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Though some employers fear that money spent training new employees will be wasted because they will leave, he says Latino employees will see this as personal and value it, so they will be more likely to stay with a company that invests in them.

Accepting the reality that non-native workers are different and dealing with it is crucial. "We encourage our employees to avoid stereotypes and develop and maintain a good understanding of their fellow employees and their culture," Emmons says. "We require our supervisors to take sensitivity training which gives our expectations for ethnic diversity. When people respect and value differences, they can become closer to each other which translates into a safer, more productive job site."

Blending the cultures

Getting the job done ultimately overrides any cultural differences when working with a multi-cultural crew. "American workers are a little leery at first to work with Hispanics because they are afraid of the language barrier," McPherson says. "The Hispanic worker is, many times, hesitant to work with the American worker because of past bad experiences of unfair treatment. Once a common work ethic is shared and demonstrated, there are no problems." Any interaction problems that don't ultimately work themselves out at the company are resolved by Seretta keeping the most productive workers and dismissing the others.

"Workers from other countries are here to work," McPherson says. "These workers do not feel that their children need Air Jordan tennis shoes or that two to three cars per family is mandatory or that they should have cable TV in every room of the house. The perception that these people are 'taking American jobs' is nonsense. These jobs are ready to be filled by Americans at any time. The bottom line is that Americans don't want them. It is not that these workers are being paid less or that benefits are not being provided. That is the furthest thing from the truth."

Jean Feingold is a Gainesville, Fla.-based writer who frequently covers concrete and other construction-related topics.