Outrageous job offer

[warpedbored]

I just finished visiting with a friend who's wife just came over from China 3 months ago. They live here in Portland near my home. He was telling me about a job interview his wife had with a local Chinese restaurant. Even though she is legal and has an EAD they wanted her to work there 11 hours a day 6 days a week washing dishes and making soup for a flat 1200 dollars a month. To add insult to injury they asked her to only report 500 of that to the Government and take the rest under the table. Now this is not the first incident of this she has encountered. Another restaurant wanted her to work for 3 dollars an hour washing dishes and scrubbing toilets. Apparantly the local Chinese businesses have no scrupples about exploiting their own. I told him they should be reported to the state but he was concerned about his wife losing face from her friend at church who gave her the job tip. Obviously the labor laws regarding immigrants are not tough enough if businesses can be so bold as to even offer such a ludicrous wage. Of course if our glorius leader Bush has his way maybe this will become the norm.

[tonado]

Yes, that is common for workers at Chinese restaurants. Also, they have no sick days and no benefits (maybe one or two weeks of vacation a year).

[keelec]

Maybe the IRS would pay her to "cheat" on her taxes, and the state would love to hear about the minimum wage.

 

Let's see.

 

11 hrs / day * 6 days / week * 4 1/2 wks / month... = 2 97 hrs per month.

 

She is supposed to report $500 income that month.... About $4 / hr real money, and less than $2 / hr reported.

 

Not bad..... If it was still the 1950's. And, it certainly would be quite good if it was in Russia, even today.

 

Actually, I am wondering a bit what the benefit to the employer would be in under reporting wages. Perhaps FICA, and unemployment. However, generally 100% of wages paid out is tax deductable so it would seem to me as if any benefits of underreporting wages would even out..... That is, assuming they are properly reporting all cash register receipts, and other business expenses.

 

----- Clifford ------

[Robert S.]

Here in Alabama they have Mexicans working in the Chinese restaurants and they are the ones who wash the dishes, take out the trash, mop, do the bathrooms, etc. Portland must have an oversupply of China ladies or a shortage of Mexicans.

[warpedbored]

No there is no shortage of Mexicans here. I think it is just some unscrupulous chinese business owners looking to take advantage of the naivete of recently arrived Chinese people. In China 1200 dollars a month would be a princely sum. Here that would be slightly better than minimum wage on a 40 hour week but he wanted her to work 11 hour days 6 days a week.

[chinadave2001]

The restaurant business here in Hartford in very similar to what others have described....most of the workers here are illegals, working under the table. They make average salaries of $500-700 per week, all "tax free."

They certainly work long hours, typically 12 hrs day....many of them are still working to pay off the Mafia who provided them with transport and documents to come here in the first place. My understanding is that the going rate for passage to the USA is now about $70k. They then have ten years to pay this sum back to the Chinese mafia or the family back in China gets in "trouble."

Dave

[danswayne]

most of the workers here are illegals, working under the table.

I hope Dave G. doesn't see that post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Orrin]

My wife had a similar experience shortly after she got here to SLC and was waiting for her SSN. This sleaze ball Chinese buffet owner wanted her to work for no salary.............. tips only

 

In reallity this situation is not too much different from what I have seen in the larger, more prosperous cities in Guangdong provence. Local business owners will exploit those from the countryside who happen to be in the "Special Economic Zone", such as Zhuhai or Shenzhen, without proper documentation. Many of these poor souls find themselves working 18 hours a day for food and shelter only.

 

And they say that slavery doesn't exist in China any more

[Bobby]

There are one or two restaurants here in Greenville, SC that are like that. It really drives me up the wall as some of the girls that work at these places are really nice. Sometimes I'll talk to them and they're really careful about what they say and who might hear.

 

I have one friend who works in one of these joints. For some reason she loves it (she does have a SSN and green card). I read some of the posts in this thread and thought about it and I figured out that she probably likes it because she can work under the guise of making "decent money" without having to worry about training, getting an education or any kind of certification. But it still drives me nuts. Hell, she'd do better bagging groceries or running a cash register.. but that's "work" (and for some reason, waiting tables, cleaning, etc 6 days a week, 12 hours a day isn't!?).

 

Throughout this experience as well as others, I have learned that sometimes you just have to put logic in its "happy place" and just let things be.

[Dave G.]

most of the workers here are illegals, working under the table.

I hope Dave G. doesn't see that post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Uh oh....just saw it. I'll spare everyone my tirade. At least here in LV, some of our illegals are working on the table.

 

 

 

http://www.hallospass.de/gif_1/erotik/gif_img/funerotik034.gif

[Charlotte]

Apparantly the local Chinese businesses have no scrupples about exploiting their own.

If I have legal documents to allow me to work in this country, working for a Chinese business -- restaurant or not -- will be at the bottom of my choice list. Before I have to move to a homeless shelter, I would apply at a Chinese restaurant because many of them do supply room and board.

Ask her to apply at local supermarket or mall stores.

Just my personal observationa and opinion.

Good luck to her!

[yanhua]

Everyone is talking about unfair treatment working in Chinese restaraunts. Yeah, I am sure it is hardworking there. But Why do you have to work there then?

 

China is world famous for cheap labour. How much do you expect a small self owned business like restaraunt can pay? Not talking about benefit like medical and vacation. Some employers take advantage of illegal residents. Well, this is a price people have to pay for violeting the law.

 

Have you guys here ever thought for your chinese wives, what CAN they do here in the US? Some Chinese girls are young and still have the time and desire to go back to school for further education. Some, already in their mid 30s or older than that, would find it even harder to adapt themselves here in the U.S. Without the very basic ability of communicating in English, a good job is almost impossible. Ofcourse, not everyone needs to go out and work, unless they want to, or they have to.

[warpedbored]

Everyone is talking about unfair treatment working in Chinese restaraunts. Yeah, I am sure it is hardworking there. But Why do you have to work there then?

 

China is world famous for cheap labour. How much do you expect a small self owned business like restaraunt can pay? Not talking about benefit like medical and vacation. Some employers take advantage of illegal residents. Well, this is a price people have to pay for violeting the law.

 

Have you guys here ever thought for your chinese wives, what CAN they do here in the US? Some Chinese girls are young and still have the time and desire to go back to school for further education. Some,  already in their mid 30s or older than that, would find it even harder to adapt themselves here in the U.S.  Without the very basic ability of communicating in English, a good job is almost impossible. Ofcourse, not everyone needs to go out and work, unless they want to, or they have to.

I expect a Chinese restaurant to pay a legal wage just like any other restaurant. Or any other business for that matter. We are not talking about ilegals here. We are talking about legal immigrants with papers. Any business that takes advantage of these people should be fined so heavily that they would be afraid to do so. I have no sympathy for them. Dave? care to weigh in here? You seem to have an affinity for restaurant owners.

[Robert S.]

The degree of profit margin of a Chinese restaurant compared to a regular American restaurant is probably such that if the US restaurant association members knew about it or cared to think about it they would be sick with envy. It is incomprehensible to me the way they get away with all the illegal things they do, especially as far as the working hours. A lawyer friend here in Alabama told me that the Wages and Hours regulators in this state simply cannot be bribed, so what is it, they just do not check the Chinese restaurants, I guess.

[yanhua]

We are not talking about ilegals here. We are talking about legal immigrants with papers. Any business that takes advantage of these people should be fined so heavily that they would be afraid to do so.  I have no sympathy for them.

I was replying to Mick's post about low-paid underground workers. I knew you were talking about legal immigrants with papers . Talking about taking advantage, everyone is being exploited in someway. It is just a matter of in what way, to what extent. In the case you were talking about, the owner definitely is taking too much advantage of her and worst of all, by illegal means. I certainly do not have any sympathy for those greedy employers. I think they should be reported and given a big fine.