I never thought I was racist but...

amother

Tue, May 15 2012, 11:09 am

I am the amother from a few weeks ago whose husband wanted me to have more cleaning help. I think I finally have someone good and her schedule works with mine. Something about her though, is making me uneasy. I'm not sure why, but somehow, I think it has to do with the fact that she's a regular american woman who works in a department store during the day part-time, and is taking this on for extra income. In my experience, my cleaning ladies have always been immigrants who need to clean, because its the only job they can find with their limited language. Maybe my hesitation comes from my
wondering why in the world she'd take a job like this if her english is so good and she's legal. (I'm not paying her cash). Or am I just racist????

amother

Tue, May 15 2012, 11:31 am

I don't think you're racist. (And I'm very sensitive to those issues.) I think your concern comes from your experience that people who are willing to work as cleaning ladies are typically not qualified to work at a better job.
So while we accept that a non-citizen can still be of good character but simply cannot get a better job due to disadvantages as far as legal status and language is concerned, it's harder to understand why an American citizen couldn't do better for herself.
But the reality is that we don't know whether any U.S. citizen was raised just as disadvantaged as a non-citizen. (Do you even know that she's a citizen? If she was brought here illegally by her family at a young age, she would have the same legal barrier as any recent immigrant who entered illegally.) Citizenship notwithstanding, she could have been raised in poverty, could have not had proper educational training...who knows? Or maybe she is just another victim of our poor economy who needs to pay her rent and doesn't feel too high and mighty to sweep a floor.
Use your judgment when you meet her.

Raisin

Tue, May 15 2012, 11:33 am

is that the only thing that bothers you?

Its wonderful having an english speaker, she will be much more effective.

My only issue with more "middle class" cleaners is that they often take vacation, so you might want backup if she goes away erev pesach. But intelligence and good english skills make this worth it.

Fox

Tue, May 15 2012, 11:50 am

amother wrote:

I think your concern comes from your experience that people who are willing to work as cleaning ladies are typically not qualified to work at a better job. So while we accept that a non-citizen can still be of good character but simply cannot get a better job due to disadvantages as far as legal status and language is concerned, it's harder to understand why an American citizen couldn't do better for herself.

This is an excellent analysis, IMHO. And I think it's a situation that more and more of us will be facing in one way or another. While it's unlikely that many people will give up their jobs as Fortune 500 CEOs to mop floors, a lot of our existing ideas about "good" jobs are being turned upside down.

I have two second cousins, brothers. One is an attorney; the other is a dog trainer. While the attorney definitely has a higher salary, he had a very difficult time finding a job; he was let go by his first firm when they downsized; he has huge student loans to pay off; he has to work 60+ hours a week, etc. The dog trainer has built a modest but steady income and has so little debt that he paid off his mortgage early! While he does work on Sundays and many evenings, he logs far fewer hours than his brother. Even from a strictly financial basis, I'm not convinced the attorney will come out ahead!

So if someone enjoys cleaning (or at least doesn't hate it!) and wants to pick up some extra money -- good for her! She sounds to me like a smart cookie!

ora_43

Tue, May 15 2012, 12:02 pm

Cleaning isn't viewed as a "bad" job everywhere. Where I'm from in the states most people who work in cleaning are English speakers born in America. I worked in cleaning for a while (while on break from university) and nobody seemed to think it was at all odd. Nobody with the exception of one woman from NYC, that is.

black sheep

Tue, May 15 2012, 12:11 pm

you got a lot of very good responses regarding an american working in cleaning. however, you also said that something is making you uneasy about her. I also doubt it's the fact that she is English speaking and has another job. so after you rule that out, keep your eyes open and trust your instinct.

and just as a side note, I never feel completely comfortable when I have a cleaning lady in the house. there was one cleaning lady who I had for over four years, and I completely trusted her and would even pay her and leave while she is still there, trusting her to lock up, but yet I never felt comfortable having her cleaning while I'm there. and I'm always very uneasy when trying someone new. so it could be you also just don't like having someone in the house, cleaning your stuff.

Tue, May 15 2012, 12:24 pm

I understand. The race/class distinctions where I live are pretty stark as well.

I'm glad to hear you found someone good to work in your home. It could be she is simply underemployed in a grim economy, or is from a lower socio-economic or educational background and has fewer options than you realize.

When I was in high school and college I cleaned houses for pocket money. It was a normal thing for middle class kids to do, along with working in foodservice or childcare or as a cashier - things our parents would be embarrassed to do in public, and would never expect us to do professionally as adults, but were encouraged for kids to develop work habits and for extra earnings.

The pay was actually about the same per hour as my first "real" job after college, with far better working conditions.

If you need to make money and are able to look outside the expectations of your class or background, why not, really? Dog walking and babysitting have become well-respected entrepreneurial careers, unthinkable in my world a generation ago. House cleaning may well be next!

mommyhood

Tue, May 15 2012, 2:32 pm

Raisin wrote:

This would be my only concern as well. My parents had a middle class cleaning woman for years. She was not yet legal so she couldn't really get a better job but she wasn't desperate for the money the way many people who clean homes are becasue her (legal) husband had a decent job, so she readily took off anytime her kid was off from school...

eschaya

Tue, May 15 2012, 6:23 pm

I remember when I was in HS our class once had a swimming party at a friend's house. We wanted something (a drink?) and went into her kitchen, where the cleaning lady was working. Jumping to obvious conclusions, we tried asking for what we wanted in halting, simple English with lots of hand motions. She waits for us to finish, and then said, "You can speak normally you know. I'm a native American." Turns out she was a college student who would clean homes on the side to pay her way through school; an amazing - and rare - model of honesty and good work ethic. Boy were we mortified, and it sure taught us a lesson. And she was good at cleaning too!

causemommysaid

Tue, May 15 2012, 9:01 pm

eschaya wrote:

thats a really funny story.

lol

chocolate chips

Tue, May 15 2012, 9:17 pm

My mother had a local english lady who cleaned our house for 13years.

The shul in our neighborhood has english workers too.

Some people do work because they need the money who cares where she is from. You are lucky you found one that actually speaks english...I wish I could have one like that!