Point Reyes Light - October 17, 2002

West Marin economy depends on Latinos

By Andrea Blum

A not-always-recognized reason for the importance of Latinos in West Marin’s economy became apparent this week when The Light conducted a spot check of employment here.

Beginning in the 1970s, the number of Latino immigrants and their children has grown steadily in West Marin and now totals 10 percent of this region’s 11,000 residents, the 2000 census reported.

At the same time, homes that had provided year-round rentals for many West Marin workers were sold to out-of-towners for weekend housing, and the number of year-round residents in coastal towns barely held steady between 1990 and 2000 and sometimes fell dramatically – in Inverness by 25 percent, the census found.

As working-class residents have been forced out of West Marin, numerous businesses have reported having problems maintaining full staffs. In many cases, vacant positions have been filled by Latinos who live with other family members that live and work on ranches or who are willing to commute here from Southern Sonoma County and East Marin.

Not only did merchants this week unanimously praise their Latino workers as reliable, they revealed a less-obvious reason for why Latinos are providing much of the coast’s workforce: many of them are working more than one job.

Coast Café manager Dave Cook said that he has trouble finding experienced workers when the pool is so limited. "They[experienced workers] are almost nil to come by," he said; however, despite the limited supply of labor, he tends to find workers in the Latino community.

"It’s working out wonderfully," Cook said. "We have a bilingual kitchen, and I even speak Spanish better." The Coast Café, said Cook, has always allocated part of its income to finance language classes for its employees. "If they are legal, even if they don’t speak English, we would make it work," the manager said.

Latinos hard-working

Cook said that many non-Latinos "want to work half as much for twice as much money [while in contrast] the immigrants have two or three jobs on top of the job they have here."

For West Marin businesses, "the immigrant work force is God-sent," Cook added. "They make it happen out here. There’s no difference [in pay scale] between local and immigrant; it has to do with performance."

Tomales Bay State Park ranger Carlos Porrata on Wednesday said he wasn’t surprised The Light’s poll found immigrants working more than one job. "That shows you that they are in low paying jobs," he said and added, "Culturally, it’s been known that Latinos are hard working... "Twenty years ago, they were the backbone of the milk industry. They are sought after, and it’s not just the ranches. It’s all business out here." He cited the success of the employees of Toby’s Feed Barn. "They are great workers with a great employer," he said.

Immigrants prospering

Porrata has seen many changes during the last 10 years in West Marin. Latinos are making inroads in agencies such as the Park Service and are starting their own businesses.

In general Latinos work hard, Porrata explained, because they come from a country where one works hard. Some work for themselves and others work and send money back to their families in Mexico. The older generation might dream of building a house in Mexico while their children grow up here, become acculturated, and don’t want to leave.

As a whole, immigrant families pull together as a unit to make success happen, said his wife Rebecca Porrata, a public health nurse. She doesn’t think it’s unusual for Latinos to have more than one employer. "It’s hard out here," she said. "People are finding it really difficult. Many people are working several jobs."

Knowing English vital

At the same time, the Porratas stressed the importance of Latinos learning English and receiving a good education. "Education is freedom," said the husband.

Inverness Store owner Al Irish said that throughout his 28 years as a grocer in West Marin, his store has always been looking for additional workers. He told The Light he "would like nothing better to have 90 percent of the workforce stay...like the old days."

Irish said that "before the [Point Reyes National Seashore] was here, we had 26 ranches. Now we have six, and there’s not as many kids or people out here to do the work."

The store owner said that even higher wages won’t bring more workers in force out to West Marin’s remote coastal towns. Low-income housing is scarce, and the workforce from local ranches isn’t enough, he said.

Irish agreed that although Latinos often face language barriers, many of them work two or three jobs and don’t have time to take language classes. After a brief pause, he added, "Thank God for [the Latinos]. Businesses out here would have a hard time otherwise."

Jobs need not be glamorous

Kim Harvell, who with her Latino husband Rob owns Café Reyes, said that although the pool of workers is small, that although restaurant work is hardly glamorous and requires long hours, and although local housing is almost impossible to find, Latinos are willing to work in West Marin and are vital to its economy.

Harvell attributes Latino workers’ dedication and commitment to their jobs as part of their work ethic. "It’s an old-fashioned element," he said, "a family element that encourages hard work and having a goal – to save and really work towards something."

Shortage of housing

Some West Marin businesses, however, are uniquely fortunate in keeping fully staffed. Lawson’s Landing in Dillon Beach, for example, supplies workers with low-income housing. As a result, the campground and marina have almost no turnover. In fact, it has had employees for 30 years.

Contrasting the longtime existence of low-income housing at Lawson’s to the slow development of low-income housing elsewhere in West Marin, campground owner Nancy Vogler said, "The county is playing tag along."

In comparison, Sara Davis, manager of the Woodacre Market, told The Light that employee turnover at the store is high. Local kids start at minimum wage and move up as they get more experienced, but they go back to school and don’t have any commitment to keep working, she explained. "We have a help-wanted sign in the window right now."

The market has 16 employees with half fulltime and half parttime. Davis too noted that her most reliable employees are Latinos. The three [Latino] employees have been here the longest," she said.

Employment situation better

Station House Café owner Pat Healy said the lack of workers "is not as bad as it used to be." Since the national recession began, more people are looking for work, she noted.

In the last couple of years, "we could run a [help-wanted] ad for four months, and no one would even call. Now we run an ad and get a good response." Healy said she has Latino employees that come from as far away as Rohnert Park, Petaluma and Fairfax.

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