The chinese ethnic enclaves discussed throughout our class are perhaps best illustrated through the garment industry. When looking at the garment industry form the outside it is clear there are two main escorts: the Chinese run and worked factories, and the Korean owned, Ecuadorian- and Mexican-worked ones.
The motives behind hiring are fueled my economic greed and racial stereotyping. As described in the text, employers prefer to hire non-English speaking, undocumented workers who will accept low wage without argument. They also tend to avoid hiring certain ethnic groups such as Puerto Ricans and African americans (among others), because they have fallen victim to the belief that these groups make for lazy workers. This struck me as particularly alarming because it shows how the media, both domestic and international truly affect the perceptions of Americans and fuel racist sentiment. These patterns greatly influence how the shop is run.
Because the Chinese tend to higher only Chinese workers, there is a greater social net within the factories. An understanding of language and culture makes for a more trusting environment between workers and employers, allowing for example, women to leave to run errands and be with their children so long as all the work is finished on time. However, there are drawbacks for employers under this system because many women tend to fear speaking up for their rights, since the community is so close-knit.
The Koreans aim to hire inexperienced and young workers since they can get way with paying them less.
Further differences between the two are reflected in participation of unions, referral systems, and wage structure.