EthnicMajority » Workplace

As Asian-Americans move to suburbs in record numbers, signs of decline in historic Chinatowns

Clifford Tong — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:00:03 +0000

(Washington Post) America’s historic Chinatowns, home for a century to immigrants seeking social support and refuge from racism, are fading as rising living costs, jobs elsewhere and a desire for wider spaces lure Asian-Americans more than ever to the suburbs.

As the Lunar New Year begins Monday, annual festivities in Washington, D.C.’s shriveled Chinatown are, for the first time, being promoted by a large marketing firm. New York’s Chinatown, one of the nation’s oldest, has lost its status as home to the city’s largest Chinese population, based on the 2010 census.

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As Asian-Americans move to suburbs in record numbers, signs of decline in historic Chinatowns

The Careerist: Asian American Lawyers Are Not Happy

Clifford Tong — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:00:01 +0000

(American Lawyer) It's the start of Chinese New Year—the Year of the Dragon—but Asian Pacific Americans lawyers might not be in a mood to celebrate. According to The American Lawyer's 2011 midlevel minority associates survey, APAs are not happy campers.

But let's start with a positive: APAs are not griping about their work. Amazingly, they like it! APAs reported the highest score of all groups (including whites, black/African Americans, and Hispanics) for "overall satisfaction with work" and "quality of assignments."

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The Careerist: Asian American Lawyers Are Not Happy

Survey paints portrait of black women in America

Clifford Tong — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:00:01 +0000

(Washington Post) Rich or poor, educated or not, black women sometimes feel as though myths are stalking them like shadows, their lives reduced to a string of labels.

The angry black woman. The strong black woman. The unfeeling black woman. The manless black woman.

“Black women haven’t really defined themselves,” says author Sophia Nelson, who urges her fellow sisters to take control of their image. “We were always defined as workhorses, strong. We carry the burdens, we carry the family. We don’t need. We don’t want.”

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Survey paints portrait of black women in America

Wal-Mart Names Black Woman as Sam Club’s CEO

Clifford Tong — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:00:08 +0000

(The Root) Wal-Mart made history on Friday when it named a black woman the first female and African American CEO of Sam's Club.

Rosalind Brewer, 49, was the former president of the retailer's U.S. East business unit. She also held a number of executive positions at Kimberly-Clark Corp. She begins her position on Feb. 1.

Wal-Mart's Sam's Club warehouse business accounts for 12 percent of Wal-Mart's annual sales. Revenue rose 5.7 percent at the store in the third quarter of 2011.

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Wal-Mart Names Black Woman as Sam Club’s CEO

Racism Charges Cost Pepsi $3.13mn

Clifford Tong — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:00:01 +0000

(Daily Markets) PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE:PEP) will now have to shell out $3.13 million as a price for alleged racial discrimination. Pepsi Beverages Company – the manufacturing, sales and distribution operating unit of Pepsi in United States, Canada and Mexico – allegedly carried irrelevant criminal background checks on several African American applicants, and thereafter denied them jobs in the organization.

The racial discrimination charge was filed in the Minneapolis Area Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and upon investigation it “found reasonable cause to believe” that Pepsi’s criminal background check discriminated the ‘black people’ and affected more than 300 ‘black applicants’. Pepsi has agreed to pay the aforementioned amount and will also provide job offers and training to the applicants, or the victims of the former criminal background check policy, who still want jobs at Pepsi and are qualified for the jobs for which they apply.

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Racism Charges Cost Pepsi $3.13mn

Taking care of business in diverse digital marketplace

Clifford Tong — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:00:01 +0000

(Miami Herald) It’s time to recognize the talent pool we have right here in America, putting an end to minority statistics that may soon be more fairytale than truth. Especially in Florida where the Hispanic population is outperforming other states in college degree attainment levels.

Florida’s business schools, particularly Miami-Dade College, are being recognized nationally for their cutting-edge programs and for graduating among the highest numbers of Hispanics. Not only are these Hispanics brushing up on their business skills, but, according to recent studies by Florida State University’s Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication, they are proving to be digital innovators and significantly expanding their online presence. Compared to other groups, Hispanics were the most likely to own and manage their own online businesses, blogs and websites.

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Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/08/2577327/taking-care-of-business-in-diverse.html#storylink=cpy

Taking care of business in diverse digital marketplace

Wage Theft Shatters American Dream for Many Low-Income Immigrants

Clifford Tong — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:00:01 +0000

(Voice of America) Eight years ago, “Mrs. Kim” came to the United States from China “to pursue her American Dream,” but thanks to unscrupulous business practices familiar to many Asian immigrants working in low-wage industries, things went horribly wrong.

Kim, who did not want to use her real name because she is still involved in litigation, began life in the U.S. preparing dumplings and side dishes at a Korean restaurant in Bergen County, New Jersey.

The job went well for a few years. It was hard, but Kim was getting paid for her efforts.

“When I first started working, [the owner] agreed to pay me $600 per week,” she said. “Specific hours were not indicated, but she did indicate I would have to work over 12 hours per day.”

Though she worked as many as 17 hours a day, when the restaurant’s business started to decline, the owner began paying employees late or not paying them at all.

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Wage Theft Shatters American Dream for Many Low-Income Immigrants

For Black Americans, A Longer Time Without Work

Clifford Tong — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 18:28:13 +0000

(NPR) Although the U.S. gained more than 120,000 jobs last month, the numbers of long-term unemployed barely shifted, and unemployment rates for African-Americans continued to go through the roof.

A recent NPR and Kaiser Family Foundation poll shows that although the long-term unemployed face many of the same difficulties regardless of race, there are distinct differences between blacks and whites struggling to find work.

Out-of-work blacks, whites, Latinos and Asians all took part in the NPR-Kaiser survey. Only blacks and whites had a large enough sample, however, for the surveyors to specifically break out their responses.

"First of all, we found that among those people who have been unemployed for a long time, African-Americans make up a greater share of that population than they do of full-time workers," says Kaiser Family Foundation researcher Liz Hamel.

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For Black Americans, A Longer Time Without Work

8 soldiers charged in private’s death; racial harassment may be a factor

Clifford Tong — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 14:00:02 +0000

(Kansas City Star) The Army filed charges Wednesday against eight Alaska-based soldiers in the death of a 19-year-old Army private, in a sign that the military is investigating whether racial harassment could have led him to commit suicide.

Pvt. Danny Chen's body was found in a guard tower in Afghanistan's Kandahar province in October, two months into his deployment. The New York native died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, but Chen's family and the Chinese-American community pressed the military to explain what led Chen to kill himself. The New York Times later reported that investigators had told Chen's family that superiors had abused him and taunted him with ethnic slurs.

"There was some serious misconduct in this situation," said Jacinta Ma, the deputy director of the Asian American Justice Center, who was part of a group of Asian-American organizations that met with Pentagon officials this month on behalf of Chen's family to discuss their concerns that Chen's case is not an isolated incident.

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Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/12/21/3332099/8-soldiers-charged-in-privates.html#storylin

The Army filed charges Wednesday against eight Alaska-based soldiers in the death of a 19-year-old Army private, in a sign that the military is investigating whether racial harassment could have led him to commit suicide. Pvt. Danny Chen's body was found in a guard tower in Afghanistan's Kandahar province in October, two months into his deployment. The New York native died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, but Chen's family and the Chinese-American community pressed the military to explain what led Chen to kill himself. The New York Times later reported that investigators had told Chen's family that superiors had abused him and taunted him with ethnic slurs. "There was some serious misconduct in this situation," said Jacinta Ma, the deputy director of the Asian American Justice Center, who was part of a group of Asian-American organizations that met with Pentagon officials this month on behalf of Chen's family to discuss their concerns that Chen's case is not an isolated incident.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/12/21/3332099/8-soldiers-charged-in-privates.html#storylink=cpy

8 soldiers charged in private’s death; racial harassment may be a factor

Latino progress in jobs hits blue-collar ceiling

Clifford Tong — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

(Chicago Sun Times) You’ve heard of the glass ceiling (women) and the bamboo ceiling (Asian Americans). It turns out there’s a blue-collar ceiling for Chicago Latinos.

So says a new study from DePaul University’s New Journalism on Latino Children project and the Latino Policy Forum. They analyzed Hispanic representation in 480 occupations identified by the U.S. Census Bureau and found that both Mexican immigrants and many of their U.S.-born counterparts are overrepresented in low-skilled, low-pay manufacturing, food service, and construction industries.

Considering that Latinos represented three of every five new entrants to the region’s labor force over the past decade and that their dismal high school graduation rates — a mere 59 percent — are colliding with a time when our city is turning toward a knowledge-based economy, this is very bad news.

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Latino progress in jobs hits blue-collar ceiling