Foreign J1 Students Protest About Working at Hershey's (Video)

Youtube ^ | 8/16/2011 | Youtube

[Dallas59]

Linky Here

From another website:

"I'm going to get downvoted for this, but if you do the math its... not as ludicrous as they make it seem. The guy worked 40 hours and was expecting $334 (I'm assuming after taxes). This comes out to $8.35 an hour... while its definitely not awesome pay, its still above minimum wage. He received $130 after subtracting living costs, this means the company charges $204/week for housing, which comes out to $816/month. If this includes utilities and such, its actually a decent rate for a one BR apartment.

The "conditions" these students face are pretty typical for working class Americans... If a normal person walked off of their job, they would also be terminated. If a normal person from another country is here on a work visa and walks out and is terminated, the would also be deported...

[Dallas59]

I'm going to get downvoted for this, but if you do the math its... not as ludicrous as they make it seem. The guy worked 40 hours and was expecting $334 (I'm assuming after taxes). This comes out to $8.35 an hour... while its definitely not awesome pay, its still above minimum wage. He received $130 after subtracting living costs, this means the company charges $204/week for housing, which comes out to $816/month. If this includes utilities and such, its actually a decent rate for a one BR apartment.

The "conditions" these students face are pretty typical for working class Americans... If a normal person walked off of their job, they would also be terminated. If a normal person from another country is here on a work visa and walks out and is terminated, the would also be deported...

[2ndDivisionVet]

[GeronL]

here is an idea:

hire Americans

[Dilbert San Diego]

I wondered that too, right off the bat. Why are we importing “students” to work at a theme park, or anywhere, for that matter?

And, I hate to ask, but will ask, how is this legal, to hire foreigners to work in America at such a job? Why is this legal? Working at a theme park is not highly skilled technical work, for which we have a shortage of skilled workers.

[GeronL]

They are importing them to work at grocery stores!

[wideawake]

They hire foreigners to prevent the park workers from being unionized. This is why Hershey Park is clean, safe and affordable - because the lazy union scum can't get their hands on it.

And foreign students should quit complaining. They are getting paid to do an easy job with good hours while they experience the real heartland of America and meet Americans from all over the country.

That's the point of the job, not get rich while hanging out in the sun flicking the on and off switch of an automatic ride or running a kettlecorn stand.

[HiTech RedNeck]

I wouldn’t put it past “community organizers” to try to upset these school kids. It’s not wildly lucrative, but it’s temporary by definition, and can easily bridge a serious student over.

[2banana]

It is not as though this is payday in the movie “The Molly Maguires”

[maine yankee]

I worked in the national parks for most of the ‘90’s.

In many parks it was impossible to recruit enough young people to fill the jobs.

Kids from decent homes with decent grades all thought they were too good for anything other than ‘internships’.

Ten percent of all applications were unreadable.

Over half of all applicants disqualified for criminal problems,recent drug treatment,or false statements concerning these matters.

Over half the kids we did hire had no concept of ‘work’.

I can't count the number of kids that we would put on ‘wake up’ lists; they just could not grasp the idea of getting themselves up in the morning.

We took for granted that most could not read manuals,lacked basic math skill, or count change.

Poor language skills, poor hygiene, and poor attitudes were the norm.

For the most part I was in better shape than most. I worked at lake powell and grand canyon most of my time. These parks were more desirable to work in than most.

I also had a pool of Mormon youth to draw from. The difference was night and day. It was not their religion, but the culture of Utah that made the difference.

Many companies working in the parks turned to overseas recruiters with mixed results. I met some great kids from all over the world. I met many who just used the opportunity to get into our country and disappear.

Hershey tried to avoid the problems of American youth. It is an omen of things to come in the corporate world of the USA.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Thanks for the info. This is such a sad commentary on our youth and our future, that I am speechless.

Two main problems appear to be that many think certain jobs are beneath them, and, a lack of basic skills which apply in any job, such as getting up in the morning and going to work.

[olezip]

I am unsympathetic in connection with foreign students complaining about work conditions and pay in this country. They knew or should have known what they were getting into before they came. Their pay and treatment was pretty much the same as that of working Americans. Go home.

Maybe their problem is the exchange rate, as the dollar has been losing value.

[CharlesWayneCT]

It’s how you get enough workers for these seasonal jobs. Believe it or not, american teenagers really don’t want to do this kind of work.

And it’s not just theme parks. Our HOA has a pool, and our pool companies have always had a dreadful time trying to dig up kids to work. And when you get them, they are lazy, they invite their girlfriend/boyfriend to the pool, then they don’t show up one day because they had something better to do.

THe foreign workers come here for a purpose, they work hard, they understand that a job means show up. Usually, anyway.

I work halloween haunt at a local theme park. It’s not a season for foreign workers, they come in the summer and then leave. And in these horrible employment times, last year I had absolutely NO trouble getting a job, along with my daughter, that paid $9 an hour for about 20 hours a weekend.

It’s a kick of a job (it has to be, because it’s peanuts compared to my real job, and I have to drive almost 3 hours a day for it. It’s the most physically demanding job I’ve ever done, but it’s a blast. My point is that they couldn’t hire enough people to fully staff, even when kids had no jobs. This year things look a bit better, I guess in the 3rd year of a lousy economy there’s kids who did the job, were expecting to get real jobs after college, and now they are coming back.

Anyway, working a theme park is not “highly technical” but it does require kids who are willing to show up, work hard, pay attention, and follow directions.

[mojo114]

I was amazed at the amount of foreign workers, mostly Eastern European, that we saw while on vacation this summer. First in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and then at Virginia Beach.
I am wondering why also.