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Temple's Hispanic workers represent cultural pride in growing workforce

Local Hispanic workers represent double the national average in Texas blue-collar jobs, creating opportunities and community connections, from mechanics to food truck owners,
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TEMPLE, Texas (KXXV) — Hispanic workers dominate Texas blue-collar jobs at 64% — double the 2011 rate and far above the 12% national average. In Temple, workers like mechanic Cesar Lopez and food truck owner Karen Hernandez demonstrate how cultural pride drives their commitment to serving the entire community. Both workers highlight the community's strong work ethic and motivation to represent their heritage positively in the workforce.

  • Hispanic workers make up 64% of Texas blue-collar workforce — double since 2011
  • National average is is up 12%
  • Temple workers emphasize cultural pride and strong work ethic
  • Community focuses on helping everyone, not just Hispanics

Check out the story here:

Temple's Hispanic workers represent cultural pride in growing workforce

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

Hispanic workers are making their mark across Temple's workforce, from restaurant kitchens to mechanic shops, representing a significant portion of the city's blue-collar labor force.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 64% of the blue-collar workforce in Texas is Hispanic — double the amount from 2011 and significantly higher than the 12% national average.

For Cesar Lopez, a local mechanic, being Hispanic means more than cultural identity.

"Being Hispanic and being able to share not only my joy and happiness but to help people out and to show that it doesn't matter what race or color you are, I think that means a lot," Lopez said.

The growing Hispanic workforce creates a motivating environment for others in the community.

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"There's a lot of people out there working right now that are Hispanic and that motivates other Hispanics to go out there and represent," Lopez said.

Lopez believes the community's strong work ethic addresses current labor challenges.

"That's what we need, we need people to be working which nowadays a lot of people don't want to work," he said.

"It means there's a lot of people willing to work," Lopez said.

The impact extends beyond traditional blue-collar jobs. Karen Hernandez, owner of Los Mini Taco's food truck, serves Temple's rapidly growing Hispanic clientele while sharing her cultural heritage.

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"It makes me happy and my family happy because we feel like we're serving a little bit of Mexico to every customer that we serve," Hernandez said.

"That's a lot and that's what makes our day," Hernandez said.

The Hispanic community's commitment extends beyond serving their own demographic. Their focus remains on giving back to everyone in the community.

"It's not just Hispanics as I like to help everybody since I don't really care about color," Lopez said.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.