By Guy Taylor
The Washington Times
Pinto Robson has seen a big change in the number of migrant laborers
gathering each morning by the Gen. Robert E. Lee statue since he started
parking his silver breakfast truck nearby three months ago.
"In December, there were about 100 people; now, there are about 600
every morning," he said, gesturing toward the bronze figure of the
Confederate icon, which looms over a scene that seems as good an
indicator as any of the changes this city faces in its recovery from
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
"They come from countries across Latin America," said Mr. Robson,
62, an immigrant from Brazil, who is friendly with many of the laborers
as he sells them a breakfast of chicken, rice and hard-boiled eggs.
Although hard statistics may be impossible to come by, it appears
the number of Hispanic laborers arriving along the Gulf Coast from New
Orleans to Mobile, Ala., to gut houses, fix roofs and take on other day
labor jobs continues to increase.
But area social scientists caution that it is too early to tell what
the long-term ramifications will be. "It really depends on whether or
not they perceive this is a place that they want to bring their families
... find a steady job and a place to live," said Susan Howell, a
political scientist at the University of New Orleans.
"We really don't know what the demographics of New Orleans are going
to be even two years from now," she said. "There's a severe shortage of
workers, and the migrant workers have come to fill that void -- those
workers used to be mostly African-American and some white, working
class."
With some reports saying that about 30,000 Hispanic workers flocked
to the region in the first three months after the hurricanes, observers
say it didn't take long for fears to begin surfacing about how such a
migration will alter the region's ethnic landscape.
"The concern was that a rumored or feared influx of workers ...
could ultimately translate into a heavy, if not majority, Hispanic New
Orleans," said Elliot B. Stonecipher, a political and demographic
analyst in Shreveport, La.
The notion is not supported by the social and racial dynamics of
Louisiana, where there is a pre-existing, deep-seated hatred "between
African-Americans and Hispanics," Mr. Stonecipher said.
"While it's not something that you're ever going to prove because
you can't poll migrant workers, the point is ... that enmity really does
seem real in a political context, and that will factor into why there
won't be a long-term increase of permanent Hispanic residents," he said.
However, a recent study funded by the National Science Foundation
suggests New Orleans could lose up to 80 percent of its black population
if the large numbers of displaced residents are not given broad
financial support to return and if the city's most damaged neighborhoods
are not rebuilt.
The study, conducted by analysts at Brown University, found that 75
percent of the 354,000 people who lived in areas of the city most
severely hit by the floods were black, compared with less than 50
percent in undamaged areas.
Meanwhile, the hiring and payment process lacks structure, making
for chaotic scenes.
At the traffic circle where the statue of Gen. Lee stands, workers
swarm the vehicles of contractors and homeowners driving around slowly.
"I speak English, so a lot of times, I'll project my voice over the
crowd and I'll get hired," said Jay Mack, 33, who is black and from
Philadelphia. A certified asbestos remover and a labor union member, Mr.
Mack said he came seeking work because business is slow in the North
during the winter.
He said that work in New Orleans was plentiful but difficult and
that the hiring process can be racially charged. "A lot of people that
come out here are looking for Mexicans because they think they can pay
them less," he said. "A lot of times, that's true."
Compounding the situation was a move by President Bush in September
to suspend a 1931 law that required federal contractors to pay at least
the average regional wage to workers hired under such circumstances.
Last week, the Southern Poverty Law Center filed two cases in Louisiana
federal court charging that thousands of migrant laborers have been
cheated out of their wages by major U.S. companies.
Copyright © 2006 News World Communications, Inc. All rights
reserved.
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Republican
National Hispanic Assembly
