It was Mexicans who pushed Americans out of construction, not the selling of college to American males.
I watched this process as it took first the car washes and restaurants, and ditch digging, then lower level construction like installing molding, then sheetrock, and eventually roofing and on up, also machine shops.
When the first Mexican is hired he turns the boss onto more Mexicans, and they, in turn, create a hostile workplace to Americans and lock out new American hires, until the day comes when the media starts reporting whatever that field is, as “jobs Americans won’t do”.
“When the first Mexican is hired he turns the boss onto more Mexicans, and they, in turn, create a hostile workplace to Americans and lock out new American hires, until the day comes when the media starts reporting whatever that field is, as “jobs Americans won’t do” “
THAT is exactly what happened, and is STILL happening, in the un-invaded areas, which are getting fewer and fewer.
Twinkie Americans aren’t hip to the hardball tactics of ethnic hustlers on the job site. it’s always “my cousin Manny needs a yob” and the foreman goes along with it because he wants labor peace. Manny don’t get hired, all of a sudden accidents start happening, complaints get filed, the Whiteys get elbowed.
Fools who think this is about a “labor shortage” are just that. I saw this back in the ‘70s in the oil patch, had to endure idiot illegals making threats and hurling insults along with the ever present hyena laughter that is part of their act.
Regarding my sentence: “Years of targeting college as the goal of high school has left the trades seriously undersupported in our public education system.”
One of the problems of targeting college for everyone was the complete neglect of any kinds of trade education for those who might want to pursue it. When I was in a large high school in th 1950s there were 4 tracks for students to choose. One was Liberal Arts College, another Science Oriented College, also Secretarial/Clerical Studies, and fourth was Industrial Oriented Work. In addition we had daily physical education in both high schools I attended. I was also able to take cooking, sewing, and home nursing classes. All of which has been useful over the years.
When my boys were in high school in the late 1980s, daily phys ed was no longer available, and trade schools in the area with significant black population were gradually eliminated except for one. One of my sons was dyslexic, and if I had not been taught building skills by my father, I would not have been renovating a house and having that son help me with building. He eventally dropped out of school in the 10th grade, but now at 50 has his own successful small construction company. The only reason my father had me helping with building even though I was a girl was that my brothers were 8 and 10 years younger, so I was what was available for work. Also, with daily phys ed, I had the strength to do physical labor. Something which is sadly lacking among many of our youth today, as the military recruiters will sadly tell you. The latinos that come to this country have had both physical and construction work experience at home, which is often lacking in this country. When my dyslexic son was living in Miami in the early 2000s, he wanted to take the electricians course in adult ed. There were only 2 people signed up for the English language electrical course, so he ended up taking the Spanish language electrical course. This improved his language skills enough that he was able to hire the available latino workers for his construction business. Why aren’t these things being taught in our larger high schools?
I had not heard of the threats and intimidation aspects of hiring non latinos. I live in the mid-Atlantic area. My son also has never reported such issues. I often travel to the Delmarva Peninsula which has parts of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia by the ocean. I am most familiar with the VA part. I have had difficulty getting work done on my cottage there because the businesses are having a hard time getting workers. Especially with the Covid payments, a lot of young people have not rushed back to physical labor. THere are relatively few latinos there and mostly they and black workers are in the agricultural sector or the chicken processing plants.