Minority Groups In The Workplace: A Case Study

“Racism was used aggressively to divide poor white southerners from slaves. The relationship between the wealthy and the poor was aggressively exploited by the rich white slave holder to ensure the poor whites non-slave holder that they had a similar cause” (Shaping America: Lesson 16). This caused non-slave holding whites to have a similar view as latter. Non-slave holding whites were in direct competition with slaves and more often than not were forced out of work due to the free labor slavery had offered.

Racially constituted labor was commonly seen during the early 20th century. Because of the implementation of labor disparity between races, “capricious restrictions that made economic parity with whites virtually impossible” (Sides, 2006). Although there have been attempts at labor equality, racial groups were oppressed and marginalized by white hierarchy. Deliberately assigning specific races to lower labor markets resulted in hindered work mobility for all minorities.

Almost all farm workers are illegal immigrants and are day laborers, must chase crops to make a living. Farm workers are also constantly at the mercy of variable adversities like natural disasters and bad weather. On average illegal migrant workers spend half of the year working and quarter of the year looking for a job. In addition illegal immigrants are hard to find a place to stay because they are in not in legal status and are required proper documentation by law to rent an apartment. On the other hand Illegal immigrants keep move place to place to find a job and looking for shelter to stay. Most of the illegal immigrants live with fear in face all time because of lack of job security and insecure life. According to Schlosser’s article "In 1951 the President 's Commission on Migratory Labor condemned the abysmal living conditions of illegal immigrants employed as migrant farm workers in the United States. At the time, workers were found living in orchards and irrigation ditches. They

“They are the migrants, workers of the soil sweatshops.” Migrant farm working is the hardest work someone could have to do to get paid below minimum wage.The treatment of migrant farmworkers is not fair, the women are abused, the men are not well respected, and the children do not have a proper childhood. Compared to the average American worker, migrant farmworkers do much more physical work for less pay, when compared to above average american workers, people that sit at a desk can make billions of dollars for doing nothing at all.

"Where there 's a will, there 's a way" is a phrase often used here in America and it holds true to all walks of life including migrant workers. The desires range from the simple want to make an honest living to wanting to support the family to just wanting to live the American dream. However, the "way", does not always possess the same innocent light of the optimistic saying. In Eric Schlosser’s article, “In the Strawberry Fields” he discusses exactly that. Immigrants often end up doing the laborious farm work most Americans are unwilling to do with good reason. More specifically, he discusses the working conditions of migrant workers in strawberry fields, one of the most difficult row crops to grow. This work is largely done in California where the farming industry is allowed to bend laws as they please, routinely exploiting the vulnerability of immigrants’ legal states. Though, the concepts of small fruits and workers ' rights are not completely relatable to one another until we move past the happy connotation of the vibrant red, juicy fruit and into the grittier efforts that go into making them what we know in grocery stores. Many of us have the pleasant memories of the cool fruit on warm summer days but this image is quite the opposite to its production. Bent at the waist, hundreds of migrant workers, pick fruits under the sweltering summer sun and it would seem like a way a farming that vanished long ago but it is most certainly here. Though the conditions are worsened

“Undocumented workers are among the most vulnerable and exploited workers in our country, as frequent victims of unpaid wages, dangerous conditions and uncompensated workplace injuries, discrimination, and other labor law violations” (Workplace Fairness). Many southern red states, have extremely harsh, unjust immigration policies that aim to deport undocumented immigrants. Latinos in the south must watch their backs everywhere they go, making them the most vulnerable minority group in the US. While, certain policies and laws exist that protect undocumented workers, the majority of immigrants remain uninformed about the existence of these policies. “There is a tremendous need to inform workers and employers of their rights and responsibilities under our employment laws, to provide greater resources for enforcement of such laws, to increase access for workers to the legal system and community organizing, and to adopt immigration policy reforms that will remove the vulnerability of undocumented workers” (Workplace Fairness). For example, a law called the Fair Labor Standards Act "contains no exception to or exclusion for persons who are not U.S. citizens or who are in this country illegally,” (New Jersey Law Journal), meaning that undocumented immigrants have a right to receive pay for the work they

One of the important problems that the author raised is the legal status of the illegal immigrants and their depressed living conditions. The legal status and living conditions are interconnected because in order to rent a decent apartment you need to prove that you are legally present in USA with thorough documentation which the illegal farm workers will not have and hence these poor workers were miserably compromised to live in pits, trenches and under trees. The author describes that the poor farm workers were very bad in shape and are constantly at the mercy of variable adversities like natural disasters and bad weather. If there is a storm they get wet all night and the only way they can dry up is to wait for the morning sunlight. Also illegal immigrants keep move place to place to find a job and look for shelter to stay because of their constant move they can 't afford to have permanent structured home at one

In “Everyday Illegal” Cecilia Menjivar explains how illegal immigrants are affected every day because of their illegal status. The undocumented immigrants wake up every day before dawn, they go to the fields to collect all the vegetables and fruits you are able to eat. Then, they go home after dusk. They do it every day for less than a half of what a person is expected to be paid. They are being exploited physically and mentally and not just because of the work conditions but, as Menjivar states “the undocumented (as well as their family members) often withdraw from public life for fear of detention and deportation” (725).

Since the first human civilization, cheap, exploitable labor has been inherent to the economic system. This was illustrated in The Life of Peasants, one of the provided stimulus materials, in which it was accepted that providing for the upper classes was “the obligation of the servile class”. Ergo, the US can trace its history through the various exploited labor systems, starting with our dependance on indentured servants, to slavery, to our current reliance on undocumented workers.Unfortunately, the cultural progress indicated by the advancements of modern life, have not been paralleled by an alternate method of production. Worker exploitation, especially in agriculture, is conventional and commonplace. In the midst of the 2016 presidential primaries, with illegal immigration a hot topic among all candidates, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the people most often victimized by this system are mexican immigrants. “America’s immigration system is broken” - Hillary “The country has to be able to lock its doors” says Kasich. Trump suggests building a wall. Bernie advocates for comprehensive immigration reform and a path toward citizenship. Regardless of political leanings, our politician’s inciting statements whisper of truth. The immigration system is broken, and there is an overwhelming number of undocumented immigrants in America. An estimated 11.4 million of them (as of 2012 according to the department of homeland

“52 out of every 100 migrant farm workers in the United States are unauthorized workers and have no legal status.” Migrant farm workers are those who leave their countries to come and work in fields. They are trying to support families back home by making some money for things like food, land, and houses. Others, bring their families with them in hopes for a better life here (González). Many people become migrant farmers for a better life, although their treatment depends on where they are, and one famous person in the migrant farm worker movement is Cesar Chavez.

In the early years of the United States, dominant-minority relations were shaped by the agrarian technology and the economic need to control land and labor. The agrarian era ended in the 1800s, and the U.S. has gone through two major transformations in subsistence technology since, each of which has transformed dominant-minority relations and required the creation of new structures and processes to maintain racial stratification and white privilege (Healey, p. 131). The early 1800s to the mid-1900s was the industrial revolution, where machines replaced animal and human labor. Today’s society is known as the postindustrial or deindustrialized society which

A typical example of the living conditions of the undocumented can be found in Seth Holmes Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies: Migrant Farmworkers in the United States. Holmes did a case study on the Triqui people, who risked their lives to cross the border to come to the United States. They are poor farmer, to be exact, poor berry pickers, who suffer from knee, back, and hip pain everyday. A study by the National Agricultural Worker Survey shows that 81 percent of farmworkers are immigrants, 95 percent of whom were born in Mexico and 52 percent of whom are undocumented (Holmes, 99). Fletcher emphasized that an employer often use cheap undocumented worker in order to reduce costs, but as soon as that worker shows support for a union, the employer will call the authority officer to have that worker deported (Fletcher,

Discrimination is nothing new to our society or is it something that should be taken lightly and for many decades our Nation has endured many conflicts that have tested the will of Americans over the decades and it is evident that as we have become more diverse so too has our workforce. Although, we are in the twenty first century the goal is to understand why prejudice and discrimination is still so prevalent and how we can do better while trying to bring together our different backgrounds, skills, and experiences still has proven to be an issue that minorities are constantly fighting as they struggle to find there place in society. Through an array of well-educated researchers showing how diversity is nothing new to our society, but if we are to continue to grow and move forward we must be able to understand that with diversification we can foster a strong and inclusive economy that is built to last and nurture a nation that will continue to lead the world as standard setter.

As previously mentioned the research was used in order to prove four hypothesis, following the research presented from MIDUS the results are positive in regards to each of the hypothesis. Occupational minority men have the highest levels of perceived support compared to that of men with in mixed gendered working places. The result of occupational minority men is the highest perceived workplace support, which Taylor believes is due to the fact that men working in female dominant fields have an easier time and more support due to the high likelihood the bosses are men such as themselves as well as the fact that most women view a man’s presence as bringing more prestige to the workplace. On the other hand, within occupational minority workplace

As companies become more diverse in the work field employees are getting harder to manage and understand. One issue in the global market today is workplace diversity. Workplace diversity is defined as all characteristics and experiences that defined each employee as individuals, but it can also be misunderstood as discrimination against employees. Diversity can include race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability and sexual orientation discrimination. One reason why workplace diversity is important is because when you respect your employees productivity rate rises and many companies do not know that. A diverse workplace targets to create an inclusive culture that values and uses the talents of all employees.