HISPANIC LABOR

[JB1]

thinking a lot about hispanic laborers. who uses them and how are they working out. Gettin to the point where i need more reliable workers than i got.

[little green guy]

Most off the companys around here use them, aucually and 60% off the companies around here a owned by hispanics. Any way I worked with a company that had a couple of spanish guy and those guys are awsome. For the most part they are reliable but just like anyone you have to find the right guys. They are realy hard workers. Most don't have theere lisence though and most speak little or no english. Did i mention they are realy hardd workers and funny too. So have attitudes though but just like us everyone is different. Most of the guys I worked with though are real nice and have a good attitude, plus there work realy hard.

[lawnsurfer]

Hey JB I live part time in Costa Rica. I am a small one man operation so I don't need any help. Next year I plan growing larger and hiring Laborers from out of the country(Costa Rica) I think they have a better attitude about work then most american workers you would hire in the U.S.(the ones that are going to work lawn care) There education is better.(at least in Costa Rica 90percent literacy,very high) I feel this way not only from witnessing how hard they work but, listening to people who are American whine about the work they are doing. I am in a great situation so my labor source is pretty secure. If you make a effort to learn some Spanish, it will go a long way. I think people have had it way too good here for way too long. They(people from other countries) seem to appreciate the oppurtunity more. If you have plans to hire someone so you can pay less, well then I wish you the worst of luck. Treat them right and they will treat you great. Tim

[southside]

Seems sad that a country like the US has to<br>import people to perform manual labour.<br>I believe it's happened before,but at least now you pay them.History repeats.<br>Don't the people in the US want to work?<br>If your economy crashes you are going to have<br>a major surplus of unemployed Hispanic labour<br>around.<br>(Before you get upset at my reference to slavery,bear in mind that here in Australia<br>we had slavery right up until the begining<br>of the 1900's).<p>Karl<br>

[greenlawncare]

but Karl, we also have really low unemployment and jobless rates. It's not that Americans (on the most part) don't want to work, we just don't want to work manual labor. <p><p>

[kenneybros]

I just got back from visiting my uncle in ohio. He is a construction superintendant. I went to work for a couple of days to just basically hang out(seemed like all he did was drive around and talk on the phone, but i know it still takes skills to schedule the jobs and stuff)So anyways the mason had a bunch of mexicans working for them. They spoke spanglish at best. They seemed like really hard workers, they where stong and tough. In massachusetts we use a lot of Brazilians. Seems like every line of work from cooking to cleaning to landscaping has brazilians working for them. I work with 3 of them. They are very very hard workers, so good infact that when u tell them you are going home (at like 6) they say &quot;already&quot;. My experience has been really good except that it seems like things have been breaking a lot more then usual(like the pickup trucks steering wheel) One of the guys didnt know how to drive an automatic.. so he put it in park while he was still going at a pretty good speed. I also learned a little portuguese as well.... some of it I cant say LOL but Yo no falo bien o portuguese. that means i dont speak very good portuguese. I said it to one of the cleaning ladys at an account and she corrected me... she said &quot;ya u do&quot; IT was pretty funny. she doesnt know that that is the only phrase i know.

[Toddppm]

My work force is all spanish, all 4 from El Salvador, In fact they are all friends, which could work out bad sometimes (like the guy i fired for stealing work). These guys are always on time, never miss a day unless they tell me ahead of time, and work hard as hell, at least when i'm around! I pay them pretty damn good to try to keep them happy. The only bad thing is i can't really send them to a job without going there myself and showing them exactly what needs to be done.2 of them speak pretty good english but sometimes they say ok when they have no idea what i'm saying? If i ever need extra help they can round up people no problem. I had an american guy who said he wanted to learn everything couple months ago, never worked a full week, gone within a month. About the 6th white guy i tried since last year, all gone now.

[lawnsurfer]

Let's not get personal with the slavery reference. No one ever said that they wanted to hire someone for cheap labor. The labor shortage is extremely bad in the U.S. I have had friends that have worked with me in the past but, it was until something better comes along(i.e. cooler conditions.)My decision to &quot;import&quot; labor is not based on cheap labor. I live in U.S. I know the situation here very well.We have a major labor shortage and a bad attitude amongst those who should work regardless. I woudn't jump to slavery conclusions if you (south side) had stated you had an oppurtunity to hire people from Indo or Phillipines. These are my friends as far as my situation is concerned. I work with them in Costa Rica they want to work with me here in Florida it works out good. As far as my oppion of good workers in the U.S. they are hard to find when they don't see the opportunity. This I hope clarifies my position and is nothing personal towards you(south side)

[Guido]

Mexican and hispanic workers have definetly earned my respect. Some of the hardest workers I've ever seen. You guys should not hessitate to at least look into this.<p>Talk to Lisa from WorkForce International and tell her I sent you there. She'll give you all the info you need to make a decision. It is a firm that imports workers and takes care of all the behind the scenes stuff so its less stress in your life. There is a link to her site on my sit, just click my blue signature.<p>Hope this helped!<p><p>----------<br>&lt;a href=&quot;http://communities.msn.com/guidosequipmentpics/&quot;&gt;&quot;Guido&quot;&lt;/a&gt;<br>David M. Famiglietti

[WorkForce Intl]

What makes a Hispanic laborer different from an American worker? Well...(1)Imported workers are often just happy for the opportunity to work. In most Latin American countries the economy is so bad they earn in one month what we make here in one day. Remember they have families too. (2)Most Latin American countries are rural. They are used to having to work hard, and not depend so much on technology. Which is also why they sometimes need a little extra training on computerized machinery. (3)Hispanics, at least the imported ones, are more loyal to the people that surround them, including the boss, than they are to their salaries. This sounds strange to us, but Hispanic culture is much more community oriented, so they value people more than money.<br>Why do I say this? Because I am of Mexican descent. My dad was a migrant worker, and I was brought up this way, although I was born in Ft.Worth, Texas. Believe it or not, what you like about them is their cultural values.<p>Elisama

[Eric ELM]

Elisama: That was very interesting. 6 years ago, we sold our rental house next door to a Mexican family and they are the best possible neighbors we could ever hope for. They consider us family and we feel the same about them. We are invited to all the birthday parties and they come to ours. We mow their lawn and get paid in Tacos. :) She is the best cook and we love Mexican food. We have taught the kids English, they teach us Spanish, so some day I may be able to hire a non English speaking person to work for us. I found your post very interesting and can relate to them being very much family people. Speaking of that, the 2 year old Nina is calling me now to come outside. Adios, hasta la vista (sp) <p>----------<br>&lt;a href=&quot;http://pages.prodigy.net/eric.erickson/&quot;&gt;Eric@ELM&lt;/a&gt;<br>

[WorkForce Intl]

Eric, believe it or not, your family will always be considered part of their extended family. Sometimes I wish that this industry would open its eyes to the need to become more culturally familiar with what is fast becoming its largest segment of its labor force. I see it beginning to happen at conferences, and hope it continues. <br>Thanks for your post Eric. As a Hispanic, as a human being, I appreciate it.<p>Elisama

[thelawnguy]

What a pathetic thread! May as well say, all irish are drunk, all Polish are stupid, all African-Americans like watermelon, on and on. You will find good and bad in all ethnicities. To generalize one in particular, you are doing yourself and others a gross disservice.<p>Bill

[WorkForce Intl]

The remarks made here about people were not mean-spirited in any way. They are positive remarks about a group of people who work hard in this industry. That's not to say that they are the only ones that work hard, but Hispanic labor is among them. It is never wrong, nor pathetic to point out the good in people, whatever their ethnicity.<p>Elisama

[JB1]

Thanks for the replies, all i wanted to know is how everybody likes them and how its working out for others , sounds like its working well. THANKS AGAIN some kind of got offended me asking a question like that didn,t mean to offend anyone but if i did tough **** get a life and get over it. seems like everybody has got there feeling hurt over the dumbest things. whew that feels better. thanks

[Grasscape Inc]

Where can I find these guys in southeast Michigan. An agency?

[WorkForce Intl]

I'll email you info to your profile's email address.<br>Thanks for the interest.<p>Elisama

[JohnyNCa]

Does hiring yourself count? ;-)

[WorkForce Intl]

At last, a sense of humor.