Episode 19 – Part 1 of 2 parts, Fernie Sanchez, Co-Founder and President of Valiente and Sergio Chapa, reporter and documentarian discuss the LGBT Latino/Latina community. Sergio recently produced documentary “Fuera del Closet: Gay Hispanic Immigrants in Dallas.” Bob McCranie reads more of his poetry.
Featured Websites
Fuera del Closet: Gay Hispanic Immigrants in Dallas no longer available
3 replies on “Episode 19 – Part 1 of 2 Parts, Fernie Sanchez, Co-Founder and President of Valiente and Sergio Chapa, Reporter and Documentarian Discuss the LGBT Latino/Latina Community & Bob McCranie Reads More of His Poetry”
John, perhaps I’m that much “out of the loop” but I’m unaware of any fast-food joint paying $10 an hour unless it’s in an upper class neighborhood. You can barely get that rate of pay in most non-management retail jobs. Because of that, I’m not surprised why people don’t want to work restaurant jobs. If the I can make the same rate of pay folding clothes or stocking shelves as someone would frying chicken and fries, I’d probably invent new creases in those clothes.
Of course, the real issue here (which you stated) is the rate of pay. For instance, the employer can offer a group of undocumented workers what seems like (to them) a large sum of money for a service, while knowingly underbidding a current service provider who’s been around. The common response? It’s about cutting costs. Of course, how can we know what’s really being paid out? And what recourse does that worker have if the pay is less than expected? That’s the precarious position of the undocumented worker.
Most of my career has been spent doing marketing and advertising in the restaurant industry. You would be surprised how difficult it is to find people willing to working in restaurants for what restaurants are willing to pay. This isn’t only true in the wealthy white suburbs but also in cities as well. I remember twenty years ago that Burger King was paying employees $10 per hour and busing them to Cape Cod from Boston every day (at Burger King’s expense and Burger King was paying for their children’s daycare as well.
Even today, restaurants typically have an extremely difficult time finding employees. Most teenagers would much rather work in a a retail store at the mall for the same money. Look at the number of readerboards outside quick service restaurants that have “Help Wanted” on them. This is an industrywide problem that is worsening and projected to become worse yet.
Foreign workers (whether legal or illegal) have been willing to do jobs that Americans are less willing or unwilling to do. Some of the industries most impacted include construction, the restaurant industry, farmworers, lawn and yard care, car washes etc.
By no means am I an advocate of illegal immigration. However, the problem is complicated and there is no quick and easy fix. Vicinte Fox (who just left office as Mexico’s President) says in his new book that Mexicans come here (both legally and illegally) because there are jobs here for them. Many American employers are more than happy to hire illegals because they can pay them less. The employers are even more guilty than the illegal immigrants in my opinion.
John, perhaps on a different show you could explain your comment (at about 43:42) about Hispanic immigrants doing jobs that other people born here wouldn’t do. I’ve always been puzzled when this comment is made.
I understand the second half of the comment about fair wages for workers that would cause prices to rise (which MAY mean better goods ’cause god only knows what’s wrapped up in that Big Mac for $.99).