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The Price Of Chief Labor
By Rich Lowry, May 11, 2015, The Stream
Manicures and pedicures aren’t usually news or fodder for commentary, but a blockbuster report in The New York Times has made them a compelling issue.
Under the headline “The Price of Nice Nails,” the story cataloged the abusive treatment of workers in New York City’s ubiquitous nail salons. The story generated an enormous reaction; it highlighted the poignant juxtaposition of affluent women enjoying what once would have been a luxury, thanks to poor, exploited women with no other options.
It is a tableau that doesn’t feel very American or very modern. We thought we had put the age of sweatshops behind us, but we hadn’t. It turns out that sweatshops are where New York City women go to get their mani-pedis.
The Times story is, in part, about the ugly underbelly of immigration. The salons are what an industry that subsists on substantial illegal labor looks like.
Census Bureau numbers say that 59 percent of personal-appearance workers are foreign-born, according to Steven Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies. By Camarota’s estimate, about a quarter of those foreign workers are illegal, and judging by the Times report, the number is higher in New York City.
Manicures and pedicures aren’t usually news or fodder for commentary, but a blockbuster report in The New York Times has made them a compelling issue.
Under the headline “The Price of Nice Nails,” the story cataloged the abusive treatment of workers in New York City’s ubiquitous nail salons. The story generated an enormous reaction; it highlighted the poignant juxtaposition of affluent women enjoying what once would have been a luxury, thanks to poor, exploited women with no other options.
It is a tableau that doesn’t feel very American or very modern. We thought we had put the age of sweatshops behind us, but we hadn’t. It turns out that sweatshops are where New York City women go to get their mani-pedis.
The Times story is, in part, about the ugly underbelly of immigration. The salons are what an industry that subsists on substantial illegal labor looks like.
Census Bureau numbers say that 59 percent of personal-appearance workers are foreign-born, according to Steven Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies. By Camarota’s estimate, about a quarter of those foreign workers are illegal, and judging by the Times report, the number is higher in New York City.
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