New wave of race discrimination cases pit blacks against hispanics

There is a new wave of race discrimination cases coming from US workplaces. Some African Americans are now beginning to feel that they are being passed over for jobs in favor of Hispanics. This is a shift from times past, when blacks would seek legal action only against employers who demonstrated preferential treatment towards whites.

This new wave of race discrimination cases confirms what many experts see as a growing tension between Hispanics and Blacks as they compete for blue collar job opportunities. This tension has been exacerbated by the increasing number of Hispanics that choose to move into mainly Black communities in cities like Los Angeles and New York.

Part of the reason for the increase in cases is because many employers continue to hold strong stereotypes about the pros and cons of hiring a Black or Hispanic worker. Some employers perceive that recent immigrant Hispanics work harder than Black workers, and others feel that it is easier to exploit recent immigrant Hispanics because they do understand their rights as an employee while Blacks are well aware of their rights.

In some cases, employers may actually not be guilty of discrimination, but may be victims of circumstance. Employees and employers from all races, genders, ethnicities and sexual orientation use networks within their own diversity groups to find employment and employees. Hispanics in particular are known for bringing in workers from their families and neighborhoods to join them on a job. In any industry, employers enjoy it when they can find reliable workers through their current employees rather than going through the extra expenditures associated with searching for one themselves.

The competition between Blacks and Hispanics for blue collar jobs has been alive and well in places like California and New York, but as more Hispanics immigrate to more southeastern cities like Atlanta, New Orleans, and Raleigh, the competition is likely to intensify in these predominantly Black cities as well.

The question of whether certain US employers are favoring Hispanic over Black employees remains to be answered, but one thing is certain. As more Latinos immigrate to the United States, competition for blue collar jobs among workers of all races is likely to intensify.