidate Donald Trump announced his bid for the White House in 2015, he has employed 200 foreign guest workers at his Mar-a-Lago golf club through the H-2B visa program. The exclusive club that has been dubbed the "Winter White House" now wants to hire 61 more foreign workers over the next year to fill positions that it claims it cannot find Americans to fill.
But while the president routinely brags about the economy and his businesses, one of the Mar-a-Lago positions that will be filled with foreign workers will pay less than last year, according to requests filed with the Department of Labor made public Thursday.
Cooks will be paid $13.31 per hour compared to the $13.34 they received last year. Servers would see an increase of 80 cents per hour from $11.33 to $12.68 and will not receive tips. Mar-a-Lago is currently requesting 40 H-2B temporary work visas for servers and 21 for cooks. If all the jobs are filled, that would bring the total number of foreign guest workers hired at Trump businesses he either owns or has his name on to 501 since 2015.
While the decrease in hourly pay for some of the temporary foreign workers is only by 3 cents, the president has touted the success of the economy and how great it is for workers. Last month, Trump tweeted that it may be the "best time EVER" to find a job and that the economy was the best in the "history of our country."
In many ways this is the greatest economy in the HISTORY of America and the best time EVER to look for a job!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2018
The U.S. has an increased economic value of more than 7 Trillion Dollars since the Election. May be the best economy in the history of our country. Record Jobs numbers. Nice!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2018
The president also mentions his "America First" policy and the success of his businesses that bear the Trump name when speaking at political rallies and other venues.
In January, Trump told business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland that there has "never been a better time to hire" in the U.S. He also tweeted about himself being a "VERY successful businessman."
Trump says "America is open for business" in his debut speech at Davos, where he paired his "America First" agenda with globalism #tictocnews https://t.co/OfGfgTrQhA pic.twitter.com/xyGvFMazoH
— TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) January 26, 2018
The U.S. does currently have a record number of job openings and the lowest unemployment rate since 2000, according to The Washington Post.
Trump and his Mar-a-Lago Club have said the club needs foreign workers because of increased tourism in winter months, and a lack of American workers who are interested in the jobs.