Coping with Language Issues

The supply of Mexican workers has been critical to the expansion of U.S. industry in the last decade. Even while absorbing 2.9 million Mexican workers in the 1990s (who represent 19 percent or one of every five new workers joining the labor force in the period), the U.S. workforce overall saw its unemployment rate fall from 6.3 percent in 1990 to 3.9 percent in 2000. Far from leading to an oversupply of workers, the arrival of significant numbers of Mexican workers has permitted American employers to have access to needed personnel in the tight labor market.

Employers of migrant/seasonal foreign workers often encounter the need to deal with cultural, social and language difference with their employees. Mutual understanding of these differences will lead to a more productive working and earnings environment for employers and employees.

Mid American Ag and Hort Services (MAAHS) has assembled a number of links on its Web site to assist employers with such issues. Just click on “Foreign Labor” and then “Social/Language.” Spanish-based resources are most prominent links at this site.

Online language tutorials, dictionaries and translation services as well as sources of ordering dictionaries are included. Numerous Spanish language safety and health links and resources along with Spanish language management resources are also provided. A number of other Spanish-based resources are available.

Francisco Espinoza, program assistant with the Ohio State University Ag & Hort Labor Education Program, is also a great resource to assist agricultural and horticultural employers connect with local resources for English as a Second Language, Spanish classes and cultural aspects of a Hispanic workforce.

The author has been serving as executive director for the Mid American Ag and Hort Services since October 2001.