The Center for Research on Women has conducted numerous studies focusing on the growing Latino population in Memphis. The most recent research, conducted in collaboration with nonprofit organization The Work Place, Inc., consisted of phone surveys to 174 Memphis employers in an effort to determine the industry, wages and mode of employment of Latino hourly workers.
“We were surprised that the survey captured 882 Latino workers,” researcher Marcela Mendoza said.
The results were surprising, given the 2000 Census estimate of approximately 2,000 Latino workers in Memphis. Capturing close to 900 workers just through the survey gives the impression that the Census estimate is too low, Mendoza said.
In a previous CROW study which estimated the Hispanic population of Shelby County, their estimate was also higher than the 2000 Census results.
“Official statistics do not capture the real number of Latino immigrants,” Mendoza said.
Using the CROW Latino population figure, they estimate that almost 5 percent of the labor force in Memphis is Latino.
The number of Latino workers in the surveyed companies is probably much larger, Mendoza said, because most employers did not report on temporary, subcontracted or contingent workers. The temporary agencies usually keep up with these workers rather than the company, Mendoza said. These workers may be employed for only a week, month or several months.
“Almost 70 percent of all Latinos in Memphis work in construction, distribution, transportation and manufacturing,” Mendoza said. “That’s the core of blue-collar employment in Memphis.”
Memphis is the distribution or logistics center of the country, according to Mendoza, and it is the growth of this sector due to corporations such as FedEx that is attracting Latino immigrants to the area.
These corporations need and want workers to fill semi-skilled and unskilled jobs, and they are willing to make changes for Latino workers, Mendoza said.
“Employers are making an effort to translate signage, to provide training, and to hire bilingual line leaders and supervisors,” Mendoza said.
The results of the survey found Latino employment varied according to gender, with 74 percent female employment in the finance, insurance and real estate sector, and only a few female workers in the construction and transportation sectors. Latino women account for more of the workers in the lower wage components of the service sector than Latino men.
Latino women come to the United States with a very different perspective on women’s roles, Mendoza said. These women often work eight to 10 hour days as well as take care of all of the household duties. These immigrants must often rely on rides or staffing agency vans to get to and from work, which leads to difficulties in picking up their children if work goes late.
The average wage of Latino workers was $9.25 an hour, which Mendoza said is equal to what native workers would earn in the same position.
“Their nationality, ethnicity and English ability has not diminished their ability to earn the same wage,” Mendoza said.
