Springfield, Ohio (non-political)

[Bootstrap]

Perhaps a good place to start is to show love and respect to one’s neighbours and not discriminate based on national origin and race in hiring decisions.

I'm not sure where that is coming from.

In the quote that follows, that's what the employer seems to be doing. 90% of his employees are not Haitian, 10% of his employees are. He has been impressed with the quality of the Haitians he has hired -- “Our Haitian associates come to work every day. They don’t have a drug problem. They’ll stay at their machine. They’ll achieve their numbers. They are here to work. And so in general, that’s a stark difference from what we’re used to in our community.”

If this employer chooses not to discriminate based on national origin and race, it sounds like he will be very open to hiring Haitians. He has had a hard time finding reliable workers lately. He has had good experiences with Haitians.

At least one employer wishes he had double the number of Haitian employees due to their level of responsibility.
https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/i ... ield-ohio/

For others, the immigrants have felt like a lifeline.

“We want more jobs in our community, and in order to fill those jobs, some jobs need to be people who are not originally from here,” Jaime McGregor, who owns the manufacturing factory McGregor Metals in Springfield, told PBS.

McGregor told the outlet that about 10% of his workforce, about 30 employees, is Haitian.

“I wish I had 30 more,” he said. “Our Haitian associates come to work every day. They don’t have a drug problem. They’ll stay at their machine. They’ll achieve their numbers. They are here to work. And so in general, that’s a stark difference from what we’re used to in our community.”

If he hires 30 more, his workforce would then be 18% Haitian. Is that a problem? If so, why?

With 20,000 Haitians moving in, I imagine he can find 30 more to hire. However, I think it’s questionable to decide to only hire people of a specific race and nationality.

He did not say he would hire only people of a specific race and nationality. He did strongly imply that he wants employees who come to work every day, don’t have a drug problem, will stay at their machine and achieve their numbers, and are here to work. And that he has had a hard time finding such workers.

[Ernie]

Perhaps a good place to start is to show love and respect to one’s neighbours and not discriminate based on national origin and race in hiring decisions.

One of the saddest things I read is local people who have tried to get jobs at the businesses but are turned away by staffing agencies who reportedly are only interested in allowing migrants to get these jobs. Another way to minister in the community is to show fairness to people of all races, backgrounds, and nationalities.

With 20,000 Haitians moving in, I imagine he can find 30 more to hire. However, I think it’s questionable to decide to only hire people of a specific race and nationality.

I agree.
Employers are looking for responsible workers. I think the employer referenced in the quote above is glad to hire responsible workers of any race.

As I stated above, people who are not migrants (and are not sponsored by nonprofits) are rejected by the staffing agencies and recruiters, so no, they are not willing to hire people of any background. One of the ways they do so is by telling applicants they aren’t hiring people who only speak English. That means local people aren’t eligible for any of these jobs.

What makes you sure that the employer cited above is not willing to hire people of any background? (Don't shift topic to include recruiters and staffing agencies. I was not talking about them. This happens all the time in politics. People will hear a story and then stereotype everyone according to that story.)

New topic:
What percentage of staffing agencies and recruiters in Springfield are doing what you explain above?

[Ken]

I agree.
Employers are looking for responsible workers. I think the employer referenced in the quote above is glad to hire responsible workers of any race.

As I stated above, people who are not migrants (and are not sponsored by nonprofits) are rejected by the staffing agencies and recruiters, so no, they are not willing to hire people of any background. One of the ways they do so is by telling applicants they aren’t hiring people who only speak English. That means local people aren’t eligible for any of these jobs.

What makes you sure that the employer cited above is not willing to hire people of any background? (Don't shift topic to include recruiters and staffing agencies. I was not talking about them. This happens all the time in politics. People will hear a story and then stereotype everyone according to that story.)

New topic:
What percentage of staffing agencies and recruiters in Springfield are doing what you explain above?

Despite Josh's assertions the contrary, there doesn't actually appear to be ANY non-profits who are sponsoring and relocating Haitians to Springfield. There is no mention of any such thing in any of the news coverage.

What there are is local non-profits like St. Vincent De Paul who help immigrants when they do arrive through things like food banks and and other assistance. Same as in every other community in the US. But they are not sponsoring Haitians to come to Springfield, nor are they paying rent to resettle Haitians there.

It seems like is it simply the very normal situation of legal immigrants through word of mouth moving to where there are jobs and opportunity. Which is literally one of the oldest stories in American history and how every single one of our ancestors arrived here from the Palatinate, Ukraine, or anywhere else.

[QuietlyListening]

As I read both the non political and political aspects of this subject about the Haitian immigrants- many of the responses are - in my opinion- quite sad. We can argue all day about what is happening and how it affects a community economically etc. But as believers maybe we should begin to look at the people in Springfield, Ohio and every other place where we are seeing more and more immigrants as the mission field coming to us.

As believers, we can reach out in love to help them learn this language, show them the love of Christ and help in any way the Lord shows us as we pray.

Our area has a huge immigrant population and our ESL programs are exploding and we are seeing more churches starting programs. This is where we can be praying for all involved, those who are teaching and helping can show love and develop relationships as another way to show love and point them to Christ.

But all I see on these threads is the world and politics and how these people . . . . . . . . . fill in the blanks.

God is giving us opportunities to reach out- we can't change why, how etc they are coming but we can reach out.

Just my opinion.

[Ernie]

As I read both the non political and political aspects of this subject about the Haitian immigrants- many of the responses are - in my opinion- quite sad. We can argue all day about what is happening and how it affects a community economically etc. But as believers maybe we should begin to look at the people in Springfield, Ohio and every other place where we are seeing more and more immigrants as the mission field coming to us.

As believers, we can reach out in love to help them learn this language, show them the love of Christ and help in any way the Lord shows us as we pray.

Our area has a huge immigrant population and our ESL programs are exploding and we are seeing more churches starting programs. This is where we can be praying for all involved, those who are teaching and helping can show love and develop relationships as another way to show love and point them to Christ.

But all I see on these threads is the world and politics and how these people . . . . . . . . . fill in the blanks.

God is giving us opportunities to reach out- we can't change why, how etc they are coming but we can reach out.

Just my opinion.

I think it is a really good opinion.
Just like during Covid, very few people could see the opportunities.
Most people, right and left, could only focus on what they didn't like about the right or left, and missed some of the best opportunities of a decade or so.

[barnhart]

As I read both the non political and political aspects of this subject about the Haitian immigrants- many of the responses are - in my opinion- quite sad. We can argue all day about what is happening and how it affects a community economically etc. But as believers maybe we should begin to look at the people in Springfield, Ohio and every other place where we are seeing more and more immigrants as the mission field coming to us.

As believers, we can reach out in love to help them learn this language, show them the love of Christ and help in any way the Lord shows us as we pray.

Our area has a huge immigrant population and our ESL programs are exploding and we are seeing more churches starting programs. This is where we can be praying for all involved, those who are teaching and helping can show love and develop relationships as another way to show love and point them to Christ.

But all I see on these threads is the world and politics and how these people . . . . . . . . . fill in the blanks.

God is giving us opportunities to reach out- we can't change why, how etc they are coming but we can reach out.

Just my opinion.

I think it is a really good opinion.
Just like during Covid, very few people could see the opportunities.
Most people, right and left, could only focus on what they didn't like about the right or left, and missed some of the best opportunities of a decade or so.

Well said. During COVID we distributed food packages and learned to know neighbors we wouldn't have met any other way. At the same time our sister church in Queens has younger, more visionary leaders and they did much more and they have seen more church growth as a result. Looking back, I regret not doing more.

Churches who look at the resources around them and see scarcity have nothing to give. Literally. Not just food packages but good news of Jesus as well.