BCA aka Bear Creek Arsenal is inexpensive because...

[nwslopoke]

Does this mean Brad Johnson really didn't built my upper? Seriously, I don't run a business so I don't know how hard it is to get and keep decent employees. I don't feel one bit sorry for Bear Creek though. One or two people, maybe. But that is ridiculous.

 

[Mr Smith]

maybe they hired out of home depot parking lots?

 

[CJWinOR]

Mossberg's factory in Eagle Pass, Texas employs Mexicans who cross the border to work each day. While the firearm is made in the United States, it for the most part, not by American workers.

 

[arakboss]

I just got my BCA upper back that I had to send in for warranty work because they didn't crown the barrel and the feed ramps in etx didn't match the recvr ramps very well. They replaced the barrel with a new one and it looks good now, hope it shoots better than before. They tried to ship it to Arizona but I caught it via tracking info the day before it was to arrive in Arizona. I emailed them and they were able to reroute it to Oregon and it just arrived yesterday.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

16" Carbine, 1:8 nitrided. Don't know whether 5 or 6, but it was only $51.

i was super skeptical at first but figured hey, its inexpensive. if it sucks, i'll put it on another gun and have 2. im glad i tried it

 

[Boboclown]

illegal immigrants are essential to our economy.

So are trucks but they still regulate and enforce weird laws.

 

[Dungannon]

E-Verify was a political compromise. Just because a job candidate provides an SSN that matches up to a real person doesn't mean the federal system can verify who it is in actuality. I personally know of a business that uses E-Verify and it wasn't until after an employee arrest that it was determined that the person [in the US for many years, speaking English flawlessly] was in fact here illegally.

 

[Member 34319]

Mossberg's factory in Eagle Pass, Texas employs Mexicans who cross the border to work each day. While the firearm is made in the United States, it for the most part, not by American workers.

I did not know this. I'll have to look into it further.

While similar in nature I don't feel that is as bad as being in the country illegally or having an employer hiring more than just a handful that slipped through the cracks via fraud.

Having folks from Mexico come across the border to work and go home to Mexico every day feels a lot like those that commute to intel from Vancouver each day.

My take on this is that the company cut corners to save costs which were obviously passed on to the consumer.

There is not a lot of real information out there right now, just a lot of speculation, I've found sources stating they paid well as well as sources saying they paid minimum wages.

 

[CJWinOR]

I agree that it isn't as bad as being in the country illegally, however it is far from ideal. My better half is an immigrant to the United States, not from Mexico however.

We were more than a bit disappointed to find that having a "Green Card" makes little difference when it comes to pay. In professional jobs it undoubtedly does, but in middle of the road jobs the labor rates are set by what illegal workers are willing to work for. With little workplace enforcement of immigration laws, the businesses in this area fear little of enforcement, so they readily hire illegals who work for a fraction of legal minimum wage, no overtime, no taxes, no social security, no benefits. If an illegal worker is injured on the job, frequently they end up at the E.R. with taxpayers footing the bill for the unexplained injury.

My spouse is a professional chef, with a four year degree and over ten years experience. I was astonished to learn of the way these folks are treated. Here in Beaverton, an experienced illegal will work 10-12 hours per day, for $80.00 to 100.00 cash, no benefits, if they need to come to work 30 minutes late, they will be docked at least 10-20%.

My observations having been around this for a few years now is that the illegal workers are paying no taxes, perhaps a small amount of property taxes indirectly through rent. I often see illegal couples with 3-4 children who are attending our already underperforming schools, frequently, the children who were born in the United States are receiving food stamps, illegal mothers are eligible for WIC, and of course the children's medical expenses are covered under medicaid. Another often overlooked cost is that of not speaking English. Frequently these kids get to school not speaking much English, so they first need to get up to speed learning the common language of the land, again this costs money, and places the kids at a tremendous disadvantage. I have friends who's children speak English but are also learning French or another language before they enter the schools system, I'm continually astounded at how intelligent these kids are when they have parents who work with them, prepare them., yet the children of illegals are often at a tremendous disadvantage in not speaking basic English.

I've seen a few restaurants that do follow the rules, hire legal workers, pay taxes and what not. The prices paid by customers is the same. The businesses I've been around who hire illegal workers are simply pocketing the extra profit, not passing on the savings. I can only assume that some places do pass on the savings to the customer, but at what cost to the general good of the nation? Sure, we may get out tacos a bit cheaper, but our kids are getting cheated in the schools, our medical system is overburdened, the list goes on.

Most of the illegal workers I've interacted with are good people, who work hard, but not smart. I can not really fault them for wanting a better life, but follow the rules, it can be done. Stop having kids on our dime, driving without insurance, the list goes on.

At what cost the savings?

 

[Member 34319]

Some earlier reporting on BCA may have shed the light to what eventually became of the raid. Looks like shady management may be at play after all.

Shame. Looks like they will go down in flames because of this.

Bear Creek Arsenal Review - Gear Report Road Trip Factory Tour

Reading more it appears the entire area around their facility is known for illegal employment with lots of food processing jobs.

Sad to see an a American firearm manufacturer company go that route. I'm certain they could have easily found Americans that would have taken those jobs.

 

[Mr Smith]

Sad truth of it is: american machinists generally want higher salaries, and higher salaries = higher product prices. The reason their business was doing so well for a while was their prices were much lower than anyone else's prices, and now it makes sense why their prices were so much lower...

Politicians and their brainwashed sheep like the ones around here think you can raise minimum wage and fix poverty magically by raising minimum wage...doesn't fix anything. Just effs over everyone else by making housing, food, products, services, fuel, etc. more expensive.

 

[Member 34319]

While I'll agree machinists usually call for higher wages, that's not necessarily true.

Leupold hires low wage employees all the time to insert metal into a vice and press a button.

Sadly there is a huge systemic issue that has grown into a dependency and expectancy of inexpensive products via illegal workers.

Our state is no better.

Each year tons of Oregon farmers bring in illegals, from god knows where, to harvest all sorts of crops. They are on short term visas and paid close to nothing. All so we can continue to have $6 bottles of wine, and $2-$5 pounds of strawberries.

 

[PDXSparky]

While I'll agree machinists usually call for higher wages, that's not necessarily true.

Leupold hires low wage employees all the time to insert metal into a vice and press a button.

I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't classify the low wage Leupold employees as "machinists".

 

[Member 34319]

I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't classify the low wage Leupold employees as "machinists".

True.

Just a talking point I was bringing up.

Though their title may involve something like machinist. It's hard to say what a machinist is these days.

Today's machinists are those that can code, tool, program and maintain the CNCs. The machines do a majority of the work these days. If you have a person on hand that tends to the machines, you can pay anyone much less to cycle them and insert and remove the materials.

I imagine it's this way at most large scale places.

Is a guy running a 3D printer at home considered a machinist?

 

[PDXSparky]

True.

Just a talking point I was bringing up.

In that case, it does illustrate the point.

Though their title may involve something like machinist. It's hard to say what a machinist is these days.

Maybe the job name is more like machine operator.

I imagine it's this way at most large scale places.

I'd agree with this. High volume production work usually has lots of automation with minimum of human involvement.

Is a guy running a 3D printer at home considered a machinist?

Maybe. If they model the 3D part, them probably. I get all the files that I use for printing from websites like www.thingiverse.com Makes 3D printing super easy.

 

[284guy]

My question is why would you support a business that engages in criminal activity? Remember the outrage when Dicks and BiMart wouldn't sell to those under 21? People were outraged, this, you still support because they sell cheap crap. The Walmart of AR parts...

 

[nehalemguy]

"Made In America" *




* By illegal Mexican labor.

E

 

[arakboss]

Some earlier reporting on BCA may have shed the light to what eventually became of the raid. Looks like shady management may be at play after all.

Shame. Looks like they will go down in flames because of this.

Bear Creek Arsenal Review - Gear Report Road Trip Factory Tour

Reading more it appears the entire area around their facility is known for illegal employment with lots of food processing jobs.

Sad to see an a American firearm manufacturer company go that route. I'm certain they could have easily found Americans that would have taken those jobs.

With nearly all time low unemployment numbers, my guess is there weren't many Amercian's lining up for those jobs. Based on their prices I am guessing their pay scale is super great.

 

[284guy]

Then you pay more, not break the law so you can peddle cheap junk

 

[Mr Smith]

It does make me think though: If you put a machine shop for making firearms in certain parts of the country like Idaho, Alabama, Nebraska, etc. where cost of living is very low...You could likely find employees willing to work for lower wages and keep prices super low to outsell the competition since average payscale in those areas is low to begin with. And since cost of living is low: you aren't exactly forcing anyone into poverty either. Someone making 30k/yr in Idaho/Alabama/Nebraska for example is about the same as someone making 70k/yr in western washington when you factor in housing and food costs for the areas.

You can buy a very decent sized house with a bit of land in Alabama for 60k. you can't even buy a shanty here for that LOL. So imagine the monthly payments on a 30yr mortgage for an 60k house...less than $400/mo with insurance, taxes, etc included.. So it would make sense to have a factory in a place like that where labor is cheap and property is cheap. Wouldn't need to hire mexicans then