To Be An American. Bill Ong Hing
became lawful permanent residents through the legalization (amnesty) program of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). Rodolfo is married and has two U.S. citizen children (one from a prior relationship); he sees and cares for both of them regularly. He acts as a constant mentor and “big brother” to his nephews and nieces. The entire family has regular get-togethers, picnics, and barbecues. Except for his mother, all the adults in Rodolfo’s family have paying jobs. None has ever received public assistance.
Rodolfo’s employment history may be of particular interest to people concerned with the impact that immigrants such as Rodolfo have on the labor market. As with many immigrants, the family’s primary method of finding jobs is through word of mouth and mutual help. Rodolfo and his family have a very strong and active network of friends and family that they rely on to hear about and to get work. At just about every place Rodolfo has worked, some family member has been employed at some point in time. Rodolfo always has his ears open for new opportunities, and the community is a vitally active highway of information. If someone loses a job, friends help with loans and a new job search.
Rodolfo has done a fair amount of “pavement pounding,” going from business to business and filling out applications. He says that when he was young he would get on a bus and go to San Jose (about fifty miles south of San Francisco). He would apply for work in establishments along the main boulevard—El Camino Road—the entire route home. Sometimes he would fill out six applications a day. Although he reads the newspaper, he has not used it to get information about jobs. Current and former employers always gave Rodolfo a good reference for prospective new employers. Often Rodolfo has held two jobs at the same time in order to better support his family.
A chronicle of Rodolfo’s jobs and job-finding methods is illuminating:
1. He secured his first job at a restaurant, Le Lumiere in Menlo Park, through his father and his uncle who both worked there. His father got the Le Lumiere job from his brother (Rodolfo’s uncle) who was working there previously. When his uncle quit, his job was given to Rodolfo’s father. Rodolfo initially started working there to help his father for free.4 He was working as a dishwasher when the owners noticed and liked his work more than they liked his father’s work. Although Rodolfo was young and still in high school, they fired his father and gave him the job. The wife of the owner of Le Lumiere owned another restaurant, Carol’s, and she asked Rodolfo to work there as well. Rodolfo would work at Carol’s in the morning and Le Lumiere in the afternoons and evening. Rodolfo dropped out of high school when he was eighteen because he was working very long hours (sixteen hours a day) and felt that he could not go to school at the same time. He started working at the age of seventeen in 1980. He left these jobs because of the long hours and he felt that he was not earning enough money. Each place paid about $100 per week. His bosses offered to pay him more money, but he felt that the raise was not enough to compensate him for the number of hours he was working. His departure was amicable; later when he needed a recommendation for his job at the Discount Club, these employers were happy to provide it. Rodolfo also knew that he could make more money working in the kitchen of a restaurant rather than just washing dishes. He looked for and found jobs in restaurants where he would start out as a dishwasher, but eventually have the opportunity to work in the kitchen.
2. Rodolfo found the job at Wata, a drug manufacturer, by going to an unemployment office in San Mateo where jobs are posted. He had no problem getting access to these listings in spite of the fact that he was asked for a green card, by providing proof that he and his family had been in the United States for a long time and that he had attended school here. His mastery of English was very helpful in this situation. Rodolfo worked at Wata inspecting pills, but had to leave because he became allergic to the chemicals. He was paid about $150 per week at Wata.
3. Between his job at Wata and his job at Spiral, Rodolfo worked at Andre’s Restaurant. This was one of the restaurants where he worked up to helping in the kitchen. He eventually left Andre’s because they were not paying him enough money. He was paid about $150 per week. In general, he usually left restaurant jobs because a better opportunity made itself available. For some time he worked at Spiral in the morning and at Andre’s at night.
4. Spiral Engineering hired Rodolfo first as a janitor then as a machine operator because his sister worked there as a supervisor. Other family members were already working there: his aunt, mother, and father. His boss regarded Rodolfo as one of his best and most conscientious workers, and was sorry to see Rodolfo leave for a better job later. Spiral was paying him $4.20 an hour. During some of the time that Rodolfo worked at Star, he also worked at the Elks Club part-time as a janitor. The Elks Club paid $4.50 an hour. Rodolfo’s brother worked at the Elks Club for eleven years as a janitor. His brother got the job through a friend. His brother was looking for work by applying to businesses near his family’s residence. One day when he was visiting various businesses, he saw a friend working outside the Elks Club building and asked him if he would help him submit his application. Rodolfo’s brother stopped working at the Elks Club because he wanted to make more money. He now works in a pet food business, and got that job through Rodolfo. Rodolfo was working at the Discount Club and one of his coworkers was the son of the owner of the pet food business. Rodolfo asked his friend to help his brother get a job there.
5. Rodolfo got a job at Splashmaster, a swimming pool company, through a different sister who was working there. Apparently she found out that they needed someone to cut pipes, and she told him to apply. Rodolfo also left Splashmaster because of the low pay (about $100 per week).
6. For a while, Rodolfo worked for an industrial janitorial service as an employee (as opposed to an independent contractor). He only stayed for two months because it was “a heavy job.” The hours were very long, he had to operate heavy machinery, and he was paid $4.50 an hour.
7. Rodolfo got his job with the Discount Club through an uncle who was working there (the same one who was working for Le Lumiere). His uncle told Rodolfo that they were looking for janitors. He applied and got the job. He worked there steadily and once received the Employee of the Month award. He got bonuses every month. As a steady employee, he accumulated vacation and sick leave time, and also donated money to the United Way through regular payroll deductions (he also does that at his current place of employment). He started at $5.85 an hour and when he left was receiving $7.66 an hour. During his time at the Discount Club, Rodolfo also worked a second job, about two or three hours a day, at Sandwood Market. He was a stock boy and bagger and was in charge of reloading the soft drink machine and carrying out bottles. Unfortunately, Rodolfo injured his back on the job at the Discount Club, because of heavy lifting and running a large floor scrubbing machine. He received disability compensation for two years, and is now working at a less strenuous job. Rodolfo was a well-regarded employee at the Discount Club. At his deportation hearing, his supervisor submitted a letter of support.
8. Rodolfo got his current job at Star Products, where he is a machine operator assembling electronic and computer parts, through his sister-in-law who works there. She encouraged him to apply for the job and put in a good word for him. When he first started working at Star Products he was working on the assembly line, putting together electronic parts. One Saturday he was asked if he would be able to work overtime in another department where workers operated machines and conducted much more complex and detailed work. Based on his performance that day, the supervisor of the department took Rodolfo off the assembly lines and added him permanently to the machine operator department. This job entailed more responsibility and required extensive training. Today he operates delicate machinery that assembles wiring and other computer and electronics parts, and earns a higher wage than he did in his previous position. Some months ago, Rodolfo had to be hospitalized for a hernia. Company officials valued and trusted him enough to lend him $1,000 for his medical bills. He repaid the entire amount within four months. He’s been there almost one year and is paid $5.00 an hour.
Except for his injury at the Discount Club, Rodolfo’s primary reason for leaving jobs has been a desire to earn more money or because a new and better opportunity presented itself. After working long days—sometimes sixteen hours—and discovering at the end of the week that his earnings totaled under $300, he looked for better opportunities. Through his network of friends and relatives, he kept his eyes and ears open for any available