A theme that I think is prominent in this week’s reading is the immigrants’ work ethic. The immigrants come to the city determined to be successful, to achieve upward mobility through hard work. In many cases, immigrants worked hard for very little pay. As if defining immigrants’ work ethic, Nancy Foner writes “grit and determination to get ahead are often what drive them as they strive to take advantage of better economic opportunities in America” (Foner, 70). Anbinder’s description of the working immigrants in Five Points clearly illustrates such determination to not only survive but also succeed. He depicts seamstresses and tailors toiling away as they sew hour after hour, young boot blacks roaming up and down sidewalks in pursuit of potential customers, children searching streets and alleys for scrap metal, glass and coal to support their families and themselves. Everyone worked; mothers, fathers, widows, and children. They all worked in some way to supplement income in order to support their families. According to Anbidner, what immigrants feared more than death was unemployment.
What struck me in these readings was how these reports of immigrant workers reminded me of my grandfather on my dad’s side. Foner writes, “The way immigrants are incorporated into the labor market depends on the skills, abilities, and preferences they bring with them and the context they meet upon arrival” (Foner, 79). Papou, my grandfather, came to Astoria from Chios as a newlywed aiming for a better living in America. Having no High School diploma, my grandfather was not as educated as some of the newer immigrants today. However, he was a hard working and skilled shoe repairman, like his father before him. Taking over his father’s shoe repair shop in Astoria, Papou was incorporated into the neighborhood’s work force according to the skills he and his father brought with them. But Foner also mentions context. What do the immigrants experience when they arrive and how does this affect their work? I found it very interesting that Foner mentioned this other influential aspect in an immigrant’s work because I believe something similar to what she is explaining happened to Papou. When Papou arrived, there weren’t many Greeks in Astoria. The neighborhood was mostly German, Irish and Italian. However, there was plenty of real estate and Papou knew many Greeks from home who wanted to come to America. Given such context, Papou was lucky enough to meet John Linakis, the owner of Queens County Realty. After becoming friends, they agreed to open a real-estate business in what used to be Papou’s shoe repair store and take advantage of Astoria’s real-estate market. My grandfather advertised on the Greek radio and sold many houses to Greek immigrants coming to Astoria.
