Report Shows Immigrants Big Contributors to Berkshire, State Economy
 Gosia Nowaczyk, housekeeping manager of the Red Lion and a native of Poland, was interviewed for the immigrant study and spoke of the English tutoring program she'd started at the inn. |
It was tough in the beginning, he said. "We were going through a kind of depression, trying to find our place in the community and find people to help us," he told the 30-odd business and educational leaders and immigrant advocates in the Hitchcock Room at the Red Lion Inn on Thursday morning. He joked they stayed because "the loans had to be paid."
"We fell in love with the Berkshires, we saw people really appreciated our cuisine," said Narula, who not only has a thriving restaurant but has branched out with the Williamstown Motel. "It's been an interesting journey. It was a struggle to overcome, but I'm glad we did that now."
Narula's story isn't extraordinary. Immigrants like the Narulas are creating jobs, paying taxes and raising the quality of life in the Berkshires and and across New England, according to a recent report prepared by the Immigrant Learning Center Inc. of Malden.
"The native-born population that feeds into the work force is actually declining," said research leader James Jennings, professor of urban and environmental policy and planning at Tufts University. "If not for immigration, if not for growth in the foreign-born population, our economy would be much much less competitive than it is today."
The report is part of an ongoing public education program launched in 2003 by the the center to dispel misinformation and misconceptions about the immigrant community, said ILC founder Diane Portnoy, the daughter of Polish Jewish immigrants.
"A majority of the people in this country believe that immigrants, especially the undocumented, just come here to live on welfare and they commit crimes," she said. "Nothing could be further from the truth."
|
Narula was joined on a panel about local immigrants by Canadian-born David Pottle of the Southern Berkshire Education Collaborative and Ann Nardi, human resources director for the Red Lion Inn and Porches in North Adams, and an immigrant from Ireland. Researchers Julia Jordon, Jen Lawrence and Carlos Siqueira also spoke.
According to the most recent data, nearly 10 percent of Berkshire County's population in foreign born, ranging from college professors to entrepreneurs to dishwashers. On North Street in Pittsfield alone, some 41 percent of the storefronts are owned by immigrants.
In Massachusetts, the hospitality industry is the fourth largest employer and generates some $6.4 billion in gross payroll, based on 2006 figures. In the Berkshires, nearly a third of the entrepreneurs in this sector are foreign born as are more than a quarter of all workers. The report found they tend to be better educated than their native-born peers, with about half holding high school diplomas, compared to 27 percent of native born.
The study doesn't take into effect the recent economic downturn. Still, it indicates the hospitality industry is heavily dependent on the foreign born to keep it running. In South County, some 20 restaurants would close up if they lost their immigrant work force, said Pottle.
Ann Nardi, head of human resources for the Red Lion Inn and Porches, said the inn imports workers from Turkey, Russia and Australia, among other nations, to work seasonally at the Red Lion along with local college and high school students. While the Red Lion has very light turnover, Porches, which does not have immigrant workers, is quite high.
 Tarun Narula chats with Heather Boulger of the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board; at right is Julia Jordan-Zachery, one of the researchers. |
Immigrants have always faced challenges, particularly overcoming language barriers, but the rising hostility toward immigrants is having profound effects on public policy, said Portnoy, by slashing aid for language courses, making it more difficult for needed workers to gain visas or residency and undermining support for immigrant communities.
"We're not going to be able to respect people if public policy says we shouldn't," said Jen Lawrence, one of the researchers.
