We Do The Work
Grocery store workers became “essential” during the pandemic. Photo by Joe Tabacca via Shutterstock
Latino essential workers have suffered disproportionately in the pandemic. A new study says these workers sacrificed and “stepped up for America.” Now they’re leading an economic comeback
Néstor Chipana has been working almost every day of the 22 years he’s lived in the United States.
The native Peruvian is 51 and a resident of Athens, Georgia. He owns the Chipana Auto Sales and Services company, which opened in 2005, and spends his weekends tending to car-buying customers. But even before and ever since, Chipana’s Monday through Friday job at a meat processing plant -- preparing chickens for the nation’s food supply -- is what has provided the steadiest income.
That job also makes him an economic hero in the eyes of experts studying how Latinos have scrambled back from significant economic adversity and are now driving a comeback for the U.S. economy.
It’s long been known that Latino workers are a driving force in the U.S. economy. Now, a new study -- The Latino Community Stepping Up for America -- from the Latino Donor Collaborative, a non-profit group based in California, shows how the COVID-19 pandemic forced many Latinos to pivot to “essential jobs” like meat processing while other lines of work disappeared.
“The pandemic had a severe impact on the nation's economy as businesses were shuttered, workers were laid off and commerce ground to a halt,” says a summary of the report, led by the highly regarded social researcher Jie Zong.
“Despite the economic and emotional hit, Latinos stepped up for America and saved the day,” the report adds. “Nearly one year into the pandemic, Latino employment, especially that of immigrant Latino males, improved significantly. Their strong work ethic, commitment to family and their lack of access to unemployment and other government help compelled them to find other ways to support their families.”
The price of survival
But that tag as “essential worker” came at a price for Chipana.
COVID caught up with him last year. It kept him away from work for almost a month and nearly cost him more.
“I honestly thought I was going to die,” Chipana told palabra. “I could barely move for two weeks and I had really bad insomnia on top of that.”
Néstor Chipana at his weekend job; his own auto dealership. Photo by Gregory Brightwell
Until he got sick, Chipana had become a local force, helping find food and jobs for friends left ill or idle by the pandemic.
“I love to help people,” Chipana said. “And they would help me. When I couldn’t work, I would find groceries, fruits, bread, milk on my front door and I never knew who did that. It was so nice that we helped each other out like that.”
The pandemic created what the Latino Donor Collaborative (LDC) said were vital jobs suited to a population of working-class Latinos.
Strong work ethic, commitment to family and their lack of access to unemployment and other government help compelled (Latinos) to find other ways. ...
These “essential” roles powered key industries during the novel coronavirus crisis, including healthcare, commercial cleaning services and agriculture -- each reliant on “on-site” workers like Chipana.
The LDC study noted that while there is a high number of Latino workers in these industries in states with large Latino populations (California, Florida and Texas for example) more were moving to similar jobs in other states. Places like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Rhode Island became “driver states,” the LDC report said, because it’s where many Latinos, because of immigration status, have not traditionally played strong roles in voting or mainstream economic production. Two of every three undocumented workers who file taxes now work in an “essential” industry.
The study underscored the higher health and death risks faced by Latinos in essential jobs, a threat aggravated by the lack of adequate health insurance for many essential workers. The LDC also noted that applications for federal rescue funds from Latino businesses were approved at half the rate of white-owned enterprises. And even Latino children scored worse in pandemic home-schooling. (One of every 10 Latino essential workers lives in a home without adequate Internet access.)
Between April and October of 2020, unemployment for Latinos in general dropped from nearly 19% to 8%
“Latinos' well-being and successful recovery from this pandemic have great implications for a strong American economy,” said Sol Trujillo, the LDC chairman. “Latinos account for a substantial share of the working-age population. Paired with higher productivity rates and younger ages, they represent future workforce growth. Their outcomes will determine the success of the future American workforce.”
Leading the recovery
Like other analysts, LDC researchers found that Latinos had suffered the biggest job loss of any group at the onset of the pandemic. And then Latinos suffered COVID infections and deaths at disproportionately higher rates.
The T-shirt slogan that says it all. By Design Rains via Shutterstock
Nonetheless, the LDC study becomes optimistic when it looks at how the country is emerging from the coronavirus crisis.
The study cites a greater number of Latinos opening up their own businesses, and a recent decrease in Latino unemployment. This spring, Latino males became the largest group in the nation’s employed working-age population. And between April and October of 2020, Latino unemployment dropped from nearly 19% to 8%. That compares favorably to a 14% to 6% drop for all U.S. workers.
“Society needs to recognize the remarkable work ethic and sacrifice of Latinos during these difficult times, as well as ensure equal access to government programs supporting workers and business owners and continue to invest in health care access in the Latino community," said Ana Valdez, LDC executive vice president. "And anyone interested in restoring the United States' Gross Domestic Product growth rate to healthy levels should care deeply about their well-being and invest in the fastest-growing segment of the nation's GDP: the U.S. Latino Gross Domestic Product.”
Valdez said investment in Latinos will pay major dividends for the U.S. economy.
That’s certainly something that Chipana agrees with.
He’s recovered from COVID and he’s back at work in the chicken factory. He said he’ll stay on that job until he has enough saved to devote his full attention to growing his car business.
“We Latinos don’t sit around and wait for help from the government or anybody,” Chipana said. “We do what we can.”
He said that among his peers, the standard reaction to losing a job is to pivot.
“They find a way,” Chipana said. “I know some Latinas who worked in kitchens or as domestic help and when that dried up (because of the pandemic) they went and … painted houses or cut grass. They’re trying to get ahead any way they can. That’s what we do. We push ahead.”
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Patricia Guadalupe is a freelance journalist based in Washington, D.C. She writes for NBC Latino and Latino Magazine. She’s the president of the D.C. chapter of NAHJ and an adjunct professor in the School of Communications at American University.