The Cannery chicks are in! :)

[eekee 182]

I am wondering, also, if there might be some other reasons for foreign students on a limited time frame might be more attractive to employers: no chance of wanting to continue employment after summer/wanting benefits, lack of an understanding of our sue-happy legal system, etc.

[eekee 182]

Two of the girls we talked to said they started work at the all you can eat breakfast buffet at 6:00am and in the afternoon went to another restaurant and worked until 1:00am. You won't find American kids working that hard. Better to live off mommy's and daddy's money and party at night.

Regardless, with 20% unemployment in the 18-24 year old age group, why should the US import workers?

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Regardless, with 20% unemployment in the 18-24 year old age group, why should the US import workers?

Simple. There are not enough workers in Vermont or Alaska (apparently) and I am sure other places, for summer jobs. We would welcome teenagers coming across Lake Champlain from New York to work in the hardware store, the hot dog stand, the canoe rental booth, etc. but they do not seem to show up. Maybe they are too lazy or maybe they do not want to commute 2 hours to work for minimum wage. So we are faced with "importing" workers to meet the need, regardless if we import them from New York or Russia. Unfortunately our summer based businesses cannot just Shanghai some teenagers in New York and force them to work here. We cannot even get illegal aliens to come this far north!

There is not a 20% unemployment rate among 18-24 year olds here...even among 15-24 year olds in this area(Vermont allows teens to work as young as 14, but 14 year olds have a lot of restrictions on hours and such) But why do you think the kids in Michigan are not being bussed to Vermont to work for the summer?

Edited June 20, 2011 by Gary and Alla

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I am wondering, also, if there might be some other reasons for foreign students on a limited time frame might be more attractive to employers: no chance of wanting to continue employment after summer/wanting benefits, lack of an understanding of our sue-happy legal system, etc.

Your first point is valid. Sure, local kids want to work after the summer is over also and THEN things get tough around here. Pasha can work 12 hours a day right now, 7 days if he wants, but come September he will be working maybe 6 hours per day on weekends and then the place closes for the winter after September. Winter is a very difficult time to keep a job around here. We have tons and tons of summer only residents, they flock here just like they go to Florida in the winter. They need services and those are best filled by young workers in most cases. It is great when the workers leave the same time the business closes up. Also the young workers that come for the summer DO spend some of their money here, rent cabins to live in and otherwise contribute to the economy themselves.

Sergeys employer for 8 weeks is just as glad that he will be leaving the end of August as Sergey is glad that he will be hired for just 8 weeks.

I doubt lawsuits have much of an influence in the decision.

[Codeblue009 3]

I am wondering, also, if there might be some other reasons for foreign students on a limited time frame might be more attractive to employers: no chance of wanting to continue employment after summer/wanting benefits, lack of an understanding of our sue-happy legal system, etc.

Some of the jobs given to foreigners has a lot to do with the U.S. giving back to the world (foreign policy). These programs have been the foundation of American Immigration. No one but the Indians are truly Americans, we or our ancestry came from somewhere else. Now that we have a deficit in the scientific industries, the U.S. will open up the immigration policy to selective individuals, from selective countries, just like we did prior to WWII. I think it is good that we show people from other countries what is possible here in our democratic society, and I especially like when they come here and show Americans what it is to have good work ethics. This is the land of opportunities for those who will seek it. It is not the land of a sense of entitlement, but a country that rewards those who work hard and educate themselves. This country wasn't founded on entitlements, and the foreigners who came here to make this country what it is today weren't lazy. I will agree about some of the children today not having good work ethics, but I also see many of the adults in my governmental industry being just as lazy and incompetent in their positions. They talk about their sense of entitlement and it makes me sick! I rather reward someone who deserves the job, as opposed to give it to someone who will not appreciate it or work hard to maintain it. The sad thing is, is when I terminate any of the American workers who are unsafe and incompetent, I still have to defend their termination in court. It doesn't matter how close they came to killing people or how poorly they did there job. They have rights and they always try to get something for nothing. Anyway, just my 2 cents, nothing more.

[ONA 133]

I am wondering, also, if there might be some other reasons for foreign students on a limited time frame might be more attractive to employers: no chance of wanting to continue employment after summer/wanting benefits, lack of an understanding of our sue-happy legal system, etc.

All the bosses I worked for wanted somebody on a permanent basis, but they had to hire me, cause they didn't have any other options. At one of the places where I worked, I was the only cashier for about a month and they couldn't find anybody else for that position. Still, there were kids in the area, complaining how hard it is to find a job. Well, it might be, if you smoke pot and can't pass the drug test - I don't see any other reasons.

And it wasn't even in Vermont or Alaska, it was a very populated area of Maryland.

[eekee 182]

And what does smoking weed have to do with one's performance as a cashier, anyway? You're not operating heavy machinery. You're operating a cash register. Being hungover would be a far greater detriment to your performance than having smoked pot in the past month.

[Ban Hammer 13,283]

Two of the girls we talked to said they started work at the all you can eat breakfast buffet at 6:00am and in the afternoon went to another restaurant and worked until 1:00am. You won't find American kids working that hard. Better to live off mommy's and daddy's money and party at night.

pretty much about it. i can't even get the kids in the neighborhood to do any manual labor at $20 an hour.

[1HappyGuy 45]

I would also say that some of the problem may be connected to the work ethic I see in a lot of young people. They want remote-control, push-button jobs in air conditioned comfort. This basically means they do not need money very much and have few goals.

That pretty much sums up the average young worker in America. I've seen this for several years now. It's as if getting the job is the only time they work. I have seen and heard from other employers that the attendance of these young people towards the job is horrible. Often they are heard to say, "I didn't feel like coming to work". This is usually as a result of staying up very late, or partying into the wee hours of the morning or some other dumb excuse. The other prevalent problem is the lack of real work performed by these young kids. Unfortunately, these young American workers don't know how to put in a full day of work or to even perform the simplest of tasks as the employer asks. I am sure that more than one employer has been impressed with the work ethic of these Russian or Ukrainian kids and that's why they want them back.

It's time to kick some butt on the American youth.

[ONA 133]

And what does smoking weed have to do with one's performance as a cashier, anyway? You're not operating heavy machinery. You're operating a cash register. Being hungover would be a far greater detriment to your performance than having smoked pot in the past month.

I don't know, I don't make the rules.

I just can't find any other explanation why it can be so hard for some American people of my age to find a job. I believe it is hard to get a 'real' job, but not a seasonal low-paid one.

I remembered one more thing I've seen... It was 2008, my first time in the States, there was a guy at work (local), who stole something from the store we all worked in and got fired. They hired an Azeri guy instead (also J-1 W&T student). Who is to blame?

Russian kids, who do illegal stuff in the States are just as stupid, but the thing is that a lot of times people are the cause for their own problems. And I'm pretty sure that the fact that there are going to be a lot less Western European students in the USA isn't going to improve the situation with the youth unemployment rate in the States (btw I think that wasn't the reason for so many denials this year).

[eekee 182]

I don't know, I don't make the rules.

I just can't find any other explanation why it can be so hard for some American people of my age to find a job. I believe it is hard to get a 'real' job, but not a seasonal low-paid one.

I remembered one more thing I've seen... It was 2008, my first time in the States, there was a guy at work (local), who stole something from the store we all worked in and got fired. They hired an Azeri guy instead (also J-1 W&T student). Who is to blame?

Russian kids, who do illegal stuff in the States are just as stupid, but the thing is that a lot of times people are the cause for their own problems. And I'm pretty sure that the fact that there are going to be a lot less Western European students in the USA isn't going to improve the situation with the youth unemployment rate in the States (btw I think that wasn't the reason for so many denials this year).

I still don't see why we should import workers when we have unemployment not seen since the 1930s. The current unemployment rate in Russia itself is lower.

I remember that I tried to find a crappy job when I was home after my first year of college and couldn't get hired at the mall or Starbucks, etc. I have no idea why. I am assuming that it is because others of my age had already had similar jobs while in high school and I wasn't allowed to work during high school.

Edited June 20, 2011 by eekee

[Codeblue009 3]

Ok Gary, since you have not commented on the picture yet, I will. Or should I say it looks like an Odessa afternoon. Why are you being so cruel Lord Infamous????!!!! Don't you know I am recently recovering from my Ukrainian addiction!!!!

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Do we really need to answer the question of why after seeing this? If this town is in need of young men looking for work can you think of a better advertisement?

Gary must be away from his computer.

Gary has to be away from his pc... he wouldn't pass up on this...no way.

[Neonred 3,553]

This is a bit off topic Neon, but do you have any dental schools that you would recommend? Not for a hygienist, but for a dentist program.

E-mailed you with my thoughts.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Do we really need to answer the question of why after seeing this? If this town is in need of young men looking for work can you think of a better advertisement?

Gary must be away from his computer.

I went to work each day in Odessa and had to endure these conditions everywhere. I still do not know why my head did not vibrate at a supersonic rate and then just "pop". Ever seen that movie "Mars Attacks" When I came back to the US I just wanted to throw rocks. I was either going to jump ship and "go native" or I was going to find one to marry me and come to the USA.

Gary has to be away from his pc... he wouldn't pass up on this...no way.

It is a great pic. I have to be careful not to let it appear in one of my posts.