Why is it cheaper to eat in Chinese restaurants? Although this chapter from Brett and Nee's book depicts Chinatown during the immigration boom years of the mid-1960's, the people interviewed express concerns and describe challenges that many San Franciscan Chinese still experience or recognize. English continues to act as a barrier to better work for many, and the closed culture of Chinatown isolates workers in lower-paying jobs.
--Brent W.
“[T]he importance of restaurants, brought home to a visitor in Chinatown by their numbers and conspicuousness, in terms of necessity. Ask anyone in Chinatown and the proliferation of restaurants as well as their low prices are related to a labor crisis.” (Brett & Nee pg 278)
ReplyDeleteThere is a definite labor crisis occurring in San Francisco’s Chinatown and it’s not due to a shortage of workers. As Brett & Nee highlight the blight of the immigrant workers from Hong Kong I see the major issues facing them as they reach America. Chinese immigrants believe that they will have the opportunity to work as engineers, painters, and technicians in America because that is what they studied and did in Hong Kong however that is not the case when they reach the states. The inability to speak English becomes a barrier to entry into their chosen profession. The only choices most of them have are to do labor work for less than minimum wages. Would be employers see an opportunity to exploit the weaknesses of the immigrants by offering jobs in their restaurants and markets and because there are so many immigrants available to do the work the employers feel as if one worker is as good as the other and do not value the workers much at all. We are talking about multiple generations of Chinese immigrants who are confined to working in Chinatown due to their lack of the English language. So why is food in Chinese restaurants cheaper? I would say it’s because there are not enough places for the Chinese to learn English.
Michael B
“You run a restaurant here, or you work long hours and you get low pay. But if you go outside you won’t find anything.”
ReplyDeleteWhen Chinese immigrants come to America there is little to no work for them. They are forced to work within Chinatown since no were out side of that are will hire them mainly do to the fact they don’t speak English well enough. This has caused them to be in a very over populated and competitive work force. Making the bosses in control on how much they are willing to pay for labor, which in turn is why the prices in Chinatown are so low. Most workers are paid on monthly salaries of about $310 that includes them working ten hour days six days a week. This is way below minuim wage meaning that theses workers barley makes enough to support themselves and their families. So this means the only way to get on top is to be a boss. So you must open your own restaurant and become the same slumlord that you used to despise.
Emily U.
"if you don't know the language, how can you know what American Culture is?"
ReplyDeletein this reading i learned that, no matter what profession a Chinese man/woman was in before they left china, it doesn't count towards anything in the USA. these people literally start from ground zero, and honestly most of them don't/ cant go much farther than where they started. America is so snub-nosed to foreigners, that the Chinese have made their own little town were jobs were little to never available, and opportunities for advancement were slim to none.
while reading this, i kind of compared the Chinese moving to America to a student moving from one school to another after taking all these college courses to advance in life wherever they were, and the new school not taking any of the transfer credits and putting them in introductory classes. but after starting this, the student who really dislikes doing this has accepted it as his life and just trudges through waiting on the day it becomes his turn to make a living for himself.
Tara B.
"Ok, you gotta go. I don't need you, because I got so many people waiting for the job."
ReplyDeleteVictor G. and Brett Bary Nee. Longtime Californ': A Documentary Study of an American Chinatown. pg. 191.
This quote represents the article by showing how the people of Chinatown are viewed. They are viewed as nothing more than a body to get work done. They work for very little pay, barely any tips and very long hours. Not to mention just about all of the jobs are very labor intensive jobs. They are all treated very poorly and have very bad living conditions. It really is sad to hear that this is how people in Chinatown are treated. As stated in the writing their only way out is to become a boss, which can be a very expensive and risky task, or join a union, which is something that none of them seem to want to do.
I really feel like this is a horrible way for people to be treated. There is no reason why these people should be taken advantage of and pushed to the limit they are being pushed to. For agreeing or disagreeing with the author, I have no prior knowledge about this topic. So i really have no choice but to believe it. If Chinatown in San Francisco is anything like Chinatown in New York City then i can relate to that. When going to Chinatown in New York City, I can see that these people really lie in the slums. A piece of information I found interesting and scary at the same time was the fact that no matter how long a person can work at some job their pay will never go above $400 a month. It really is crazy to hear that these people live this and and very sad.
Arthur P.
"And what can we do? Say all the workers talk together. We know everything, we know the boss is fooling us, but we got no way to do. You know you don't want to stay in that place, but how can you earn a living? How can you get some money to spend"
ReplyDeleteAs a Chinese immigrant, coming to the United States may seem like a godsend, the promise of a better life, better working conditions, more money. Sadly, this is not the case. Chinese immigrants often have to take very low paying jobs in Chinatown, since their previous experience and knowledge from China and Hong Kong is not up to the standards of American employers. So as it seems, many Chinese immigrants end up working in a restaurant or market for an abusive boss and for meager compensation. But as stated in the quote, the Chinese immigrants don't have much of a choice, since they are unable to find work outside the slums of Chinatown. The immigrants realize their predicament, but is very difficult for the average Chinese immigrant to make any difference in their place of employment.
Mike. D.