Securing work and keeping the family together: a study of Latino immigrants in New Mexico
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Citation
Abstract
This study analyzes the assimilation of Latino immigrant workers into two New
Mexico cities and their participation in two modes of contingent employment: jobs
available at a day labor hiring site, DLHS in Santa Fe, and jobs offered at temporary
employment agencies, TEAs in Albuquerque. Contingent employment is defined as work
that is conditional and transitory and day laborers are individuals who seek work at
locations such as street comers and public parks. Applying a grounded theory approach
and focusing on the impact of work on Latino immigrants' assimilation into local
communities, this study examines the living conditions of 28 workers and 11 families
from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. Additionally, the study documents
the motivations of eight stakeholders, including social service providers, members of
religious organizations, employers, and supporters of contingent employment workers.
The purpose of this study was to document the impact of contingent employment
on workers and their families. Participant observation and unstructured interviews were
employed to understand the challenges these workers and their families encounter. A
major finding is that Latino immigrant workers at TEAs receive more job assignments
than day laborers. On the other hand, workers at the DLHS have more freedom to
negotiate their wages, have no work intermediaries, and avoid deductions in their pay.
Regardless of the contingent employment mode, families of these workers suffered a
significant amount of financial and emotional stress due to the intermittent wages
received and they employed survival strategies such as sharing housing, cutting
household expenses, and refusing helping extended family members, in order to keep
their more immediate families together.
This study demonstrates the negative impact of contingent employment on Latino
immigrant workers. Moreover, the human capital of the respondents had no significant
influence on their participation in this sector. While some learned important job skills,
they lacked the legal immigration status to benefit from those skills. Finally, this study
documents that receiving policies in New Mexico, i.e. the ability to obtain a drivers'
license, access to health care, and bilingual education, have facilitated the assimilation of
Latino immigrant workers and their families.