By the way, I finally talked my father into giving me the money ($300) because it wouldn't do me any good when I was gone.

Employers like to hire Mexicans, not only because they work for low wages but also, and more important, they have a good work ethic and are loyal. I once hired a roofing contractor out of the classifieds; and when I arrived home that hot summer afternoon, I saw a Mexican crew spreading hot tar on the roof. I climbed up the ladder to bring them some iced drinks and began to talk to the crew leader.

I asked him how long he had been doing this work and why didn't he have his own roofing business. His reply was simple, "I couldn't do that because I would have to compete against my boss who gave me this job."

For America, immigrant labor has been a key factor in managing our economy and a way of meeting our labor shortages. Creative employers, especially farmers and growers, have relied on immigrants to meet their work force needs. As a way of maintaining a competitive edge, universities and health organizations have looked to foreign labor to meet shortages as well as to diversify their work force.

As employers are struggling to find skilled workers and the nation is preoccupied with outsourcing and immigration, we fail to see that one of the greatest competitive edges we have is that future work force now sitting in our classrooms. It's diversified, young, eager to learn and bilingual. At a time when our national work force is aging, Utah has the advantage of having a younger population, including Hispanics, able to help our economy succeed.

Enlightened business people recognize the young work force, the inexpensive labor and the exploding consumer group Hispanics represent. They could, however, take the lead in educating the public on the advantages of having a quality education for all children, including minorities, since that is their investment in the future.

Utahns take pride in doing the "right thing." Maybe educating all children is one of those right things.

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Utah native John Florez has founded several Hispanic civil rights organizations, served on the staff of Sen. Orrin Hatch and on more than 45 state, local and volunteer boards. He also has been deputy assistant secretary of Labor. E-mail: jdflorez@comcast.net