Marcos Vega

Unjust treatment of immigrant workers

In The Working Poor, David K. Shipler explains the effects of tax payments, refunds, and the power of money as a guiding factor in the lives of the working poor. They hold jobs that pay between $6 and $7 per hour and attempt to make a living with the additional assistance of welfare checks, food stamps, Medicaid, and other services. Shipler discusses poor immigrant workers, both legal as well as illegal, laboring in sweatshop conditions in the United States and receive low wages—mostly minimum wage. Many working poor have no work experience, no education, a criminal record, drug addiction, and a lifelong absence of role models. Unjust treatment of immigrant workers prevents them from attaining their American dream. https://sites.google.com/a/fsh.echalk.com/theworkingpoor/organizations/chapter-organization 

Working hard but not enough income to pay their bills

 Most immigrants work at manual labor and service jobs. In most cases, their hourly wage is below the minimum wage. So they struggle to make ends meet. Shipler uses the example of Christie who is a daycare worker at the YWCA in Akron, Ohio. “She could not afford to put her own two children in the daycare center where she worked” (Shipler 39). It is unfair that she cannot afford to put her own children in daycare where she works.

The employers exploit immigrant workers by paying less than minimum wage

Some companies pay less than minimum wage which exploits workers. Employers pay whatever they want to the immigrants. Shipler uses an example of Juan who works at a garment factory. Juan’s employer’s reason, “…expect workers to produce enough to reach the minimum wage” (Shipler 79). Employees starting pay is way below minimum wage with the goal being minimum wage. Shipler also displays the monthly wages of Third World countries proving that what most Americans make in two hours, they make in a month.

Many immigrants get paid under the table

It is hard to come to the Unites Stated and obtain employment without any proper documents like social security and any type of identification. Without these documents they cannot legally be hired. Immigrants “…who get paid under the table in cash and think they’re better off avoiding the IRS” (Shipler 14). Illegal immigrants avoid the IRS because of fear of being deported. This also hurt them because they are not eligible for government assistance like heath care and welfare.

 

Immigrants face a language barrier that keeps them from getting ahead 

It is difficult to attain a job with limited language skills and education. English is the common language in the United States and is necessary to communicate. “It is a sad truth now that a young person with limited skills and education arriving on these shores- or entering the workforce from a background of poverty- will start on the bottom rung only to discover that higher rungs are beyond his grasp” (Shipler 91). Since they are on the bottom rung, it is impossible for them to reach their American Dream. However, most successful immigrants work hard to learn the language. Thomas explains, “We must also understand what got us here and the path that leads upward” (570). Immigrants should work harder to fit into the culture and have a better chance to progress towards a better life style.

The American dream is not easy to achieve when there are a lot of obstacles to come to the United States. It is hard to achieve the American dream being American and even harder when you are an undocumented immigrant. The challenge begins from understanding the language, to going to school, to finding a job, and to walking to the corner store without being questioned or worried about being deported in the society people live in today.
 

Work Cited

Thomas, Cal. “Is the American Dream Over?” They Say / I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing with Readings. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. 2nd ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 2012. 568-570. Print.

Shipler, David K. The Working Poor. New York: A Division of Random House, Inc., 2005. Print.