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Sewing Women: Immigrants and the New York City Garment Industry
Many Latino and Chinese women who immigrated to New York City over the past several decades found work in the garment industry-an industry well known for both hiring immigrants and its harsh working conditions. In the 1990s, the garment industry was one of the largest immigrant employers in New York City and workers in Chinese- and Korean-owned factories produced 70 percent of all manufactured clothing in New York City. Based on extensive interviews with workers and employers, Margaret M. Chin offers a detailed and complex portrait of the work lives of Chinese and Latino garment workers. Chin, whose mother and aunts worked in Chinatown's garment industry, also explores how immigration status, family circumstances, ethnic relations, and gender affect the garment industry workplace. In turn, she analyzes how these factors affect whom employers hire and what wages and benefits are given to the employees.
Chin's study contrasts the working conditions and hiring practices of Korean- and Chinese-owned factories. Her comparison of the two practices illuminates how ethnic ties both improve and hinder opportunities for immigrants. While both sectors take advantage of workers and are characterized by low wages and lax enforcement of safety regulations-there are crucial differences. In the Chinese sector, owners encourage employees, almost entirely female, to recruit new workers, especially friends and family. Though Chinese workers tend to be documented and unionized, this work arrangement allows owners to maintain a more paternalistic relationship with their employees. Gender also plays a major role in channeling women into the garment industry, as Chinese immigrants, particularly those with children, tend to maintain traditional gender roles in the workplace. Korean-owned shops, however, hire mostly undocumented Mexican and Ecuadorian workers, both male and female. These workers tend not to have children and are thus less tied to traditional gender roles. Unlike their Chinese counterparts, Korean employers hire workers on their own terms and would rather not allow current employees to influence their decisions.
Chin's work also provides an overview of the history of the garment industry, examines immigration strategies, and concludes with a discussion of changes in the industry in the aftermath of 9/11.
Chin's study contrasts the working conditions and hiring practices of Korean- and Chinese-owned factories. Her comparison of the two practices illuminates how ethnic ties both improve and hinder opportunities for immigrants. While both sectors take advantage of workers and are characterized by low wages and lax enforcement of safety regulations-there are crucial differences. In the Chinese sector, owners encourage employees, almost entirely female, to recruit new workers, especially friends and family. Though Chinese workers tend to be documented and unionized, this work arrangement allows owners to maintain a more paternalistic relationship with their employees. Gender also plays a major role in channeling women into the garment industry, as Chinese immigrants, particularly those with children, tend to maintain traditional gender roles in the workplace. Korean-owned shops, however, hire mostly undocumented Mexican and Ecuadorian workers, both male and female. These workers tend not to have children and are thus less tied to traditional gender roles. Unlike their Chinese counterparts, Korean employers hire workers on their own terms and would rather not allow current employees to influence their decisions.
Chin's work also provides an overview of the history of the garment industry, examines immigration strategies, and concludes with a discussion of changes in the industry in the aftermath of 9/11.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 22, 2005
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November 23, 2025
Excellent ethnographic study!
QUOTES (SO MANY!):
The Chinese who owned garment factories on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the I9sos were ambitious. According to Bao (200I) and Kwong (1987), Chinese owned three or four shops in 1950. By the mid to late g.o. they owned about fifteen shops on the Lower East Side and in Chinatown. According to three informants who worked in these shops, the owners were American-born sons and daughters of Chinese parents who were shopkeepers or laundry owners. The parents provided the capital to invest in these garment shops, or the owners used their GI benefits to buy the shops. Kwong (1986) and Bao (2001) also mention the entrance of World War II veterans into the industry as garment shop proprietors.
--
I've been here three years and my husband has been here for five years. He was nineteen when I got pregnant. He was very drunk when it happened and he felt very responsible. He came to New York because he had to support us. He chose to come to New York because it was the capital of the world. And because it was the capital of the world, it couldn't be so bad.
He came in through Texas as an undocumented. He was very lucky. The border people told him that if he could find someone who would support him, then he could come through. He was lucky that he had an ex-brother in law in Connecticut who helped him out. He flew right to New York.
--
If you're working, you have to be working for the Chinese garment shops in Chinatown. Every block you can find a garment shop. You can't tell from here. You have to look up, see them through the windows. See the clothing.
--
I don't plan on learning English. If I need a few words, I will learn those. I'm too old to learn another language. My sister-in-law took me to find work in the garment shops. Her garment shop is very nice. In the beginning I would go everyday and not earn any money. I would just spend my time learning how to piece together garments, and just try to turn on the machine. My sister-in-law would show me how to sew the pieces and how to turn on the machine. The machine was so loud it scared me. Now I can sew but still very slow. I make a little money, enough to help buy food. I don't think I could have found another job.
--
I worked in the garment factory for seventeen years and have been in the U.S. for eighteen years. I came to the U.S. with my husband and two kids. When my kids were young, my youngest was five and my oldest was twelve when I started working. I have three kids, an older daughter and two younger sons. When I first got here, we lived in Chinatown and sent the kids to school. I would leave work early to pick them up and wouldn't come to work until I dropped them off at school. It worked fine. When my mother-in-law came, she took care of them. Back then it was easy to come from Hong Kong. I could never make that much money in Hong Kong. Here, I made enough to send my kids to school and to help buy a house.
--
but most of the time they just want you to work, and they want everyone to concentrate on working. They don't care if you are a woman.
--
Others, like this Ecuadorian woman in her twenties, described the gender rules established on the street corner: "I don't like standing on the corner. lt's embarrassing. In my country only the bad women stand on the corner. There are too many men there. Sometimes the strange men would bother me. And you never know. Right now I go there to meet with another woman-—a Singer operator, so we can go look for jobs together. It is a different woman each time. I don't like going into the buildings myself anymore. Going by myself is dangerous. Have you heard the rumor that a woman got beaten up and raped in one of the stairwells? I don't go by myself anymore."
A young Mexican woman, who was standing on the northwest side of 37th Street, in front of a taco cart on Eighth Avenue, described the hiring corner: "The women always stand on this side of the street to wait for jobs. The men stand over there. We each have our sides. It's better this way. They won't bother us. We come early in the morning sometimes as early as seven A.M. Before, we used to go look and knock on doors, but now the owners come here to find us."
--
An Ecuadorian man told me how he came to work in the garment indus-try:"I got my first job in the Dominican factory through my father's friend. She helped me find the job in the garment factory. I sewed in that factory. I had experience at home. My father is a tailor; my mother and I help out in his business. Then in my second job, a friend told me about the factory. They hire men Latino workers too. We work hard. It doesn't matter that we are men as long as we know how to sew. They like men doing the heavier sewing—we are faster than women when we work with the thick cloths. We are stronger."
--
The hiring preferences of both Korean and Chinese employers are economically and racially motivated. Typically, the owners prefer immigrants to Americans and skilled workers who do not speak English, mostly because Americans and immigrants who know English are more capable of standing up for their rights. Owners know that Chinese immigrants and undocumented Mexicans and Ecuadorians have limited options and limited ability to complain to authorities. Employers can take advantage of these workers. In general, the employers offer the minimum or just above the minimum wage and only the benefits that the state and federal law require. Immigrant workers accept this compensation with little protest. Race also influences whom the owners or employers hire. Their preference for non-English-speaking immigrants is related to their encounters with English-speaking African Americans and Puerto Ricans, whom the owners and employers perceive to be lazy and demanding.
--
These workers make this garment district run. In my shop 80 percent of them don't have papers. Most shops are like mine. Can you imagine, let's say 70 percent of the garments in this garment district are made by people who have no papers. They deserve more than just getting a bad name. They put in so much hard work. I have three problems here: the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service), the taxes, and the state labor department. I am always having problems with them. They never give us a break, but what are we supposed to do? If the manufacturers paid more, then we can pay more to our people, and they would be willing to have taxes withheld from their checks. As it is, we just can't. We have to give them cash to make sure they get paid enough.
--
When business was getting bad, I thought I would try a Korean shop uptown. I heard about them from a Korean neighbor of mine. I went by myself. I basically was fooling around in the elevator and joking when I said I was looking for a job. The elevator person told me to go over to this other building because there was a nice factory over there. And I went over there and tried out working for a Korean owner. I did not like it. There was no holiday pay, seven days a week work, no benefits, no over-time, and they would pay cash. You only get paid once every three or four weeks, but you get paid much more, about $10 an hour instead of the $5 to $6 I get now.
When I got there, they gave me something to do to test my work. They saw that I knew how to sew and they offered me $10 an hour. They were watching me the whole day. If I got up to change the thread color, a person would come over to tell me to sit down, and they would change the thread for me. I couldn't take a rest and I didn't like that.
I would discourage anyone from going there. It's much harder than I expected, and it's more stressful.
--
They really don't like the Chinese there—if you work fast, you get put on the harder jobs. And they pay you the same rate, so everybody makes no more than a certain amount. I'm only telling you this; nobody else knows I ever worked at a Korean factory. Only when you don't have any other place to go, then you try Korean shops. The Latino workers are respected there but not the Chinese. The foremen pay attention to what the Spanish workers ask. They don't try to understand me. They make the job harder for me. Only undocumented go there. Only when you think there are no other jobs. I tried because I heard that you can get paid more, and I don't need health insurance. I thought working uptown would be better.
--
A young Mexican woman told me, "I knew exactly where I was supposed to work before I came here. My mother sent letters telling me where I could go to get jobs before I came. I told my triends too. If you are going to New York, then you will find a job sewing." An older Ecuadorian woman said, "I can stand on the corner to wait for jobs, or I talk to everyone to find out about certain factories, but by afternoon I go and find the shops that were mentioned to me. I find out everything, usually at this corner."
--
Many of my friends I know through playing soccer. On weekends, I play uptown. Some work in the garment factory. If they don't, they work in restaurants. Many of the people who I think have come recently are looking for work in the garment factories. Even though I have only been here for two years, many are asking me about the garment shops. It's a good place to work. There are more jobs. But they are often late with the pay.
I live uptown off of the number one train. There are many Mexicans there, but there are others too. I live with two other Mexican men in an apartment we share. They both work in the garment industry as well.
--
"I have Koreans who work for me, they are usually the foremen. I like to only hire Koreans who can speak Spanish. The other foremen are usually Ecuadorian or Dominican. They can speak in Spanish to the workers. When I have to, I will speak Spanish as well, but I rely on them to do that kind of work."
I am very involved with everything that happens in my factory. I watch out for quality, I make sure everything is completed ahead of schedule. The workers have to be able to work together. And do what I need them to do. If a worker causes problems, I just replace them. I want everyone to always work. If a worker is finished, she should check her work. The foreman will be there soon to give her more work. I don't like it if she starts talking with everyone and bothering the other people working. I don't like it if she just sits there. She has to keep herself busy. You see the (video) monitors. They have really helped. I've had them for three months, and everyone is working much harder. The finisher will sweep or do some other tidying up when they are done. They don't stand around and talk anymore. I think this is better. Before, when there was more talking, my workers would sometimes argue or there would be other problems. Now that they can't do that as much, they have to mind their own business.
--
According to an Ecuadorian woman in her forties, "The owners really prefer to hire workers that are young and inexperienced. That way they can pay them only $3 an hour. The women from Mexico are young, and they look like they do not know what they are doing when they first come in. But as soon as they learn they can get paid more, because they see that they are much better and experienced, they leave or ask for more money. They get what they want. They are good workers. But they are very rough (unprofessional) in how they carry themselves." An Ecuadorian man commented, "The Koreans really like the Mexicans because they are very marginalized. They yell at them and they just take it. They always get paid very little and don't know what to do about it. I know to tell the Worker's Center, but hardly any Mexicans come there."
--
The Chinese have the notion that working for a white employer is highly desirable-if they were to change sectors, they would not work for Chinese or Koreans but for whites. They see working for whites as a move upward. These jobs require that employees speak English and have excellent sewing skills. Thus those who work outside their ethnic niche are not new immigrants and have acquired skills since coming to the United States. One woman explained her ambitions: "I want to work uptown for a white owner. I think I can learn English and get paid by the hour. I would have benefits and vacation. I think it's better than sewing in Chinatown. I know one person who is a sample maker, and she likes working uptown very much."
A Chinese worker told me: "I could work for a white person. I can sew pretty well. When you work for them, you don't have to work on Saturdays, and you'll get paid by the hour. But I can't find a job with them. I can't speak English. No, I don't know anyone that works for them, but others who do told me."
--
"I just got here and was looking for a job. I went to the factory, and the Korean man just said to me in Spanish, I'll give you $3 an hour to help bag the clothing. I took the job. I worked there for three months. Later on, other workers started telling me that they pay me too little. I'm supposed to get $4. I left after that and found another job."
At one time there were posters put up on the bulletin board—but the police took them all down. They were notices that advertised for jobs at this corner. Even after the posters were taken off, people still gathered here.
People do find work from the corner. Usually, it is the younger women who know how to sew with the Singer machines that get jobs. Once I saw a man come and take people's home numbers of people with documents. He wanted to pay everyone by check. I can't do that, I have no papers.
Right now, only five older women are looking for jobs. Most of those women with experience are younger and can work the Singer machines. Whenever I see a younger woman here, I tell them that they should learn the Singer machine. There is an academy right here on Eighth Avenue-on the third floor that you can go to learn. It costs $300 to learn the machine for three weeks.
--
Chinese workers just learning how to sew need to become skilled at operating a sewing machine-that is, to be able to run the sewing machine with a foot pedal while manipulating the cloth with their hands—and to be able to put the pieces of cloth together like a puzzle so that the pieces form an article of clothing.
--
In a garment shop you can always improve yourself and learn to make more.... You learn more at each shop, and when you change, you can show them how much you know, to make more.
Here I put in nine or ten hours a day and I don't make so much. I get paid piece rate and if the item is hard, I can spend all Saturday here and not make many pieces. This past Saturday, I didn't go in because I have too much to do at home. I didn't make enough money last week.
You've seen the dresses I make, they are difficult with fabric that is hard to handle. They sell these dresses from $100 apiece, while I only get between 90 cents to $1.30 per dress. On average I can only make thirty or so dresses a day. That's only about thirty-something a day. On average I make about $170 a week. Rarely do I make more than that.
--
A Chinese woman in her forties said, "I could piece together the dresses. That was easy. After a few times, I knew what all the pieces look like when they are flat and how the pieces can fit together to make a dress. That part is like playing. But the machine, it took me three weeks to work it properly, and I still sew it very slow. There are too many (mechanical) parts. And you have to learn to touch it right to get it to sew slow or fast or tight."
--
I've worked here for five years now, and I think this is a good job. I make enough money. My friends are here with me. A friend of mine brought me here in the beginning. And, I later brought a couple of friends here when there were openings. And they have brought at least one other person here. If I ask for higher (per garment) piece rates, it'll make the person who brought me here look like they were irresponsible. You wouldn't recommend anyone who would cause trouble. Then, the people who I brought in will feel bad. I would be called a troublemaker, and the people who came with me will be the troublemaker's friends.
--
then yee men [new immigrant]
--
"In the slow season, some owners will pay a minimum to the workers, but frequently after the slow season, if there is not enough work, the workers will still desert the owner to go off to another place. In Chinatown, the workers are relatively strong. They can determine if and when a garment contractor will survive."
--
One worker summed up her situation: "I have only been here for a year, and I already know the boss uses us to earn money. Everyone understands that. That's the way it is. It's much better here than at home (in China) [Oh coy, ho ge oh kee]. We don't make much money. At least we can work and work in a place where we can speak Chinese. Many of the younger women would not be able to work if they didn't have those hours."
--
One Ecuadorian woman said, "The owners are extremely nice. They have loaned me money when I needed it and tried to help me out when my family needed extra money. I had to send it home because my mother was sick in Ecuador. I slowly pay them back every week. I give them some money. I would gladly return the favors, but the chance has never arisen."
Said one, "Today the owner was yelling at me to work faster and faster, but I couldn't because if you do, you can make mistakes. And they don't pay you when you make mistakes. I left early yesterday because I didn't like him pushing me around. I didn't go back to work today. I don't plan to go back. I'll look for another job."
--
"I'm taking this English class because I want to get my citizenship. I heard that sometimes they make you read during your test. At home, my daughter practices the questions with me. Who is the president of the United States? What are the colors on the flag? How many stars? How many stripes? What does each star represent? What does each stripe represent? Who are the senators from New York? My sister has been asking me to get her here since I first got here. She really wants to come, and I'm the only 'thread' that can connect and tow her to the U.S."
QUOTES (SO MANY!):
The Chinese who owned garment factories on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the I9sos were ambitious. According to Bao (200I) and Kwong (1987), Chinese owned three or four shops in 1950. By the mid to late g.o. they owned about fifteen shops on the Lower East Side and in Chinatown. According to three informants who worked in these shops, the owners were American-born sons and daughters of Chinese parents who were shopkeepers or laundry owners. The parents provided the capital to invest in these garment shops, or the owners used their GI benefits to buy the shops. Kwong (1986) and Bao (2001) also mention the entrance of World War II veterans into the industry as garment shop proprietors.
--
I've been here three years and my husband has been here for five years. He was nineteen when I got pregnant. He was very drunk when it happened and he felt very responsible. He came to New York because he had to support us. He chose to come to New York because it was the capital of the world. And because it was the capital of the world, it couldn't be so bad.
He came in through Texas as an undocumented. He was very lucky. The border people told him that if he could find someone who would support him, then he could come through. He was lucky that he had an ex-brother in law in Connecticut who helped him out. He flew right to New York.
--
If you're working, you have to be working for the Chinese garment shops in Chinatown. Every block you can find a garment shop. You can't tell from here. You have to look up, see them through the windows. See the clothing.
--
I don't plan on learning English. If I need a few words, I will learn those. I'm too old to learn another language. My sister-in-law took me to find work in the garment shops. Her garment shop is very nice. In the beginning I would go everyday and not earn any money. I would just spend my time learning how to piece together garments, and just try to turn on the machine. My sister-in-law would show me how to sew the pieces and how to turn on the machine. The machine was so loud it scared me. Now I can sew but still very slow. I make a little money, enough to help buy food. I don't think I could have found another job.
--
I worked in the garment factory for seventeen years and have been in the U.S. for eighteen years. I came to the U.S. with my husband and two kids. When my kids were young, my youngest was five and my oldest was twelve when I started working. I have three kids, an older daughter and two younger sons. When I first got here, we lived in Chinatown and sent the kids to school. I would leave work early to pick them up and wouldn't come to work until I dropped them off at school. It worked fine. When my mother-in-law came, she took care of them. Back then it was easy to come from Hong Kong. I could never make that much money in Hong Kong. Here, I made enough to send my kids to school and to help buy a house.
--
but most of the time they just want you to work, and they want everyone to concentrate on working. They don't care if you are a woman.
--
Others, like this Ecuadorian woman in her twenties, described the gender rules established on the street corner: "I don't like standing on the corner. lt's embarrassing. In my country only the bad women stand on the corner. There are too many men there. Sometimes the strange men would bother me. And you never know. Right now I go there to meet with another woman-—a Singer operator, so we can go look for jobs together. It is a different woman each time. I don't like going into the buildings myself anymore. Going by myself is dangerous. Have you heard the rumor that a woman got beaten up and raped in one of the stairwells? I don't go by myself anymore."
A young Mexican woman, who was standing on the northwest side of 37th Street, in front of a taco cart on Eighth Avenue, described the hiring corner: "The women always stand on this side of the street to wait for jobs. The men stand over there. We each have our sides. It's better this way. They won't bother us. We come early in the morning sometimes as early as seven A.M. Before, we used to go look and knock on doors, but now the owners come here to find us."
--
An Ecuadorian man told me how he came to work in the garment indus-try:"I got my first job in the Dominican factory through my father's friend. She helped me find the job in the garment factory. I sewed in that factory. I had experience at home. My father is a tailor; my mother and I help out in his business. Then in my second job, a friend told me about the factory. They hire men Latino workers too. We work hard. It doesn't matter that we are men as long as we know how to sew. They like men doing the heavier sewing—we are faster than women when we work with the thick cloths. We are stronger."
--
The hiring preferences of both Korean and Chinese employers are economically and racially motivated. Typically, the owners prefer immigrants to Americans and skilled workers who do not speak English, mostly because Americans and immigrants who know English are more capable of standing up for their rights. Owners know that Chinese immigrants and undocumented Mexicans and Ecuadorians have limited options and limited ability to complain to authorities. Employers can take advantage of these workers. In general, the employers offer the minimum or just above the minimum wage and only the benefits that the state and federal law require. Immigrant workers accept this compensation with little protest. Race also influences whom the owners or employers hire. Their preference for non-English-speaking immigrants is related to their encounters with English-speaking African Americans and Puerto Ricans, whom the owners and employers perceive to be lazy and demanding.
--
These workers make this garment district run. In my shop 80 percent of them don't have papers. Most shops are like mine. Can you imagine, let's say 70 percent of the garments in this garment district are made by people who have no papers. They deserve more than just getting a bad name. They put in so much hard work. I have three problems here: the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service), the taxes, and the state labor department. I am always having problems with them. They never give us a break, but what are we supposed to do? If the manufacturers paid more, then we can pay more to our people, and they would be willing to have taxes withheld from their checks. As it is, we just can't. We have to give them cash to make sure they get paid enough.
--
When business was getting bad, I thought I would try a Korean shop uptown. I heard about them from a Korean neighbor of mine. I went by myself. I basically was fooling around in the elevator and joking when I said I was looking for a job. The elevator person told me to go over to this other building because there was a nice factory over there. And I went over there and tried out working for a Korean owner. I did not like it. There was no holiday pay, seven days a week work, no benefits, no over-time, and they would pay cash. You only get paid once every three or four weeks, but you get paid much more, about $10 an hour instead of the $5 to $6 I get now.
When I got there, they gave me something to do to test my work. They saw that I knew how to sew and they offered me $10 an hour. They were watching me the whole day. If I got up to change the thread color, a person would come over to tell me to sit down, and they would change the thread for me. I couldn't take a rest and I didn't like that.
I would discourage anyone from going there. It's much harder than I expected, and it's more stressful.
--
They really don't like the Chinese there—if you work fast, you get put on the harder jobs. And they pay you the same rate, so everybody makes no more than a certain amount. I'm only telling you this; nobody else knows I ever worked at a Korean factory. Only when you don't have any other place to go, then you try Korean shops. The Latino workers are respected there but not the Chinese. The foremen pay attention to what the Spanish workers ask. They don't try to understand me. They make the job harder for me. Only undocumented go there. Only when you think there are no other jobs. I tried because I heard that you can get paid more, and I don't need health insurance. I thought working uptown would be better.
--
A young Mexican woman told me, "I knew exactly where I was supposed to work before I came here. My mother sent letters telling me where I could go to get jobs before I came. I told my triends too. If you are going to New York, then you will find a job sewing." An older Ecuadorian woman said, "I can stand on the corner to wait for jobs, or I talk to everyone to find out about certain factories, but by afternoon I go and find the shops that were mentioned to me. I find out everything, usually at this corner."
--
Many of my friends I know through playing soccer. On weekends, I play uptown. Some work in the garment factory. If they don't, they work in restaurants. Many of the people who I think have come recently are looking for work in the garment factories. Even though I have only been here for two years, many are asking me about the garment shops. It's a good place to work. There are more jobs. But they are often late with the pay.
I live uptown off of the number one train. There are many Mexicans there, but there are others too. I live with two other Mexican men in an apartment we share. They both work in the garment industry as well.
--
"I have Koreans who work for me, they are usually the foremen. I like to only hire Koreans who can speak Spanish. The other foremen are usually Ecuadorian or Dominican. They can speak in Spanish to the workers. When I have to, I will speak Spanish as well, but I rely on them to do that kind of work."
I am very involved with everything that happens in my factory. I watch out for quality, I make sure everything is completed ahead of schedule. The workers have to be able to work together. And do what I need them to do. If a worker causes problems, I just replace them. I want everyone to always work. If a worker is finished, she should check her work. The foreman will be there soon to give her more work. I don't like it if she starts talking with everyone and bothering the other people working. I don't like it if she just sits there. She has to keep herself busy. You see the (video) monitors. They have really helped. I've had them for three months, and everyone is working much harder. The finisher will sweep or do some other tidying up when they are done. They don't stand around and talk anymore. I think this is better. Before, when there was more talking, my workers would sometimes argue or there would be other problems. Now that they can't do that as much, they have to mind their own business.
--
According to an Ecuadorian woman in her forties, "The owners really prefer to hire workers that are young and inexperienced. That way they can pay them only $3 an hour. The women from Mexico are young, and they look like they do not know what they are doing when they first come in. But as soon as they learn they can get paid more, because they see that they are much better and experienced, they leave or ask for more money. They get what they want. They are good workers. But they are very rough (unprofessional) in how they carry themselves." An Ecuadorian man commented, "The Koreans really like the Mexicans because they are very marginalized. They yell at them and they just take it. They always get paid very little and don't know what to do about it. I know to tell the Worker's Center, but hardly any Mexicans come there."
--
The Chinese have the notion that working for a white employer is highly desirable-if they were to change sectors, they would not work for Chinese or Koreans but for whites. They see working for whites as a move upward. These jobs require that employees speak English and have excellent sewing skills. Thus those who work outside their ethnic niche are not new immigrants and have acquired skills since coming to the United States. One woman explained her ambitions: "I want to work uptown for a white owner. I think I can learn English and get paid by the hour. I would have benefits and vacation. I think it's better than sewing in Chinatown. I know one person who is a sample maker, and she likes working uptown very much."
A Chinese worker told me: "I could work for a white person. I can sew pretty well. When you work for them, you don't have to work on Saturdays, and you'll get paid by the hour. But I can't find a job with them. I can't speak English. No, I don't know anyone that works for them, but others who do told me."
--
"I just got here and was looking for a job. I went to the factory, and the Korean man just said to me in Spanish, I'll give you $3 an hour to help bag the clothing. I took the job. I worked there for three months. Later on, other workers started telling me that they pay me too little. I'm supposed to get $4. I left after that and found another job."
At one time there were posters put up on the bulletin board—but the police took them all down. They were notices that advertised for jobs at this corner. Even after the posters were taken off, people still gathered here.
People do find work from the corner. Usually, it is the younger women who know how to sew with the Singer machines that get jobs. Once I saw a man come and take people's home numbers of people with documents. He wanted to pay everyone by check. I can't do that, I have no papers.
Right now, only five older women are looking for jobs. Most of those women with experience are younger and can work the Singer machines. Whenever I see a younger woman here, I tell them that they should learn the Singer machine. There is an academy right here on Eighth Avenue-on the third floor that you can go to learn. It costs $300 to learn the machine for three weeks.
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Chinese workers just learning how to sew need to become skilled at operating a sewing machine-that is, to be able to run the sewing machine with a foot pedal while manipulating the cloth with their hands—and to be able to put the pieces of cloth together like a puzzle so that the pieces form an article of clothing.
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In a garment shop you can always improve yourself and learn to make more.... You learn more at each shop, and when you change, you can show them how much you know, to make more.
Here I put in nine or ten hours a day and I don't make so much. I get paid piece rate and if the item is hard, I can spend all Saturday here and not make many pieces. This past Saturday, I didn't go in because I have too much to do at home. I didn't make enough money last week.
You've seen the dresses I make, they are difficult with fabric that is hard to handle. They sell these dresses from $100 apiece, while I only get between 90 cents to $1.30 per dress. On average I can only make thirty or so dresses a day. That's only about thirty-something a day. On average I make about $170 a week. Rarely do I make more than that.
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A Chinese woman in her forties said, "I could piece together the dresses. That was easy. After a few times, I knew what all the pieces look like when they are flat and how the pieces can fit together to make a dress. That part is like playing. But the machine, it took me three weeks to work it properly, and I still sew it very slow. There are too many (mechanical) parts. And you have to learn to touch it right to get it to sew slow or fast or tight."
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I've worked here for five years now, and I think this is a good job. I make enough money. My friends are here with me. A friend of mine brought me here in the beginning. And, I later brought a couple of friends here when there were openings. And they have brought at least one other person here. If I ask for higher (per garment) piece rates, it'll make the person who brought me here look like they were irresponsible. You wouldn't recommend anyone who would cause trouble. Then, the people who I brought in will feel bad. I would be called a troublemaker, and the people who came with me will be the troublemaker's friends.
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then yee men [new immigrant]
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"In the slow season, some owners will pay a minimum to the workers, but frequently after the slow season, if there is not enough work, the workers will still desert the owner to go off to another place. In Chinatown, the workers are relatively strong. They can determine if and when a garment contractor will survive."
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One worker summed up her situation: "I have only been here for a year, and I already know the boss uses us to earn money. Everyone understands that. That's the way it is. It's much better here than at home (in China) [Oh coy, ho ge oh kee]. We don't make much money. At least we can work and work in a place where we can speak Chinese. Many of the younger women would not be able to work if they didn't have those hours."
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One Ecuadorian woman said, "The owners are extremely nice. They have loaned me money when I needed it and tried to help me out when my family needed extra money. I had to send it home because my mother was sick in Ecuador. I slowly pay them back every week. I give them some money. I would gladly return the favors, but the chance has never arisen."
Said one, "Today the owner was yelling at me to work faster and faster, but I couldn't because if you do, you can make mistakes. And they don't pay you when you make mistakes. I left early yesterday because I didn't like him pushing me around. I didn't go back to work today. I don't plan to go back. I'll look for another job."
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"I'm taking this English class because I want to get my citizenship. I heard that sometimes they make you read during your test. At home, my daughter practices the questions with me. Who is the president of the United States? What are the colors on the flag? How many stars? How many stripes? What does each star represent? What does each stripe represent? Who are the senators from New York? My sister has been asking me to get her here since I first got here. She really wants to come, and I'm the only 'thread' that can connect and tow her to the U.S."
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