Photo: Ben on bass, his son Benjy on maraca eggs and Adrian Vargas on guitar.
By Ben CadenaI wrote this about a couple of young Chicanas working at local retail grocery stores. I am an old brown trout who played with Flor del Pueblo that warm summer day, August 29,1970 at the Chicano Moratorium. I played the guittarron as we played Pancho Villa and the Police started a riot with the tear gas and clubs. What a welcome, pero asi va. Now I'm back at SJSU after dropping out 43 years ago to join Teatro Campesino.
The Young WomenThey take care of other peoples’ kids to make ends meet. They work in retail at creameries and as cashiers in grocery stores that pay minimum wages. They are thankful to have the work, many are turned away and some are let go for being too slow.
This is the fate of those who don’t have legal status in this country, but it is their own countrymen that hire them at minimum wage without checking too closely the legality of their documents. These young women complain that they pay taxes also but get no refund.
According to a couple of young retail workers in local supermarkets, they like the work. Joanie stated “I can pay my college tuition and help my mom with the bills.” She said the flexible hours allowed her to go to classes and she is in the cashier position, which is highly sought after.
Juana the other worker likes the staff but said “I need more hours than the six hours they are giving me daily.” This is done to not pay benefits. She also stated that sometimes “I have to throw away my lunch because there is not enough time to eat.
This is the way of today’s female workers. Take what you can get and be grateful because there is always someone else to take your place. Some people say it doesn’t matter anyway, they are all illegal, but we all benefit from their labor, the working upper-class mothers who can afford child care, those men that don’t like to mow their lawns; we all benefit.
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