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The Irvine Company LOVES its Cheap Santa Ana Mexicans!
Wednesday, Jan. 7 2009 @ 4:28AM
By Gustavo Arellano in Notes from the Banana Republic
Nothing made for funnier reading this holiday season than an article in CityLine, a newspaper put out by what was once known as the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce but now calls itself the Greater Santa Ana Business Alliance so they can justify holding mixers outside of their beloved city. Under the headline "HR Director Praises Santa Ana Workforce," it turns out the Irvine Co. has, as usual, swooped into SanTana and signed up a bunch of cheap, expendable, non-union immigrant Mexicans to work at their newly refurbished Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach."We were focused on Santa Ana because in the service industry, you look for people who want to be in the service sector," said one Arte Nathan, whom CityLine identifies as vice-president of human resources for Irvine Company Resort Properties. "Santa Ana has a large segment of its population that's in the workforce, and a big percentage of them are in the service sector. So we thought it was an obvious focus for us."
"You look for people who want to be in the service sector"--in other words, you look for the cheapest labor, and what better place to strip mine than the most-Mexican city in America? Will Irvine Co. head Don Bren spring to subsidize transportation for his SanTana workers as they've requested, instead of making them take a maze of OCTA routes? Benefits? What happens when SEIU gets involved? More importantly: why give jobs to people in SanTana where you have a workforce of teens in Newport Beach and the surrounding wealthy cities needing some job experience? So many questions, too much hilarity...
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Rob says:
Gustavo, gimme a freakin' break! Do you have a clue how idiotic and pandering you sound? What kind of work EXACTLY do you think should be offered to the tens of thousands of uneducated, limited or non-English speaking and low-skill laborers who make up a large portion of Santa Ana's workforce? Before you get on your high horse, try to deal with the reality as described in US Census figures, and the sad truth that tens of thousands avoided the Census altogether. Certainly, in a city as large as Santa Ana, there are thousands of educated, skilled workers, but they wouldn't be accepting jobs at Pelican Hill. Bottom line, the Irvine Company is offering employment. Stop being an ass and try thanking them. Stop pretending that Santa Ana's workforce is not full of uneducated, limited or non-English speaking and low-skill laborers - that's just a fact. They work hard, and need jobs. The Irvine Company is employing some of them, and hopefully the Irvine Company is successful at keeping the bloodsucking parasites that are the SEIU away from these workers. Benefits and transportation? Get real, have you been paying attention to real news lately? You REALLY want to help people? Start looking at the dominant employers of minorities and the poor in Orange County and stop picking on the Irvine Company because they are located in Newport.
Posted on Wednesday, Jan. 7 2009 @ 2:40PM
Gustavo Arellano says:
Don Bren, is that you??? The only panderers I see here is the Irvine Co., but go ahead and think otherwise!
Posted on Wednesday, Jan. 7 2009 @ 2:43PM
Mike Hawk says:
Job experience? For Newport teens? An oxymoron!
Posted on Wednesday, Jan. 7 2009 @ 3:20PM
Stanley Fiala says:
Gustavo, I have not read the above article but Art Pedroza from OJ did and he likes it so it must suck.
Posted on Thursday, Jan. 8 2009 @ 9:14AM
Rob says:
Wow, Gustavo - way to COMPLETELY avoid the point! Looks like accuracy, relevance and actual concern for the poor and minorities are not your strong suits. I guess all those Santa Ana residents stuck in crap jobs IN SANTA ANA (you know, O Brave Defender, the ones employed by the myriad employers offering no benefits, no workers comp, no over time, inadequate or non-existent meal breaks, dangerous working conditions, etc.) that you so valiantly defend (oh wait, you DON'T defend them, you just tilt at the Irvin Company windmill!) are much better off than those working at Pelican Hill!
Weak, very weak. Pathetic, in fact.
Posted on Thursday, Jan. 8 2009 @ 4:17PM
Mike Tardif says:
Gustavo - You could not be further off-base in your comments regarding the SA Chamber’s commitment to advancement of Santa Ana’s Hispanic workforce.
Try these on for size:
High School Inc. - 6 learning academies at Valley High School which is nearly 100% Hispanic. Including - Automotive, Engineering/Construction, Global Business, Healthcare, Manufacturing and New Media. http://santaanachamber.com/HighSchoolInc/index.aspx
English Works Program:
Launched in 2006 by the Greater Santa Ana Business Alliance, the English Works community outreach campaign has a goal to bring English language skills to 50,000 local workers and their families by the year 2012.
The Chamber supports Workforce Housing and much, much more to support and encourage the growth and enrichment of Santa Ana’s Hispanic community.
Also worth mention is the Jan. 21st mixer with the OC Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
You should become involved with the Greater Santa Ana Business Alliance and work toward positive solutions for Santa Ana’s Hispanic community
Posted on Friday, Jan. 9 2009 @ 6:01AM
Rob says:
Rob: You are not only idiotic, but ahistorical. Who gives a shit that the Irvine Co. is in Newport? Certainly not me. But ol' Bren is making billions off the backs of cheap labor, and his lieutenant is bragging about it! If that doesn't offend you, then you truly are wearing Sunkist glasses.
Mike: Where did I criticize the Greater Santa Ana Business Alliance other than their name change and constant holding of events outside SanTana?
Posted on Friday, Jan. 9 2009 @ 11:15AM