Immigrants are definitely an integral part of the American economy, both then and now. What’s interesting is that many of the immigrants from the turn of the century did not have skills to place them into better-paying jobs. Now, many immigrants have backgrounds as doctors, nurses, lawyers, etc., and although they cannot practice their professions here, they still appreciate the jobs that they receive because of the fact that they earn more than in their home country. According to Foner, they are able to work in “mid and upper level jobs” either immediately or in time (89).
Addressing Eden’s question, I don’t think lower-paying jobs reinforced the inferior rank of women, but I believe it did the opposite. They felt empowered and independent, and they were able to be of big support to their families. According to Foner, “… Jewish working daughters brought in nearly 40 percent of their family’s yearly earnings, slightly more than Italian daughters in the same situation” (111-112). It also gave them a chance to socialize with other girls their age and learn about American life. I understand that they worked in sweatshops and working conditions were far from acceptable in many cases, and maybe I’m just trying to only see the positive side, but I think it’s an important point to bring up.
Like Jacqueline said, garment shops still seem to be a job that immigrants flock to that has transgressed generations of immigrants and still exists today. Thankfuly, like Jessica said, conditions have definitely improved and are easier to work in. I just found it interesting that there was a difference between coethnics in the garment factories among the Chinese and then the Mexicans and Ecuadorians. According to Chin, the Chinese were comfortable recommending to family and friends different opportnuties that were available for work. They seemed to have much more freedom and a more flexible schedule. The Mexicans and Ecuadorians, however, were much more reluctant because they were not sure who to trust, especially if they are illegal and are afraid to be deported. Also, if the recruit was able to perform better, they were fired. In other words, while assisting coethnics worked with one group, it may not be beneficial for another, which I think was Chin’s point.
One final thing I noticed is that in African-American neighborhoods, I found it surprising that Jews and Koreans own most of the stores than the African-Americans. Lee discusses in the chapter that that the Jewish and Korean owners inherited the property from their parents and relatives or would take loans from fellow coethnics. They found it as a way of moving upward economically, but for the African-Americans, a business was “the end in itself” (Lee 268). They had to take loans from the bank instead of from their coethnics to start and support their business.
