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Chicago Sun-Times
Wis. looks at tourism jobs for locals, not foreigners
August 9, 2004
Summer visitors to Wisconsin may be noticing accents beyond the usual
cheeseland variety as hundreds of foreign teenagers are staffing tourist
magnets like the Dells and Door County.
Now, though, some are saying those jobs ought to go to Wisconsin's
unemployed.
Wisconsin's tourism secretary wants to start a new effort to promote the
state's seasonal tourism jobs to its own out-of-work residents.
Jim Holperin said he has no indication that theme parks and other popular
destinations are intentionally passing over Wisconsin workers, but he said
the state lacks a strategy for matching the jobless to tourism posts, which
often go to foreign workers. A program is in its early stage of discussion.
The state's tourism industry started recruiting foreign workers -- typically
college students -- in the late 1990s, when low unemployment created a labor
shortage.
Some in the tourism industry say Wisconsin residents in high unemployment
areas are not willing to move for the summer jobs. Some also say residents
don't seem to be interested in drudgery jobs.
"Even in desperate times, they don't want to do housekeeping,'' said Joanne
Stanzel, personnel director at Landmark Resort in Door County. She has hired
several college-aged students from Armenia and Romania for such jobs.
Tom Diehl, president of Tommy Bartlett Inc., said he hired about 70 young
people from Finland this summer to work at the company's water shows and
other attractions in Wisconsin Dells.
Lifeguard Tito Suero of the Dominican Republic earns about $1,000 a month at
Noah's Ark Family Park compared with the $50 a month he would earn doing
similar work in his homeland. "I feel pretty lucky,'' the 23-year-old
medical student said.
Jim Cavanaugh, president of the Madison-based South Central Federation of
Labor, said laid-off factory workers would take the seasonal jobs to get a
regular paycheck. But he suspects the tourism industry is afraid a tight
labor market might return and are hesitant to cut off sources of
international labor.
Wis. looks at tourism jobs for locals, not foreigners
August 9, 2004
Summer visitors to Wisconsin may be noticing accents beyond the usual
cheeseland variety as hundreds of foreign teenagers are staffing tourist
magnets like the Dells and Door County.
Now, though, some are saying those jobs ought to go to Wisconsin's
unemployed.
Wisconsin's tourism secretary wants to start a new effort to promote the
state's seasonal tourism jobs to its own out-of-work residents.
Jim Holperin said he has no indication that theme parks and other popular
destinations are intentionally passing over Wisconsin workers, but he said
the state lacks a strategy for matching the jobless to tourism posts, which
often go to foreign workers. A program is in its early stage of discussion.
The state's tourism industry started recruiting foreign workers -- typically
college students -- in the late 1990s, when low unemployment created a labor
shortage.
Some in the tourism industry say Wisconsin residents in high unemployment
areas are not willing to move for the summer jobs. Some also say residents
don't seem to be interested in drudgery jobs.
"Even in desperate times, they don't want to do housekeeping,'' said Joanne
Stanzel, personnel director at Landmark Resort in Door County. She has hired
several college-aged students from Armenia and Romania for such jobs.
Tom Diehl, president of Tommy Bartlett Inc., said he hired about 70 young
people from Finland this summer to work at the company's water shows and
other attractions in Wisconsin Dells.
Lifeguard Tito Suero of the Dominican Republic earns about $1,000 a month at
Noah's Ark Family Park compared with the $50 a month he would earn doing
similar work in his homeland. "I feel pretty lucky,'' the 23-year-old
medical student said.
Jim Cavanaugh, president of the Madison-based South Central Federation of
Labor, said laid-off factory workers would take the seasonal jobs to get a
regular paycheck. But he suspects the tourism industry is afraid a tight
labor market might return and are hesitant to cut off sources of
international labor.