Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Questionable Labor Practices
"By hiring people from less developed countries, U.S. companies gain new consumers for their products and services (pg. 11). The next sentence talks about how this can lead to trouble for United States communities. I work for a painting contractor who employs around forty five people. Some guys that my uncle employs are not necessarily legal. Before I worked with my uncle, I had this backward attitude that these guys were stealing jobs from Americans. As I worked with these guys my attitude changed. I no longer feel that way. On the site one day a plumber made a comment about "those dirty spics taking jobs away" to me. I am half Italian and Mexican. I did not get offended because I did not want to waste the energy. I was just shocked that a guy that works hard and deals with crap all day is bias towards another guy working hard to make a honest living. I am not sure if my story is relevant but I thought it was interesting.
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Some people just don’t realize that even others are in this country illegally; they are working for a reason. Some work to support themselves and their families. Others do it to make better lives for their children. Whatever they are doing it for they are still working. I feel that it is better to be working illegally than to be begging for money or clothes because they don’t want to get a job. I know that not all people are just lazy but they need to lay off the people working illegally until the people who are to lazy to get a job get one. I do believe that people should attempt to come into the country and work legally but if jobs are just going to move to Mexico for cheaper labor anyway I don’t see why they can’t work while they are here.
ReplyDeleteWe spent most of last year remodeling our townhouse. It's a small space, so we wanted to be comfortable in it. The contractor who did the tile worker had two assistants. We were out of town when they did the downstairs floor. Apparently, one of our neighbors was upset about the noise from cutting the tiles. She didn't say anything to the contractor, but did make some nasty comments to one of the assistants, thinking he was here illegally (he's not, but was born in Mexico) and that he doesn't speak English (he does). I was really shocked when I heard about this incident and felt awful about it. In addition, both Yogiox and Dadspoot make important points about why people come to the U.S. to work. If there were decent paying jobs in their own countries, they'd stay there. And the U.S. economy relies on both legal and illegal immigrants to do jobs U.S. citizens either can't or won't do.
ReplyDeleteOn page eleven and twelve, Eisenberg et al. discusses the questionable labor practices pertaining to legal and illegal immigrant workers. I hate to say it, but your story sounds similar to may stories I have heard. It is sad when many Americans want to blame immigrants, both legal and illegal for losing jobs. Although I have heard this complaint many times, I still cannot believe what my ears are hearing every time I hear someone say, “They are taking our jobs!” Honestly,
ReplyDeleteI have yet to see any of those American citizens who are complaining about job losses, working in the fields where the working conditions and pay are unfavorable. If it were not for these hardworking and underappreciated people working in the fields, the price of produce would be significantly higher
Most of have heard these negative types of comments and usually it is nothing more than someone lashing out in frusteration. The potential upside of globalization is when the bitter plumber is driven to the point of figuring out a way to do his trade more efficently and with a higher degree of quality than he was previously. Instead of wasting time on negative engergy and resorting to name calling, he should be figuring out how to cut costs, negotiate prices down with his supply vendors, market himself to the largest possible customer base and taking steps to ensure the highest degree of customer satisfaction. The benefits of his updated orgazation environment would then be passed on the the customer and the plumber. The plumbers problem is that he's either too lazy or incompetent. He either cannot find the energy to work towards turning a negative into a positive or he does not have the skill set to do so. The plumber should understand the definition of the following key terms from Chapter 1 in our book: orgazational environment, multi cultural management, globalization, knowledge management and urgent organizations. Furthermore, the fact that you understand these terms makes you a prime candidate to be a successful leader in the new global environment.
ReplyDeleteEffective communication is understanding the world around you, not merely expressing yourself.
-Sqid
There are over 10 million illegal immigrants in America but many have been a huge factor to our economy. These are the workers who do all the jobs that American citizens are ashamed to do but in reality it gives their family a chance to succed in America. People who are mad at these workers tend not be educated and don't understand how these immigrants help fuel our economy. It is unfortunate that people wont take the time to understand a situation and instead be angry at the wrong people.
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