Woman lauded for standing her ground after initially being denied pay for completing translation work

Employees not being paid enough per their skills is not something that is new in jobs. Many times, employers exploit the workers and do not pay them what they deserve. That's what happened to a woman when she was told that she would not be paid extra for translation work at her job. However, she decided to stand up for herself and asked the employer to use Google Translate if he is not willing to pay her for her skills. @chenaguillen explained her ordeal in a TikTok video, “When I got this job, I let them know like, ‘Hey, I speak Spanish. I’m fluent, I can read, I can write.' But I wanna be paid for translating.”

As per Chena Guillen, her boss told her that they don't really need her translation skill on the job so she won't be paid for it. “Oh, that’s cool, but we don’t need that skill," they told her and added, “We don’t get a lot of Hispanic patients... it's okay.” She said in the video that she makes it clear in her interviews and resumes that she is fluent in English and Spanish but if someone wants her to translate, she needs to be paid for it. “If a white person goes to school and they learn Spanish, they are getting two or three dollars more than the rest of us,” she stated.

“Fast forward, I’m working, and they get Spanish customers, and he is like, ‘I need you to translate Che',” Guillen said about her employer. The TikTok user immediately informed him, “I need you to pay me.”  

Her employer refused to do that, which left her in a dilemma. “Then I look bad because I’m not helping my own people,” she said. “But if I don’t put my foot down, then I’m not gonna make money. I’m not gonna do what I need to do to take care of my kids,” the woman added. However, Guillen decided to do what was right for her. She expressed, "So, I'm gonna stick to that skill, you didn't want to hire me for that skill that's fine. But you hired me and now you are not paying me for that skill I can't do that. Google translate it. Hope for the best."

The video went viral with about 877 thousand views and 112 thousand likes. People in the comments section supported Guillen for standing her ground. @martha.morales.reyes commented, "The first time I refused to translate for someone, I felt so bad that I cried but I had to stand my ground with my employer." @beautifulmillan wrote, "Yes, same girl, but if we don’t value our worth no one will." @rossiososa said, "Yup demand and don't let up. Always get paid for your skill." @itsdrexlhenri expressed, "Absolutely! Glad to see workers knowing their worth!" @flapere12 shared, "Yesss queen make sure you get that money. Some of my co-workers are going through the same thing right now and we work at a hospital." The woman has set a good example by holding her ground.