A Class of Worker Wearing Green
Hispanic Labor, Social Capital & Corporate Capital Accumulation
Most of us are excited about saving the planet. In the process of doing this, we associate "green" as good: in the products we buy, houses we build, and lifestyles in general. However, few of us have understood what "green work" means in the context of our wider culture. Does this conception or categorization of work have significance in the relationship between corporations and labor in American culture? Hispanics as a new source of labor for corporate capital accumulation have taken much of the work load off the backs of many "blue collar" workers. The real meaning of this transformation lies between politics and labor. Being "green" may in fact be more than an environmentally friendly categorization of labor. It may be a conduit for corporate attempts at reorganizing labor for the purpose of capital accumulation.
Work, Social Capital & the Differentiation of Labor Classes
Work contains inherent informal practices. For example, accumulating wealth, management attitudes toward labor, personal preferences and workplace cliques play an enormous role in the outcomes of laborers and managers. Assets (pay, bonuses, etc.) acquired during employment tend to cloak important impediments which lead to differentiation between the "haves’"and "have-nots" in our society.
It is Social capital (Bourdieu, 1977) which is the tipping point for how well an employee fits in and thus how s/he profits within both the management/labor relationship and our culture. Material assets can accumulate and provide a context of what is believed to be satisfaction in one’s job and contentment within a business. Yet, cultural capital (education, clique relationships, etc.) is extremely important in the workplace. In this context, corporation’s never-ending drive toward material profit reaches a wall by which new categories of labor are required to sustain the current levels of operation. It is here where particular classes of workers are chosen for particular types of labor. As the structural constraints within our culture surface, business is faced with the choice of looking for new sources of labor (i.e. as we age, older Americans are less desirable in the eyes of management or wages are too high).
Changing Economic & Workplace Landscapes
If any of us can be "green," who is actually doing the "green" work? One quickly notices that it is blue-collar workers doing the green work.
The U.S. economy has changed dramatically in the last couple of decades. For instance (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000, 1990), between 1990 and 2000, Hispanics were the largest growing group of Americans. In 1990, they represented 9.0% of the population. In 2000 this proportion climbed to 12.5% and is continuing to increase. The increase in Hispanic populations correlates with migration patterns between 1995 and 2000 indicating that migration within the U.S. is heavily concentrated in three regions: the West, South, and Southeast. This information on Hispanics is a reflection of the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000, 1990), i.e. Hispanics are an important force in the U.S. labor market.
According to Kochhar (2004), Hispanic labor in the U.S. is concentrated in the construction industry and is the connection between Senators Clinton and Edwards’ "green-collar" conception. These politicians or more correctly the teams of advisors around them understand the dynamic between Hispanic laborer-voters and "green" culture. Construction and many other industries benefit from the connection being offered between ‘green’ and cheap labor. This connection is specific to the environmental regulations these industries are constrained by.
This article is a starting point for discussions about the understanding of how this category of worker relates to our wider culture. Emotionally, in our culture while being "green" is good, being "blue" is less desirable. However, anyone can "be green," but not everyone desires to be “blue.” Thus, the political meaning behind being "green" is simple – it attracts corporations and laborers around a concept of economic expansion through guilt-free political-correctness whereupon the politician sits atop a moral high ground. All the while, management continues to accumulate profit via regulation of their labor supply, regardless of which color of collar a worker wears.
References
Bourdieu, P. (1977) Outline of a Theory of Practice. Translated by Richard Nice: Cambridge, Cambridge University Press
Kochhar, Rakesh. (2004). PEW Hispanic Center. Latino Labor Report, 2004: More Jobs for New Immigrants but at Lower Wages.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2000). Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000. Table DP-1.
U.S. Census Bureau. (1990). Profile of General Demographic Characteristics for the United States: 1990. Table DP-1.
Wilkins, J. D. (2008). Suite101.com article. The 'Green-Collar Worker: Wealth and Political Motivation?
'Green' Labor
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