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Working hard for a better life
Wakefield Corp. owner says 'they want it more'

By BILL BREWER, brewerb@knews.com
November 20, 2005


The fact that more than 40 percent of The Wakefield Corp.'s work force is Hispanic doesn't surprise owner Jim Wakefield.
The fact that it's easier to find employable workers from Mexico and other Latin American countries than from his own community does.

Wakefield is adjusting to the shallow pool of Knoxville area laborers available to staff his construction services company. While the lack of workers still puzzles him, he now depends on his Hispanic teams of metal stud fabricators and dry wall hangers to keep his business going.

The Wakefield Corp.'s diverse payroll is reflective of East Tennessee business these days. A growing number of area companies are relying on Hispanic labor, which is seen in Census data that shows Hispanics surpassing blacks as the largest U.S. minority population.

From 1990-2000, the Hispanic population of every Southeastern state except Louisiana more than doubled, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

And, according to the Tennessee Department of Health, Hispanics represent 2.2 percent of the statewide population and 3.9 percent of Knox County's population.

Wakefield's work force reflects those trends - 37 of 101 hourly employees are Hispanic, and another 77 temporary workers are Hispanic.

Asked if the influx of Hispanic laborers into East Tennessee helps or hurts, Wakefield said his business is "tremendously helped."

"No. 1, it's the desire of the Hispanic worker to learn and advance himself, and No. 2, it's their loyalty if they're treated like everybody else," he said.

"I can take a new Hispanic who wants to come in here and learn and take half the time to train him than it would for an Anglo because of the desire to learn. That's on the average. It's not 100 percent of the time. On the average, they want it more," he added.

Citing a disturbing trend, Wakefield laments the high number of local job applicants who are dismissed because they can't pass a drug test or are unwilling to do the required work.

Faced with having a high employee turnover rate and struggling to complete jobs or relying on workers who have just entered the community, probably don't speak English and have low or no skills, Wakefield gladly accepts the latter.

"I would be hurting to fill manpower slots. I would not be able to deliver the service and the quality if I didn't have them. We're a drug-free workplace. That's an issue," Wakefield said. "It's about reliability, willingness to learn and working in a drug-free workplace."


A changing work force
The Hispanic population explosion in the United States is affecting many Knoxville-area workplaces.

Luis Velazquez, who directs the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of East Tennessee, said landscapers, hotels and construction companies are major employers of Hispanic workers but aren't the only ones.

"It's unbelievable the amount of Hispanic workers in construction," Velazquez said. "It's clear that Hispanics are starting to play a major role in industry."

He cites other professions in which they're having an impact, from small businesses like restaurants and groceries to research and development in Oak Ridge.

Loida Velazquez, who is with the HoLa cultural organization and is married to Luis Velazquez, said the area was initially getting agricultural migrant workers, mostly single men, who were migrating between Florida and the Carolinas.

"Now we are getting young families coming directly from Mexico and Central America, especially Guatemala. They are willing to do almost anything, but construction is becoming the biggest attraction. Both Anglo- and Latino-owned construction companies are dominated by Latino workers," Loida Velazquez said.

She said she has observed a third wave of Latino immigrants that are moving this way because they know about the second wave, composed of people who mostly speak only Spanish, and know there are white-collar jobs calling for bilingual skills.

Kern's Bakery had one Hispanic employee in 2002. Hispanics now make up about 10 percent of the longtime Knoxville company's work force of 110.

Kern's saw a dramatic increase in Hispanic workers in 2003-2004, according to Jason Childs, human resource generalist for the Sara Lee-owned bakery that makes hamburger and hotdog buns and brown-and-serve rolls.

Childs said he believes a key reason for the increase is communication within the Hispanic community about opportunities at Kern's. He said the company has a pay range of $9-$14 an hour, plus benefits for all employees. And like The Wakefield Corp., Kern's meets federal regulations and documents all employees.

With training through local organizations such as the Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership, Pellissippi State Technical Community College and the Tennessee Career Center, Childs said the English skills of Hispanic workers have greatly improved.

Wakefield boasts about the Hispanics on his staff and their willingness to learn the business. He singles out Juan Grimaldo, a 30-year-old Mexico native who has become plant manager at The Wakefield Corp., running the company's daily operations, assigning work teams for subcontracting jobs and overseeing distribution of metal studs and drywall.

Wakefield said he'll take good employees wherever he can get them, which saves him tens of thousands of dollars a year in insurance costs because his company maintains a good safety record and has no drug- or alcohol-related incidents.

The Wakefield Corp. has never had a Hispanic employee test positive for drugs, either in pre-employment screenings or post-accident examinations, according to Wakefield.

The use of illegal immigrants also isn't an issue for Wakefield, who requires all employees to have necessary documents for employment.

He has all job applicants fill out an employment eligibility verification form, or I-9, from the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office, which requires at least two forms of identification.

"That's what the government asks us to do, and that's what we do," Wakefield said.

Information on all Wakefield Corp. employees is on file in the company's human resources office. And just as with workers who are U.S. citizens, Hispanic employees at The Wakefield Corp. have federal taxes withheld from their paychecks.

Wakefield said all his employees are paid based on performance and experience, with one-third of his Hispanic staff paid at the top level, one-third at midrange, and one-third at the lower scale. He also offers matching 401(k) and performance bonus plans.

He believes the wages, which he didn't disclose but said are based on average wages of the Associated Builders and Contractors, are about 10 percent higher than the construction industry average.

He said he's heard of instances in the area in which Hispanic laborers weren't being paid fairly or receiving equal benefits compared to other workers.

Wakefield agrees that paying each worker based on a standard scale, not on citizenship or background, is the right thing to do. Even if he disagreed, he said he couldn't afford to violate government regulations.


Overcoming the backlash
Luis Velazquez said he wants the federal government to make it easier for Hispanics to get documentation for employment.

"More than 10 million in the U.S. are undocumented, and Hispanics are probably the largest group - 60 percent are from Mexico, 20 percent are from other Latin American countries and 20 percent are from other countries. There are many undocumented workers in Tennessee," Velazquez said.

With so many Hispanic workers now on the job in East Tennessee, native employees and employers are dealing with the clash of cultures.

Wakefield said there have been some backlashes on job sites but that he's worked to bridge the social gap.

Although he believes he's worked through internal problems, Wakefield is still concerned about the acceptance of Hispanics by all East Tennesseans.

"Our ancestors all came from something and weren't welcome with open arms when they got here. People forget history," Wakefield said. "Has there been some animosity on jobs? Yes. Is that getting better? Yes. I haven't had any problems in five or six years."

Wakefield said he called a meeting of all company employees at one point and laid the issues to rest. "Our employees have embraced them. They see how they can help."

Now that cultural harmony has occurred in the Wakefield Corp. workplace, Wakefield is ready to again tap into the Hispanic labor pool.

The company is expanding, adding a 10,000-square-foot shop to its Lexington Drive plant that will make wall panels using load-bearing steel studs and will require up to eight additional employees.

"I see our need for manpower growing," Wakefield said. "It will be mostly Hispanic if I can't find the local work force."