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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhy a white town paid for a class called 'Hispanics 101'
By Danielle Paquette March 7 at 5:35 PM
BRANSON, Mo. In a ballroom with antlers on the wall and hoof prints on the carpet, diversity coach Miguel Joey Aviles asked whether anyone knew how to merengue.
Lord have mercy, he said, counting hands. Only two?
This is Hispanics 101, a class meant to teach employers in the Ozarks resort town of 11,400 how to lure workers from Puerto Rico and persuade them to stay.
The economy depends on it. As tourism season kicks off this month, the remote getaway known for dinner theaters, country music concerts and a museum of dinosaur replicas has 2,050 vacancies and a lack of locals applying.
So, like other areas with tight labor markets, Branson finds itself getting creative to fill jobs in this case by recruiting people from a part of the United States with much higher unemployment. But the plan to bring 1,000 workers from the island to overwhelmingly white, conservative Branson over the next three years has sparked unease, with critics saying that the newcomers will steal work from residents or drag down wages or bump up crime.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/why-a-white-town-paid-for-a-class-called-hispanics-101/2018/03/07/ca37a44a-1cd1-11e8-ae5a-16e60e4605f3_story.html
Proud Liberal Dem
(24,412 posts)MineralMan
(146,288 posts)Lesson Two: People from Puerto Rico are U. S. Citizens
lunamagica
(9,967 posts)cagefreesoylentgreen
(838 posts)That apparently is an actual thing in Branson, according to the article.
That makes me think places like Branson need to die out.
MineralMan
(146,288 posts)They'll be paid minimum wage at best. Where will they be staying as they work in Branson? It will be a real issue there.