Iowans scheme to lure Latinos
Businesses discuss how they can attract and keep Spanish-speaking workers.
By PATT JOHNSON
Register Staff Writer
07/15/2001
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A common misconception among employers is that all Spanish-speaking people in Iowa come from the same country - Mexico.
"A lot of people think that everything south of the border is the same," said Nitza Dovenspike, a manager at Principal Financial Group in Des Moines. "It is important to understand what the geography looks like. Argentina, Chile, Panama and Mexico are all different."
Different countries have different cultures, she said.
Dovenspike provided a worker's viewpoint last week during a gathering in Des Moines where area businesses talked about how to attract and keep Latino workers.
"The best way for diversity to work is to nurture and develop it," said Mike Blouin, president and chief executive of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, which sponsored the session. "We want to help our community understand a little more about the Latino culture."
The 83,000 Latinos in the state comprise about 1.6 percent of Iowa's workforce. Both numbers are growing. Iowa could attract more Latino workers - both professional and blue-collar - if the work environments were more friendly to a diverse population, officials said.
Employers need to respect and understand the diverse cultural differences of Spanish-speaking people to be able to recruit and retain Latino employees, they said.
"We have employed Latinos for over 20 years," said Brendan Comito, whose family owns and operates Capital Fruit Co. in Norwalk. "Latinos are 38 percent of our workforce. We've made some mistakes and have learned from them."
Latino workers also helped the wholesale fruit and vegetable company attract a more diverse customer base, Comito said.
Capital Fruit has begun asking vendors to print information in Spanish or to provide interpreters to make it easier for Capital's Spanish-speaking workers, he said.
Workers need more access to Spanish-speaking information sources like banks, libraries, city services and other things, employers at last week's seminar were told.
Dovenspike, a Panama native, said when she came to work in Des Moines, she was unsure how to enroll her children in school.
"It was difficult to understand how the school system operated," the Principal manager said.
Employers need to realize it is difficult for immigrants to assimilate into a new working environment in addition to trying to fit into a new culture, she said. Principal has a Latino resources group that has been helpful in bringing Latino workers together and helping them find services, she said.
Jeff Hunter, owner of the Hotel Fort Des Moines, said most Latino workers at his hotel work two full-time jobs because of their strong work ethic and often because they are supporting an extended family. They also are extremely loyal to their families and make trips to their native land to visit relatives.
To accommodate family needs, especially in the case of illness, the hotel allows workers to take unpaid, unlimited leave with the promise of a job when they return.
Capital Fruit also allows workers to take four weeks unpaid leave a year to visit relatives. Comito said it is a perk that allows the company to retain Latino and other immigrant workers.
Immigrants told the employers that the community needs to offer more social events for Latinos and other non-traditional workers.
Roberto Barriero, a post-doctoral research associate at Pioneer Hi-Bred International, said he was "overwhelmed by the lack of diversity" when he came to Des Moines.
"It is slowly improving," he said. "Latinos enjoy a social life and we could have more events here. That could make this a more interesting place to live and it wouldn't take much." |
