Construction Workers

With the 2012 Olympics set to happen in East London, the area is a buzz with construction activity. Obviously, gentrification is in full tow. Tall glass buildings amidst old brick houses are not uncommon. I even ate a cute cafe called the Counter Cafe, a recently opened hipster cafe set in an (post) industrial neighborhood - not unlike Red Hook. Elsewhere, "to let" signs abound. The word "regeneration" is in frequent use by the university, local residents, organizations, and other stake holders.

What struck me most about this situation is that the construction men were mostly, if not all, white! Blue collar labor is white in this country. Imagine that. Coming from America where most of our construction workers are Latino, this was quite the shock. The only large immigrant population I see around here are the Banglas, but they are not present in the construction work force.

Like the United States, the United Kingdom undoubtedly has its own racial and ethnic tensions to deal with (i.e. Islamophobia, etc.), however, what does the absence of immigrants in such a typically blue collar field say about the labor force and racism? More on that as I learn more.