A hotel owner in Taos, Texas recently asked that all his Hispanic employees “shorten” their names to something a little more “American.” According to an article posted by Asylum, the new boss mandated the following upon his takeover:
1. No speaking Spanish in front of the boss.
2. Everyone’s fired and has to re-apply for their jobs.
3. It’s “strongly suggested” that employees shorten their long, silly Spanish names. (”Who has the time to say ‘Marcos?’ Why not Mark or Bill?” That’s actually a real example.)
Roberto Ruiz of the San Antonio Public Policy Examiner sees this as a strong case against America’s declaration as of late that we live in a “post-racial” society. He also points out that Hispanics make up the majority population in Taos.
It usually comes as a surprise to people when I mention that our republic does not have an “official language.” Wisely, this nation’s founders decided not to declare an official language, their reasons included “a belief in tolerance for linguistic diversity within the population, the economic and social value of foreign language knowledge and citizenry, and a desire not to restrict the linguistic and cultural freedom of those living in the new country.”
In a previous blog post, “What’s in a Hispanic name,” we’ve looked at the Hispanic naming system and how it is often confused in the United States, resulting in a loss of culture and identity for many Hispanic Americans (click here to go to the post).
Brigido Oregon, a West Michigan migrant farm worker from Texas, was chained, jailed and threatened with deportation for 17 days, all while pleading his innocence. Oregon is in fact a legal citizen of the United States, but immigration officials didn’t believe him.
Oregon shared his story at a public hearing for the Michigan Civil Rights Commission in August. The Commission intends to bring to light violations against farm workers, which are unfortunately commonplace.
The state agency’s intent is to make it easier for farm workers to file complaints, said civil rights’ commission chairman Matthew Wesaw. The commission also plans to issue a public report on it’s findings in October — the first time in 40 years that the commission has conducted a study on farm worker violations, said Wesaw.
“What we’re seeing is that things aren’t just the same, they’re worse than ever before,” Wesaw told approximately 70 people gathered at the GVSU meeting.
State civil rights officials are investigating several reports of poor living conditions and employers not paying promised wages. Some farm workers have reported being threatened with deportation if they complained about conditions or treatment.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 17% drop in Hispanic fatalities between 2008 and the year before, from 937 to 774 deaths. CNN reports:
Since records began being collected in 1992, statistics have shown that Hispanic workers are killed in the workplace at a higher rate than other ethnic or racial groups.
In 2001, the disparity was the most striking. Hispanics suffered fatal injuries at a rate of 6 out of 100,000 workers that year, while the rates for white and black workers were 4.2 and 3.8, respectively.
The statistics released Thursday show the gap is closing.
The gap may be closing somewhat, but the drop is probably related more to the poor economy and lack of work than an improvement in conditions. “I think we will see an increase when activity picks up,” said Teresa Molina, president of the board of directors of Sunflower Community Action in Wichita, Kansas.
Lack of understanding safety issues because of the language barrier, as well as exploitation (workers not being provided proper safety tools, and being overworked) are factors that contribute to the disproportionate rates of injuries and fatalities of Hispanics on the job.
New Bedford, MA believes that their community will succeed when immigrants have more opportunities in the workplace. Local business and civic leaders have launched an initiative called English Works Campaign that helps to eliminate the long waiting lists for English classes.
Anthony R. Sapienza, president of Abboud, a New Bedford manufacturer of men’s clothing, believes proficiency in English helps businesses and opens up more job opportunities to the workers.
Business leaders like Sapienza have seen the effects of workers learning English on the job. Workers can better understand their duties and communicate with management, creating a more productive workforce and local economy.
Sapienza says English skills increase efficiency, reduce errors, and improve employee retention. Immigrants can also feel more integrated into their new communities, and can better help their children who are growing up in English-speaking schools.
Manufacturing emphasizes these days an approach known as “lean manufacturing,” which involves teamwork. This type of collaboration is not possible with “15 different people speaking 15 different languages,” Sapienza said.
Beyond that, there are jobs requiring customer service or computer skills, where it helps to speak English, he said.
Learn more about what New Bedford is doing to improve its community and workplaces here.
A new University of North Carolina study shows that white males receive more tips about job opportunities than minorities and women, particularly in upper management positions.
“Our research shows that 95 times out of 100, white men receive more job leads than white women or Hispanic men or women,” says Dr. Steve McDonald, an assistant professor of sociology at NC State who was the lead author of the study.
The findings of the study show that the disparity between white men, minorities and women is greatest among workers in high-level management. McDonald points out that “these gender and race differences in access to job opportunities help to explain why white men continue to fill a disproportionately large number of jobs in upper management.”
They believe that the cause of this underlying discrimination (whether conscious or unconscious) is so-called “social capital.” In the study’s context, social capital is “the extent and quality of connections to people in various fields of employment.”
Researchers tabulated how many job leads a person receives during routine conversations, without having asked for the information. The study surveyed 3,000 representative U.S. residents.
Click here to read more about the study “Networks of Opportunity: Gender, Race and Job Leads.”
For past generations of Hispanics in the United States, becoming part of a corporate entity was sometimes viewed as “selling out.” But for second and third generations, that attitude is changing.
Many Hispanics came to the United States to take advantage of college education, and young Hispanic professionals these days are beginning to reap the benefits. Not only are they climbing the corporate ladder at higher rates than in the past, many are becoming business owners in sectors where Hispanics were previously underrepresented—technology, engineering, finance and law.
Roberto Cornelio, 51, director of the chamber’s Hispanic Entrepreneurship Center, says it’s not just mom-and-pop businesses, either.
“Traditionally, the Hispanic business community focused on providing goods and services to the Hispanic community,” Mr. Cornelio says. “That’s changing. It’s still an important part of our community, but people have been exposed to many other opportunities. We’re seeing people go into technology, and a number of Hispanics have opened professional services business.”
Between 2003-2008, Hispanics in management, business and financial operations rose from 5.9% to 7.5%
In the same period, Hispanics in chief executive positions rose from 3.3% to 4.8%
The Illinois Chamber of Commerce has grown 1,000% in the last several years
6,787 Hispanics earned MBAs in 2007, making up 4.6% of the degree-holders
And still, there’s a long way to go:
Hispanics comprise about 15% of the state of Illinois’s population, but only 4% of Illinois businesses are Hispanic-owned (the number is growing, however)
Hispanics hold 234 seats on Fortune 1,000 corporate boards, only 2.3% of all seats
There are just six Hispanic CEOs represented in the Fortune 500
71% of Fortune 500 companies have no Hispanics on their boards
Many Hispanic business leaders quoted in the article believe that Hispanics will continue to push for more recognition in the business world. Says Leopoldo Lastre, president of the Hispanic Lawyers Assn. of Illinois, “We will see more gains as long as there are opportunities. We’re not looking for the bar to be lowered.”
Skin color, social status and accent are all underlying prejudices that Hispanic employers may consider in Hispanic job applicants, confesses a blogger who works in the multicultural advertising/marketing industry.
It may not be conscious, but Rochelle Newman-Carrasco says that this discrimination is common practice, the so-called “elephant in the room.”
On skin color:
“If truth be told, there are U.S. Hispanic agencies whose staff photos simply do not reflect the diversity of the U.S. Hispanic population as a whole. Black Hispanics have historically found it difficult to find acceptance within some Hispanic circles.”
On accent:
“There are any number of accented Latinos who not only can make themselves understood, but also can out-think and outperform some of their non-accented co-workers. Nonetheless, over the past six months, I have received at least two calls from general-market colleagues about creative positions they were seeking to fill. And in both cases they were hoping I knew someone who “didn’t have an accent” because they didn’t feel their clients would be comfortable.”
Click here to read the full blog post by Newman-Carrasco.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 17% drop in Hispanic fatalities between 2008 and the year before, from 937 to 774 deaths. 
For past generations of Hispanics in the United States, becoming part of a corporate entity was sometimes viewed as “selling out.” But for second and third generations, that attitude is changing.