The immigrant work ethic

I had planned to start my day today with a visit to a new credit union at 9 a.m. A few minutes after the hour, I approached the front door and tugged, only to discover it was locked. Who knew that on Tuesdays they opened at 10?

With a few minutes to kill, and having skipped breakfast, I walked across the street to the James Bean Cafe and ordered a sandwich. The woman who waited on me was very friendly, and her accented English gave her away as an immigrant (I should have noticed, but I think she was Korean or Vietnamese.) As I sat waiting for my order, I could hear her chatting up a couple of suits who'd wandered in, repeating herself as needed so they could understand her. All around her were the trappings of a typical American cafe -- an espresso maker, yogurt cups, fresh fruit, syrups for Italian sodas, etc.

I thought of the contrast between the diet she must have grown up on and the items she was serving to her customers here in Portland: scrambled eggs with cheese and bacon or sausage on a choice of bagel. The thought had occurred to me before in other places around town. Plenty of Asian immigrants have developed menus to accommodate American tastes.

In some cases, they've learned to speak a little Spanish, too, if they've hired Latino immigrants to work in their kitchen. At Du's Grill on Northeast Sandy Boulevard, not far from our home, the Korean woman who works the register routinely turns to her books and puts in the teriyaki orders in Spanglish: "Dos chicken" (two chicken) or "Dos beef" (two beef) or "Uno mas chicken" (one more chicken). It's so cool.

Earlier this week, I wrote about Mohammed, the Jordanian immigrant who owns The Energy Bar, where he serves up fresh-baked muffins and scones, and prepares blended fruit-and-veggie drinks (the kind with lemongrass, ginger, carrots, etc.). He epitomizes great customer service, greeting so many of us by first name and even memorizing our favorite drinks.

On Sunday, The Oregonian's Gosia Wozniacka, herself a Polish immigrant who speaks five languages including Spanish, wrote of the challenges facing U.S. producers of labor-intensive crops who must compete with foreign growers who benefit from cheap labor and lower production costs. The disadvantage would be even greater if U.S. growers did not already rely on an ever-growing percentage of foreign-born (and mostly illegal) immigrants who fill nursery and agricultural jobs that Anglos refuse to even consider.

As Gosia reported ("Stable farm labor seems elusive in global economy"):

When Bob Terry, owner of Fisher Farms near Gaston, advertised for entry-level field work positions a few months ago, he expected at least a few white, Anglo job seekers.

"With unemployment being as high as it is, we thought we'd have at least some Caucasians," Terry said. "But we had none."

Several hundred job seekers showed up, all Latino, Terry said, and most spoke broken English. The company, which produces more than 3.5 million nursery plants on 300 acres at three sites, hired 80.

This is how it's always been, said Terry, who has worked with the company for 16 years.

"We always hear, 'You don't hire Americans; you hire the others, immigrants, because they're cheaper,'" Terry said. "And it's just not true. We don't discriminate; we just take them as they come in."

I know I've rambled here but ... whether it's serving bagels or energy drinks; working amongst hops or Christmas trees; reporting and writing in your third language (Gosia grew up speaking Polish and French before learning English); or working janitorial jobs at indoor malls and office buildings (something I haven't even touched on here), the immigrant work ethic is alive and well and beautiful to behold.