Trump Winery begs Labor Department to hire foreign workers over Americans

As Donald J. Trump, the man whose entire campaign was predicated on bringing American jobs back to America, vows to keep his promise to the people, a Virginia winery owned by son Eric Trump is petitioning to government for the opportunity to hire foreign workers, the New York Post reports.

The request, filed by the Trump Winery on Dec. 2 and posted online by the Department of Labor Wednesday, show that the Trump-owned vineyard is requesting six foreign workers under the federal H-2 program, a temporary work visa that allows US employers bring foreign labor.

According to the application, Trump Vineyard will pay the H-2 workers $10.72 an hour for 40 hours a week, as well as an unpaid lunch break. It will run from January until June 2017.

ABC News reports the winery applied for the 19 visas through the H-2 program in 2016; it made similar requests in 2014 and 2015.

Trump ran on a pro-worker populist platform throughout his campaign, and maintained that image despite numerous reports indicating the president-elect hires foreign workers at his establishments, including his Florida estate Mar-a-Lago.

A New York Times report published in February revealed the Trump Organization rejected hundreds of US applicants in favor of hiring foreign workers:

“[N]early 300 United States residents have applied or been referred for jobs as waiters, waitresses, cooks and housekeepers there,” the New York Times wrote. “But according to federal records, only 17 have been hired. In all but a handful of cases, Mar-a-Lago sought to fill the jobs with hundreds of foreign guest workers from Romania and other countries.”

“You can’t get help,” Trump told MSNBC’s Morning Joe in September, defending his company’s decision to hire guest workers over US citizens. “Getting help in Palm Beach during the season is almost impossible.”