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Eduardo Medina said he could write a book about the experiences he’s had as a Hispanic member of the arboriculture community in the United States—which is why he’s working hard to create an easier transition for recent immigrants and Spanish-speaking individuals in the industry.
Medina began cutting firewood soon after he moved to the United States from Mexico City in 1986. He was quickly promoted to tree trimmer, but he did not have proper training and strong English skills. When he asked for clarification about a job, some foremen simply threatened him with replacement instead of explaining the task.
As a result of the major impact the Hispanic workforce has had on the green industry, Medina and a number of other people are working to improve certain conditions and "change attitudes" within arboriculture for Hispanic tree workers, most notably language and cultural differences.
The Growth of the Population
"Hispanics are a very diverse group from 20 different countries, and all come to the United States for different reasons. I would not say that Hispanics are particularly attracted to the green industry," states Iris Magaly Zayas, an urban forestry specialist with the United States Department of Agriculture in Atlanta, who was born and raised in Puerto Rico. "Nationwide, there is nothing to prove that. We are ‘invading’ all trades of life because of the growth and diversity of our population."
According to the Census Bureau, the Hispanic population in the United States increased by 58 percent from 1990 to 2000, from 20.8 million to 32.8 million people.
"With a figure such as this, it is normal to have a growth of the Hispanic workforce, not just in the green industry, but in any other field of work," Zayas says. "Many are fields for which it is hard to find local or national labor, and Hispanics fill that gap. It is a matter of supply and demand."
Zayas notes the difficulty of obtaining reliable numbers on how many Hispanic workers are currently in the green industry: "There is not a structured and recent survey on this, the actual numbers." She says it is important to find out "on what (researchers) are basing the numbers" and the method used to obtain such numbers.
While no concrete statistics can be formulated as to how many Hispanic individuals currently work in the green industry, Mark Duff, chair of ISA’s Hispanic Committee and a forester with the Texas Forest Service, estimates that 90 percent of the green industry laborers in Texas are Hispanic.
A National Arborist Association survey cited in an August 2002 Arbor Age article, "A Cultural Blend," found that 22 percent of its member firms employ Hispanic workers, and 75 percent of those employed are of Mexican descent.
Rose Epperson, vice president of administration with West Coast Arborists, Inc., says the growth of this workforce fluctuates with immigration. "My feeling is it is growing, probably not at the rate of two or three years ago, but it is a definite issue in our industry."
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International Society of Arboriculture
