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Low skill jobs easier to find as undocumented worker.

By Patrick Osio, Jr./HispanicVista.com

   May 10, 2006

 

  (Note: This article was first published on April 9, 2001. Present events make “Juan’s” story relevant today.)

 

         I met Juan who was sitting next to me at a taco stand concession in a Mexican Mercado on Market Street on the outskirts of Barrio Logan in San Diego. His is quite a story with a very surprising twist.

Juan is a legal resident of the US, but passes himself as an undocumented for purposes of getting work.

I don't know how prevalent Juan's story is among Mexican born long time US residents. I can only hope it's not. The first portion of Juan's story is very typical, but what he found necessary to do after he became a legal US resident is a total surprise.

Juan crossed from Mexico illegally in 1979 at the age of 16. He crossed with a younger brother and two older cousins who had crossed before. They all came to work in the agricultural fields in the San Joaquin Valley of California. The crossing was safe and without incident. He worked at various farms from February through late October, and then returned home to Michoacan, Mexico. This was repeated for 4 years.

When returning home, he would travel with a group for safety in numbers, but the Mexican Custom officials always had their handout demanding as much as they could get. This was repeated in two, sometimes three stops on the way to Michoacan. Those who were foolish enough to take electronic gifts like radios or even tools to help family members earn a better living would lose them to those same officials.

Juan as others did, decided that though expensive to wire money home to relatives, it was cheaper than taking money to them. So he decided to stay in California. When there was no work in the fields, he found he could get work in big cities doing construction labor, or office janitorial work, or gardening, or washing dishes and cleaning tables in restaurants. There was never shortage of work as long as he looked for it. Living conditions weren't good, as he would have to share space with as many as fifteen others in a small, dilapidated one or two bedroom apartment in a barrio.

He had not learned English in the agricultural fields, but started to pick up bits and pieces in construction and restaurant jobs. It was while in this type of jobs that Juan learned from fellow workers, others like him and Americans who sympathized and spoke a little Spanish that his earnings and benefits were less compared to those who were either documented workers or US citizens. But Juan didn't care, he was earning far more than he could in Mexico if he could even find work. And he also knew he had to work harder than Americans if he wanted to keep his job.

Then in 1987 came the news, if those illegally in the US can prove they've been in the country since before 1981, they could apply for amnesty and stay and work legally in the US.

Juan had no problem documenting his stay, so he readily went through the expense paying a Mexican-American 'notario' fifteen hundred dollars to process the papers for him. But he figured he would be able to get better paying jobs, and not fear the dreaded migra any longer. It was worth it.

So Juan qualified for amnesty. According to the terms of the amnesty program he had to stay off welfare and not otherwise be a burden to the community, plus he had to learn sufficient English in five years to pass a test, which would then give him permanent legal status in the US. This was a dream come true, at long last he could have his own place, be able to marry, and make a good home for himself and family. And he though employers would be happy with his new status.

But he started to find it difficult to find work. So in one job interview he didn't say or show his documents, he said nothing, and was not asked, and purposely spoke even less English than he knew. He got the job.

Juan said it took him time to figure out that as a documented worker, he also had protection and could in the event of treatment or pay abuse, he could get help from the labor department. For someone like him whose only skill was hard work, he was limited to the type of jobs he could apply for, and there were plenty of recent undocumented newcomers, who would not complain for fear of deportation.

Juan has now worked as a janitor for six years. He cleans offices from Monday through Friday at nights. He knows he got the job because his employer thought he was undocumented. They do abuse him in the sense that he is told how many offices he has to clean in his eight-hour shift. The "boss knows it can't be done in that time, but I have to do them all. It takes me about 10 hours, but only get paid for 8", explained Juan. This way, there is no overtime.

But all in all the work is steady, and he now earns seven dollars an hour. He's married, his wife earns six dollars an hour at the Mercado were we happen to meet and spend a little time crossing each other's paths.

One last thing I learned from Juan. He and his wife see their earnings as one unit. They make thirteen dollars an hour, not him seven and she six. To them, thirteen dollars an hour is a pretty good wage.

_______________________________________________________

Patrick Osio, Jr is the Editor of HispanicVista (http://www.hispanicvista.com)  Contact at: POsioJr@hispanicvista.com

(The opinions expressed by Patrick Osio, Jr. are solely his and do not necessarily reflect those of HispanicVista.com, editorial board of advisors or it’s contributing writers.)

Patrick Osio, Jr. has written a short but intensive manual on the Mexican perspective on numerous issues between our two countries. The manual is an in depth primer on the culture and protocol for better understanding Mexicans that in turn allows establishing personal and business relationships, and how to avoid the most common faux pas that can ruin relationships and business deals.

The manual is available through Electronic delivery for $9.95 making it possible to download the manual for save on your hard drive, printing its entirety or particular sections while reaping considerable savings over printed copies.