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IWJ sponsors Public Policy Training

Save the Date for Interfaith Worker Justice’s Public Policy Training!
March 14th-16th – Chicago

Learn from experts on the IWJ national staff and local organizational leaders. The trainers bring extensive experience in interfaith organizing, worker and union campaigns, and organizational development.

This Training is designed for:

  • Organizers with faith-based organizations or workers centers
  • Board members, leaders, or volunteers of interfaith organizations
  • Religious or community outreach staff of unions

Sessions covering…

  • How you can be involved in moving federal, state, and local legislation?
  • How to engage in multi-racial alliance building around policy issues?
  • How to engage labor and religious leaders in your policy goals?
  • The current status of Immigration, Jobs, and Wage Theft campaigns and legislation?

IWJ National Office
1020 W Bryn Mawr, 4th floor
Chicago, IL 60660

More information on registration and costs is available at the IWJ website.

Art, , , ,

Forged Power at the Arizona State University Art Museum

Forged Power is an ASU Art Museum Moving Targets Initiative featuring the work of Ferran Mendoza, Alvaro Sau and William Wylie. The exhibit will be at the Arizona State University Art Museum from February 20 —“ May 29, 2010.

Friday Conversations @11 series, Feb. 19
Spring Season Reception, Feb. 19 from 7-9pm

Ferran Mendoza & Alvaro Sau, Outdoors, High Definition Video, 2009
William Wylie, Carrara series, Cavatori, The Block, Dust, Friction, Digital Video, 2006

In the digital age, the way we engage with physical work has shifted drastically. Such shifts are not new and have occurred over the course of human history – from the invention of simple tools, to the industrial revolution, to our current digital society. But as technologies continue to advance, our control and power appear to diminish, not only in our work, but also of our bodies. The body’s relationship to work continues to be less physical. We use mechanical arms to lift both heavy and light objects into place, and vacuums now roam floors on their own. A document that once took the entire use of one’s arm to handwrite can now be created with light touches of computer keys. With voice activation and eye-tracking technologies entering the mainstream consumer market, the hand may soon be removed altogether from the process of work.

Spanish artists Ferran Mendoza and Alvaro Sau traveled the Basque-French border region. The artists refer to it as —this kind of frontier land which we call the outdoors,— a territory of Europe where the —most archaic ways of living coexist with the omnipresent industrial world.— Using their cameras, Mendoza and Sau captured, in high definition video, the residents of this seemingly isolated region in their daily routines and surroundings. The result of their journey is the video OUTDOORS (2008), a 56-minute work that delivers a composition of portraits. These portraits provide fleeting glimpses of individuals who take pride in their independence, work and knowhow. Their knowledge of their tools, their environment and how their bodies interact with each is clear and poetic; they perform their tasks as if every specific activity or action has been choreographed.

In the historic quarries of Carrara, Italy, the cavatori (stonecutters) have worked for centuries excavating large slabs of white marble from the earth. Through a fellowship exchange, artist William Wylie was provided the opportunity to spend time observing the everyday operations and interactions of the men who work in these famous quarries, the very quarries used by artists from Michelangelo to Louise Bourgeois. What at first appears to be a focus on machinery is soon realized to be a study of human activity and control. While trucks and machinery within these digital videos appear to struggle and battle to complete tasks, the cavatori work with their hands – making precision measurements and chiseling slight grooves. The artist captures in his Carrara series, Cavatori, The Block, Dust, and Friction (2006), the gestural engagements of the hand and body as the stonecutters work together, using signals and whistles, to coordinate their movements within the noise and chaos of the industrial site. Together these four videos demonstrate that the actions of work can be perceived as beautiful in and of themselves.

The individuals captured in these videos control their own actions by working with their hands and bodies. They do more than just push a button; they exert human energy and create an effect through the power of their own body. Retaining the capability of doing work or accomplishing tasks with the use of the physical body, their forged power is a reaffirmation of human capability.

William Wylie will be in attendance at ASU Art Museum to present a free lecture on a yet to be determined date. He will also meet with students and classes while in Tempe.

Curated by John D. Spiak, Curator, ASU Art Museum.

The exhibition and programs are generously supported by Helme Prinzen Endowment, ASU Art Museum Advisory Board, ASU School of Art and the Department of Photography, and Northlight Gallery at ASU.

Arizona State University Art Museum
Mill Avenue @ 10th Street
Tempe, AZ 85287-2911

Perspective, Political, , , , ,

What Sen. Enzi really wants

M. Patricia Smith’s nomination as Solicitor of the Department of Labor has moved forward with a cloture vote today along party lines. There should be an up-or-down vote on the nomination tomorrow or the day after. See SENATUS for details on the vote.

Senator Enzi, the leading Republican on the Senate HELP Committee, had been blocking the nomination, for no good, valid, or honest reason. As both Republicans and Democrats have done in recent years, he has abused the whole practice of filibuster (I’ll write more on that later).

To respond to his ignorant criticism would take volumes. Frankly, he is scandalous in his use of innuendo and distorted facts to paint those he doesn’t like as incompetent managers and liars (an example of his blathering at the Washington Examiner). I would hate to be his child and have made a mistake. Of course his blather is par for the course in Washington (a pox on both houses). If someone won’t bow to your personal agenda, destroy them by whatever means possible.

Sen. Harkin, no flaming liberal, provided the facts that refute Sen. Enzi line by line during his pre-cloture vote statements. The Congressional Record should have his factual testimony in-full by tomorrow. I encourage you to check it out.

So to my title above, ‘What does Sen. Enzi really want?’ I believe he wants the following:

  • That workers not be educated as to their rights under the law.
  • That low wage workers have no recourse when their wages are stolen.
  • That any person or organization providing assistance only do so according to an approved script and to approved eligible individuals.
  • That employers who skirt the rules, especially those who hire low wage and immigrant workers presuming that they can abuse them, be free to establish a system of indentured servitude.
  • That disreputable, race-to-the-bottom, employers be free to re-establish the company store and a chit and voucher program.
  • That rights are only for those in Sen. Enzi’s social and economic demographic.
  • That the law is only a set of suggestions and optional guidelines, especially laws that protect the lower classes.
  • That truth be subservient to agenda.
  • That the United States be known as the land of permanent masters and servants.
  • That the Republican Party abjure its tie to the abolition of slavery.

Amy Traub, writing at Huffington, gives a great narrative on the things Ms. Smith has done and works to prevent in New York in New York’s Hidden Crime Wave

And we thought crime in New York City was low. According to the NYPD just 418 robberies were reported in New York last week, along with 695 incidents of grand larceny. Not bad for a city of more than 8 million people. But the rosy numbers overlook a devastating series of thefts that never make it into the police statistics: last week the city may have experienced just 375 burglaries but it also saw an estimated 317,263 cases of employer wage theft from their own low wage workers. More than $18.4 million were stolen from wages in that week alone. And because the wage violations are systematic and ongoing, the crimes recur every week throughout the year.

The shocking new wage theft data come from research [pdf] unveiled this morning by the National Employment Law Project. After a rigorous study involving thousands of front-line workers in New York’s low wage industries, researchers documented the prevalence of New York City’s workplace violations for the first time.

The study reveals a crime wage centered on the city’s most vulnerable workers. More than one in five workers in the city’s low-wage industries was paid less than the minimum wage. More than three in four were denied the overtime pay they were legally owed. When workers tried to stand up for themselves (for example, by filing a complaint with a government agency or attempting to organize a union) they faced a high risk of illegal employer retaliation: being fired, getting their hours cut, or having the boss threaten to call immigration authorities. Not surprisingly, many workers decided to remain silent, even as they continued to work in dangerous conditions or saw their earnings stolen.

Imagine the destructive impact on New York’s families and communities. Although the average worker in the city’s low-wage industries earns just $20,644 a year, they lost an average 15 percent of that to wage theft. That amounts to an average $3,016 annually stolen from some of the lowest-income working families in the city…

Are you ready for your employer to arbitrarily cut your salary by 15%? That 15% cut isn’t for any good economic reason, and certainly no legal reason. It is just so you can continue to work the same hours at less pay, and he can take it home to buy himself a better bottle of scotch. Maybe he’ll share that scotch with Sen. Enzi. Wonder if he hypocritically likes it neat.

Funny that my son was recently studying indentured servitude. I can’t wait till my son learns about human trafficking. I will be able to point to Sen. Enzi (if he’s still there) as a proponent of the very things that aid in its continuance.

Everything Else, Media, Perspective, PNCC, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , , , , ,

Catching up

On some older news in my inbox:

The irony

From Reuters: Republicans urge Obama to roll back “Buy American”

Republicans urged President Barack Obama on Thursday to roll back “Buy American” provisions of this year’s economic stimulus package that they said were delaying public works projects and costing American jobs.

“Clearly these provisions are creating problems for our domestic companies and employees that must be addressed,” Representative Wally Herger said at a “roundtable” Republicans organized to hear industry concerns about the measure.

Representative Kevin Brady urged the White House to exempt state, county and city governments from the Buy American requirement “so that we can get those dollars working, create these jobs, get these projects in place and move this economy.”

…

The Buy American provision included in the $787 billion economic stimulus act requires all public works projects funded by the bill use only U.S.-made goods.

As a result, many local jurisdictions receiving Recovery Act funds are faced with ensuring that their projects comply with the Buy American mandate.

That’s not as simple as it sounds because many products contain components from around the world.

…

Groups calling for changes in the Buy American provisions include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Emergency Committee for American Trade, which together represents most of the biggest U.S. companies.

They said they feared other countries would retaliate by passing their own “buy domestic” provisions, as Canadian cities are threatening to do because their firms are being shut out of U.S. stimulus projects.

So, don’t do anything to stimulate and create manufacturing jobs in the U.S., and ensure those jobs keep getting shipped off-shore, while at the same time you decry the immigrant for “stealing” the last McDonald’s job left in the U.S.. Complete hypocrites.

On Ukrainian history:

From The Day: Mazepa: Architect of European Ukraine?

…Peter I’s Russia found its ideal dimension in Imperium, a —great form— with its inertial imperative of constantly developing supranational schemes aimed at compressing all conquered space into a single ideological whole.

Victorious as it was, Peter I’s Russia built its society out of —subjects— and —serfs.— Defeated as it was, Mazepa’s Ukraine was potential society of citizens.

Mazepa’s Ukraine had thus taken a resolute and decisive step in the direction of Europe at a time of anti-absolutist revolutions. Peter I’s Russia realized itself in an imperial structure whose messianic concept was generally anti-European.

It was a bolt of lightning that split the family tree of Old Rus’. Since then the confrontation between Ukraine and Russia has been systemic and conceptual. The gist of this confrontation is that Ukraine was not an obedient territorial unit open for colonization. Ukraine was Europe’s last bulwark retaining a political tradition that was absolutely unacceptable for Russian absolutism and thus very dangerous for centralized governance. It was a republican tradition. Rooted in the philosophic legacy of European culture, this tradition became the basis of the Ukrainian idea, i.e., a republican and consequently national idea, which has since been in opposition to the Russian Idea as an imperial and consequently immanently supranational one…

It is a complex article which attempts to draw the currents of the Reformation, Humanism, Orthodoxy, Polish-Ukrainian history, and the Khmelnytsky revolt into one large bundle giving rise to Mazepa’s movement. I’m really not sure how the Reformation and humanism play out here. I would ascribe the influence of Cossack independence and self-determination as well as the philosophies already existent in the Polish-Lithuanian, (later Ruthenian) Commonwealth. Those philosophies were already well settled, and well known in the Ukraine, when the rest of Europe met the Reformation and the advent of humanism as a philosophy.

Learning about your new neighbors:

From the Times: Polska! Year comes to London

Slap-bang in the centre of Warsaw there’s a striking neo-Gothic skyscraper called the Palace of Culture. Poles are forever debating whether to demolish it —” it was a gift from Stalin, whose memory is not lovingly tended in these parts. But they could equally well celebrate it. Within its imposing walls it hosts three theatres, a cinema, bars and museums. What other capital city’s most prominent edifice is an arts centre? —Theatre is the national sport,— says Piotr Gruszczynski, a critic and dramaturge at the high-flying Nowy Theatre. —Poles still believe that theatre can change the world.—

Britons can now enjoy the fruits of this devotion in the form of Polska! Year, a 12-month arts festival that cashes in on the wave of immigration that has left Brits eager to know more about our new neighbours. Poland, we’re being told, is no slumbering ex-Soviet satellite, but Europe’s sixth-biggest country and a star in the international arts firmament.

…—Poland needs to kill its idols,— says Katarzyna Szustow, one of a triumvirate now running the Dramatyczny Theatre, based in the Palace of Culture. Here they like their drama more political. In the 19th century, Szustow says, when Poland was partitioned between Germany, Russia and Habsburg Austria, —it was to the theatre that you went to hear Polish spoken. Then, under the Soviets, theatre was the focal point of dissent. Post-1989 theatre was suddenly meaningless —” the real ‘theatre’ was happening in the public sphere.—

…

The remaining taboos in Polish theatre include homosexuality and Poland’s relationship with its Jewish population. The former is broached by Szustow’s new regime, which programmes live art about gender and the body; the latter by a new play at the National Theatre in London, Our Class by Tadeusz Slobodzianek. His play, which confronts the country’s complicity in Second World War atrocities, hasn’t been staged in Poland —” Slobodzianek is loath to apply for state funding because of the controversy it would generate. All theatres are state-funded and highly bureaucratic, which means plenty of activity, but a lack of flexibility.

The only other taboo is laughter. —Making comedy in Polish theatre means you are not an artist,— Gruszczynski says. He’s exaggerating —“ perhaps for comic effect. But for Britons striving to reduce our own theatre to a branch of the leisure industry Polish drama takes some getting used to. And yet, the sense of a thriving, passionate scene, and of a younger generation exploiting the public role theatre has retained from the Soviet years is exhilarating. If Polska! Year can communicate that excitement, its shows will be well worth seeing.

A fitting tribute:

Dr. Jerzy J. Maciuszko – Ambassador of Polish Culture and one of the most dedicated members of the Kosciuszko Foundation by Olga Teresa Sarbinowska

Those of us who were raised in Communist Poland have much in common. We are direct, act with a characteristic ease, and we tend to pay little attention to manners. The Polish post-war generations stand in direct contrast to the Polish pre-war intelligentsia. To many of us the pre-war intelligentsia is an abstract notion often associated with rigid etiquette and snobbism. When at the end of the eighties I arrived in Cleveland, the first representative of Polonia who reached out to me was Doctor Jerzy Maciuszko, a charming, courteous man full of gentleness, humbleness, politeness, and inherent high culture.

A Warsavian by birth, Jerzy Maciuszko, is a 1936 graduate of the Department of English Language at the University of Warsaw. He began his American career in 1951 as a lecturer of Polish Literature at Alliance College in Pennsylvania. Soon thereafter, he moved to Cleveland where he enrolled in the doctoral program in library sciences at Case Western Reserve University and worked in the department of foreign literature at the Cleveland Public Library. Upon defending his Ph.D. dissertation, Maciuszko was promoted to director of the prestigious John G. White Department at The Cleveland Public Library and continued his academic career teaching Polish literature at Case Western Reserve University.

In 1969, Dr. Maciuszko accepted the position of Chairman of the Slavic Studies Department at Alliance College in Pennsylvania. It should be noted that Alliance College was established by the Polish National Alliance. An informational brochure published by the College at the beginning of the seventies explained that “Slavic studies” at most American universities amounted to “Russian studies” while at Alliance College the emphasis was on “Polish studies.” …

Unfortunately in 1974 Dr. Maciuszko left Alliance College and returned to Cleveland where he accepted the directorship of Baldwin-Wallace College’s Ritter Library. Soon after his departure, Alliance College, together with the Center for Polish Studies, closed down. The magnificent Alliance College campus was sold out and the entire complex was turned into a women’s prison.

Accepting a position as the library director at Baldwin-Wallace College, Professor Maciuszko seemingly departed from his involvement in the Polish cause. However, this was not the case. He plunged into the life of Polonia like a missionary driven by an inner fire. He wrote, published, became active in many Polonia organizations, and quickly established himself as a foundation of cultural and intellectual life for the Polish-American community in Cleveland… Furthermore, as an active member, he was involved with the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in New York, Polish-American veteran organizations in Cleveland, the Association of Polish Writers Abroad, and the Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, and others.

…

As a writer, Dr. Maciuszko dedicated his works primarily to Poland and Polonia. Since 1957, he has been publishing reviews of Polish literature in the quarterly World Literature Today. Reviews by him also appeared regularly in The Polish Review and other leading literary journals. In addition, as a prolific writer Dr. Maciuszko has authored numerous forewords and commentaries to various editions of classical literature. …

This prominent Cleveland Pole also wrote a chapter entitled “Polish Letters in America” for the book Poles in America, Frank Mocha, editor (Worzalla Publishing Company, 1978), as well as a chapter entitled “Polish-American Literature” for the book Ethnic Perspectives in American Literature, Di Petro, editor (Modern Languages Association of America, 1983). Numerous encyclopedic entries on Polish writers and poets authored by him appeared in Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century (Unger Publishing Company, 1975). The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, John Grabowski, Editor (Indiana University Press, 1987) included an entry by Dr. Maciuszko. He was also a founding member of Choice, the official journal of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). Choice was first issued in 1964, and since then Dr. Maciuszko has been a regular contributor, writing primarily reviews of Polish literature. He also has served as Chairman of the Slavic Division within ACRL organization.

In 1969 Dr. Maciuszko published The Polish Short Story in English; A Guide and Critical Bibliography (Wayne State University Press). This compendium consisted of summaries of Polish short stories published in English. The work was published within the Millennium Series of the Kosciuszko Foundation. Professor of Polish Studies at Columbia University, Dr. Anna Frajlich, called the book “a monumental work indispensable to all American teachers and students of Polish literature.”

A most puzzling fact is that a significant literary achievement of Dr. Maciuszko’s, to this day, remains completely unknown. To solve this mystery we must travel back in time to the beginning of World War II. In August of 1939, twenty-six-year-old Maciuszko was a member of one of the first military units to stand up to the Nazi war machine. Unfortunately, on September 4th, he was taken prisoner of war, and for the next five and a half years he remained in the German POW camps.

In 1943, the international Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) headquartered in Geneva announced a literary contest among all prisoners held in German POW camps. At night, by candlelight, after an exhaustive work day, while his comrades slept, Maciuszko wrote a short story which he entitled Koncert F-Moll (Concerto in F-minor). He was thrilled to find out later that it had been selected as a winner.

…

In 1974, an American professor wrote in a letter of recommendation that Dr. Maciuszko “still maintains his old-world dignity.” Never giving in to the pressures of the American culture, he has remained faithful to the ideals of his upbringing. Having known Dr. Maciuszko and his wife, Dr. Kathleen Maciuszko, throughout the years, I rediscovered the charm and splendor of Polish pre-war intelligentsia, this culture of mine that at first appeared very distant and incomprehensible, the culture that has been almost lost and forgotten. Today, I greatly value this engaging courtesy coupled with refined dignity and tremendous kindness. In today’s world of aggression, courtesy and kindness are invaluable assets. I salute Dr. Maciuszko for being able, against all odds, to preserve the most precious qualities of the Polish culture and pass them on to the next generations.

Zeal:

From Pew: The —Zeal of the Convert—: Is It the Real Deal?

A common perception about individuals who switch religions is that they are very fervent about their new faith. A new analysis by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life provides quantitative support for this piece of conventional wisdom often referred to as the “zeal of the convert.” The analysis finds that people who have switched faiths (or joined a faith after being raised unaffiliated with a religion) are indeed slightly more religious than those who have remained in their childhood faith, as measured by the importance of religion in their lives, frequency with which they attend religious services and other measures of religious commitment. However, the analysis also finds that the differences in religious commitment between converts and nonconverts are generally very small and are more apparent among some religious groups than others.

One of the most striking findings of the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Forum in 2007, was the large number of people who have left their childhood faith. According to the survey, roughly half of all Americans say they have left the faith in which they were raised to adopt another faith or no faith at all, or if they were not raised in a religion, they have since joined one.

The new analysis finds that, overall, people who have switched religions consistently exhibit higher levels of religious commitment than those who still belong to their childhood faith, but the differences are relatively modest…

After joining the PNCC I went through strong convertitis. Affects others more strongly than others I suppose.

In Bridge news:

From the NY Times: Polish Wroclaw Team Blitzes, Winning Universities Title

The first European Universities Championship was played in Opatija, Croatia, from Oct. 4 through last Saturday. The 22 teams from 11 countries (Poland sent 7 teams) played a 10-board round robin.

With one round to go, Paris led Wroclaw-1 by 2 victory points. Paris played against Krakow (lying 15th), and Wroclaw-1 faced Munich (13th).

The final match started well for Paris. On Board 21 the Krakow East-West pair misdefended to let three no-trump through, giving Paris 13 international match points. And on the next deal this same Krakow pair missed three no-trump that was made at the other three tables in these matches, giving Paris another 10 imps.

…

On the penultimate board Wroclaw-1 gained 5 imps and Paris 7. So Paris needed a big swing on the final deal, but it was a dull three no-trump where the only fight was for an overtrick.

Paris had prevailed in its last match by 18 imps, which gave the team 20 victory points, but Wroclaw-1 had won a 38 to 0 blitz, gaining 25 victory points and the gold medals by 3 victory points.

The winning team comprised Zatorski, Nowosadzki, Wojciech Gawel and Piotr Wiankowski.

Bridge is hugely popular in Poland.

Christian Witness, Perspective, Poland - Polish - Polonia, ,

Putting an end to wage theft – National Action Day results

On the National Day of Action to Stop Wage Theft:

  • Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ) raised $7,383 toward its efforts to stop wage theft;
  • In Memphis, the Workers Interfaith Network released the results of a survey it conducted of local low-wage workers, 68 percent of whom reported not being paid for all the hours they’d worked;
  • In Chicago, four Polish workers each owed over $10,000 by a contractorThe contractor is Walter Bochenek, a prominent Polish contractor. Bochenek owns three construction companies and has long hired Polish immigrants, many of whom don’t speak English. Since 2007, workers hired by Bochenek for a rehabilitation of the Sacred Heart School on the city’s north side have been shotchanged $70,000. Pan Bochenek, My dla ciebie – Ty z nami?, together with religious leaders and organizers with the Arise Chicago Worker Center, announced a lawsuit for back wages at one of the contractor’s current work sites;
  • A rally and press conference were held at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, workers and members of the clergy joined with the Workers’ Rights Center to demand both state and federal government measures to combat wage theft;
  • IWJ, along with key allies (NDLON, NELP, AFL-CIO, Change to Win, SEIU), met with Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and other top Department of Labor officials about increasing enforcement and outreach efforts in the department’s Wage and Hour Division and OSHA; and
  • In New York, the Department of Labor announced the results of a sweep of restaurants in the tony Park Slope neighborhood in Brooklyn.

From The Brooklyn Paper: Slopers in guilt trap as restaurants shortchange deliverymen

First, Park Slope residents had to feel bad about eating non-organic food and having a high carbon footprint. Now, they even have to confront their liberal guilt when ordering in.

Last week, the state Labor Department claimed that 25 Slope restaurants underpaid their mostly immigrant workers as little as $2.75 per hour – a charge that has left Park Slope reeling, as customers struggle to reconcile their political sympathies with their appetites.

Much-loved stalwarts such as Aunt Suzie’s, and Taqueria, plus others including Bogota, Sette, Coco Roco, Olive Vine, Uncle Moe’s and Bagel World were caught in the dragnet, which included fines and negotiated settlements that stemmed from more than $910,000 in allegedly underpaid wages.

“Wage theft happens not only in dimly lit factories or grim depressed neighborhoods,” state Labor Commissioner Patricia Smith said in a statement. “Even our very nicest neighborhoods sometimes have sweatshops on their main streets.”

…

Still, all of the workers who spoke with The Brooklyn Paper bore no ill will toward their employers – in fact, they were grateful for the money.

“The boss looks for ways to help people, actually. Here we are fine,” one employee who wished to remain anonymous said in Spanish.

A typical response from undocumented workers. They are afraid to cry foul because the boss will immediately turn them over to Immigration. The workers live in fear and are thankful for the work. Their employers know the situations and purposefully exploit these folks. Its happened over and over, from Polish immigrants forced to visit the company stores of West Virginia and Pennsylvania to the well off neighborhoods in the cities and suburbs of today.

The workers weren’t upset, but in Park Slope, where buying a Fair Trade heirloom tomato that costs $2.50 is a badge of honor, many were shocked to find that they were benefitting from a system propped up on cheap labor.

“In this community, this happens?” said Sheri Saltzberg, a 35-year resident of the neighborhood. “It makes me question how those restaurants treat their staff.”

Others were disappointed that their favorite restaurants had been accused of such abuses.

“I was sad because those were places I had gone to,” said David Chorlian, a member of the Park Slope Food Co-Op. “One of them was Miriam’s and another was Aunt Susie’s. I was stupidly surprised that this happened.”

David, Wait till you see the two business owners responses at the end. They don’t give a **** for your sentiment or your country.

Most of the fines were the result of excessive workweeks at salaries below the minimum wage. But roughly half of the underpaid wages were allegedly at two restaurants: Coco Roco and Olive Vine.

The eateries were cited for underpaying their workers a whopping $587,000. In one example, food deliverymen were paid a meager $210 for a 70-hour workweek. The two restaurants’ abuses were so excessive, in fact, that the Labor Department expanded its search to two other locations of both eateries, a spokesperson said.

…

Still, owners who did agree to talk bristled at the notion that they were abusing their workers.

Martin Medina, the owner of Rachel’s on Fifth Avenue between Seventh and Eight streets, insisted he treated his workers fairly and that they did not work excessive hours. Instead, he likened Labor Department inspectors to “meter maids” who bully small business owners and never leave without levying a fine.

“They say I’m not paying overtime or giving lunch breaks, it’s a total lie!” said a fuming Medina. “If I was treating my workers bad, why would they stay with me?”

Because at a minimum they are your indentured servants and live in fear of what you will do if they speak up. Why don’t you point your indignation at the fact that you broke the law.

Indeed, some restaurants ended up on the list for seemingly minor infractions.

Melissa Murphy, owner of Sweet Melissa Patisserie said that her bakery cafe underpaid its workers by just $382 over two years. She attributed the mistake to clerical error.

Minor or not, even tiny amounts of money are a big deal to immigrant workers.

“A lot of people with low skill levels don’t have a lot of job options,” said Terri Gerstein, a deputy commissioner with the Department of Labor. “They’ll stay in a bad situation for fear of complaining or retaliation from the government.”

Exactly.

Some Slope residents are talking boycott, including, of course, workers at the Food Co-op.
“People are actively minded here,” Danielle Leon, who was shopping at the co-op said. “They [might] boycott these restaurants.”

But most owners seem more concerned with their profit margins than their tarnished reputations. Irene LoRe, the owner of Aunt Suzie’s, which allegedly underpaid its workers $10,196, even testified against a bill requiring paid sick days for workers.

…

In the end, it’s unlikely that boycott talk will take hold, added renowned restaurateur Alan Harding, best known for the now-closed Patois and the still humming Pacifico. Despite all the righteous chatter, customers are just like the restaurant owners – always trying to save a buck, he said.

“There is this ‘Oh woe is the deliveryman’ idea, but God forbid the turkey burger goes up $2 to reflect the required worker’s insurance and fair wage,” Harding said.

And it’s not as though cheap, hard-working labor is just going to disappear. As such, Medina said he would fight the fines to the bitter end.

“The immigrants I love,” he said. “It’s the Americans I hate.”

Now for the irony… Mr. Medina who owns Rachel’s Taqueria is the son of immigrants, from Mexico. He’s livin’ the American dream by pushing down on immigrants (his own people – I looove you, but be my slave) and cursing the people of the country that’s given him every opportunity. Mr. Medina, return to Mexico and push your taco stand around Mexico City. We’ll see how far you get. The Mexican meter maids will put you away for a long time…

Current Events, , ,

Time to emigrate

Our ancestors came here, the golden shores of America, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren are heading out. From USA Today: More U.S. job hunters look for work in other countries

Here’s one way to deal with the brutal U.S. job market: Leave the country.

With the nation’s unemployment rate at a 26-year-high of 10.2%, more Americans are hunting for, and landing, work overseas, according to staffing companies and executive search firms.

Jeff Joerres, CEO of Manpower, the No. 1 U.S. staffing company, says about 500 clients are seeking jobs abroad, up from a few dozen six months ago.

“It suddenly looks like there may be better opportunities outside the U.S.,” Joerres says. “It is a phenomenon we haven’t had before.”

While the number of globe-trotting job candidates is still relatively small, the trend reverses a longtime pattern of far more foreign workers seeking jobs in the U.S., Joerres says.

Fifty-four percent of executives said they’d be likely or highly likely to accept a foreign post, according to a survey of 114 executives Friday by talent management company Korn/Ferry. Just 37% of those surveyed in 2005 said they’d go abroad.

The hottest international job markets include India, China, Brazil, Dubai and Singapore, recruiters say. International companies are largely seeking candidates in engineering, computer technology, manufacturing, investment banking and consulting.

…

Steve Watson, chairman of executive search firm Stanton Chase International, says he recently sought a CEO for a Dubai manufacturer, and “three or four people quickly raised their hands. I do not think we would have had that two years ago.”

After completing his junior year at Georgia Institute of Technology, Charles Wang, an industrial engineering major, worked as a project manager for United Parcel Service in Dubai from July 2008 until last May. His task: develop a delivery system for the Arab state’s first-ever network of streets and addresses. After graduating next month, he plans to return to Dubai for a permanent job.

It’s “because of … my inability to find good jobs in the U.S.,” says Wang, 22, adding he’ll stay in Dubai until the U.S. job market is “back to normal.”

At MIT’s Sloan School of Management, 24% of 2009 graduates got jobs overseas, up from 19% last year. It’s “tied to the (U.S.) economy,” says career development head Jackie Wilbur.

Christian Witness, Current Events, , , ,

November 19th: Campaign against Wage Theft National Day of Action

ndalogo2On November 19th, Agencies, organizations, and individuals will join together in taking action to fight Wage Theft. Some will join in delegations to unethical employers, while others will participate in demonstrations and other actions to raise awareness and support for those who have had wages stolen.

If interested in joining in the National Day of Action or more information on the National Day of Action, please contact Cara Gold or call her at (773) 728-8400 x 34.

Christian Witness, , , , , , ,

All for a dollar

…but the price of the sin being committed is death (Romans 6:23, Deuteronomy 24:14-15). From IWJ:

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What’s a dollar worth to you?

Three candy bars, 10 text messages, a third of a venti latte? It seems a dollar can’t get you much these days. Well, it depends on whom you ask.

To families of low-wage workers underpaid a dollar for every hour he or she works, that one dollar could mean the difference between a roof over their heads or homelessness.

The illegal underpayment or non-payment of workers’ wages affects millions of workers each year. Too many unscrupulous employers are getting away with wage theft and too many families are hurting because of it. Together we can end this crime against workers!

November 19th is Interfaith Worker Justice’s National Day of Action to Stop Wage Theft. IWJ, its affiliated groups, and various communities of faith will be holding prayer vigils, rallies and press events in different parts of the country drawing attention to this egregious crime and how it disrupts the lives of working families.

If so inclined you may donate to support this day of action.

Christian Witness, Perspective, Political, , , , ,

Being poor, being hopeless

From the Spokesman-Review: Effects of growing up in poor households can be lifelong

When Lori Pfingst considers the statistics that will tell the tale of this recession, she isn’t thinking about GDP or unemployment.

She’s thinking about teen pregnancy. Low birthweight babies. WASL scores and college enrollments.

As the recession swells the ranks of the impoverished, it takes a particular, long-term toll on children, experts say. In Washington state alone, nearly 40,000 children are expected to slip into poverty by 2010; nationwide, an additional 800,000 kids entered poverty between 2007 and 2008, before the recession really hit.

And however quickly the economy begins its official recovery, the consequences for kids living in poverty are wide-ranging. Children who grow up in poor households tend to do worse in school and end up in trouble with the law. They’re less likely to go to college and more likely to get pregnant at a young age. They’re more likely to commit crimes or become victims of crimes, and more likely to grow up and live in poverty themselves.

—The impact of this really can’t be overstated,— said Pfingst, assistant director of Washington KidsCount, an annual statistical survey of children’s well-being. —When children are born into poverty, it affects every single outcome of their lives.—

A new report from Duke University asserts that the recession will undo decades of progress for children and families. Duke’s Child and Youth Well-Being Index measures a range of categories; it estimates that all progress made in —family economic well-being— since 1975 will be wiped out by this recession.

The Duke index predicts that families will suffer from the expected kinds of effects, such as joblessness, lower incomes or homelessness. But it also suggests that children will pay other prices, in greater obesity and health problems, because families will be more likely to rely on low-cost fast food; on social relationships and stability, as families are forced to move; and on increased behavioral problems and crime, with young people as both victims and perpetrators.

—The impact of the current recession on children will be dramatic,— the Duke report concludes…

Two things. First, simply said, a tragedy that none of the Wall Street moguls will ever consider or reflect on. Second, in spite of negative pressures caused by the recession we have an underlying current of hopelessness far greater than that ever experienced by the poor and nearly poor of generations past. Their grounding in faith, neighborhood, and family stood as a bulwark against just these sorts of pressures.

When I look at our great Fraternal, the PNU, and the history of the PNCC, in fact most of the faith communities inhabited by immigrants, I see people who counted what was important. They knew that with God in front, family and co-workers in union, they could withstand whatever the world could throw at them; not only withstand, but struggle and succeed. I may be a hopeless romantic, or too nostalgic, but I believe that we are capable of the same today. Being poor does not equate with hopelessness and lifelong despair, it is the crucible in which we are tested. We are challenged, not to re-create the past, but to build a new and re-grounded future.

Christian Witness, Perspective, Political, ,

Justice, a helping hand, and human potential

From Newsday: LI immigrants fight to win wages they say they are owed

The immigrants came in one after another. One said he was owed $6,000. Another said he was docked $3,000. Three others said they were owed $1,900, $648 and $270.

In the North Fork Hispanic Apostolate headquarters in Riverhead, Sister Margaret Smyth and attorney Dan Rodgers counseled the men for upcoming court appearances.

“If they ask you about your immigration status, you have no obligation to answer,” Rodgers said. “The only reason we’re in court is to obtain wages for work you performed.”

Advocates say many more immigrants are filing claims for unpaid wages on the East End than last year – nearly 140 so far, already exceeding the total for all of last year.

Five immigrants came to Smyth’s office Thursday, saying a painting company owes them $5,000 each. “Every month, we have 30 or more cases,” Smyth said. “Some of it’s the economy. Some of it’s just people being bad people.”

Federal and state law says workers – regardless of immigration status – are entitled to be paid for work performed.

“The fact is that the worst thing you can do is steal a man’s labor and that’s what’s going on more and more,” said Rodgers, who does the cases pro bono.

Roberto Rodriguez, 46, said he was owed $648. He was so desperate, he pawned a gold chain for $200, he said. “I just want to be paid my just wage.”

Nationally, some groups say they’ve seen a similar increase, though the Workplace Project in Hempstead said it has not noticed a rise in complaints.

“This is a big problem that existed but is being exacerbated by the bad economy,” said Raj Nayak, a staff attorney with the National Employment Law Project in Manhattan.

Advocates say while most cases filed in local courts are won on paper – usually by default, when the defendant doesn’t show up – the judgments are difficult to enforce.

When defendants do show, Rodgers tries to negotiate a settlement. But in many cases, only one or two payments will be made. “It’s never-ending,” Smyth said. “I have a whole pile of cases where they didn’t pay.”…

Wage theft, especially from those with the fewest avenues available for seeking justice is rampant in the United States as is the intentional misclassification of workers.

More on this in What Workers Face This Labor Day (see also Low-Wage Workers Are Often Cheated, Study Says from the NY Times)

On Monday, President Obama will celebrate America’s 127th Labor Day by giving a speech on “jobs, the economy and maybe a little health care” at the annual AFL-CIO picnic in Cincinnati, OH. Despite positive indications that the U.S. economy is beginning to “climb out of the worst recession in decades,” Obama’s speech will come at a difficult time for America’s workers as job losses continue. In the current recession, 6.7 million jobs have been lost through July, with another 216,000 jobs lost in August. Even those who are still working are facing significant challenges. Earlier this week, a new report financed by the Ford, Joyce, Haynes, and Russell Sage Foundations found that labor protections in America “are failing significant numbers of workers.” According to the survey, which was “the most comprehensive examination of wage-law violations in a decade,” 68 percent of the low wage workers who were interviewed said they were subjected to pay violations in their previous work week alone. This included 26 percent who were paid less than the minimum wage and 76 percent who didn’t receive legally required overtime pay. In all, the researchers discovered that “the typical worker had lost $51 the previous week through wage violations, out of average weekly earnings of $339,” adding up to a 15 percent loss in pay. The report “clearly shows we still have a major task before us,” said Labor Secretary Hilda Solis in a statement, promising that the Department of Labor in the Obama administration “will be marked by an emphasis on the protection” of the rights of America’s workers…

I was at a conference on unemployment and workforce issues last week. During the conference nineteen state workforce agencies joined in a call to extend unemployment insurance benefits.

The news at the conference was sobering. Panelists like William D. Rodgers, III, Ph.D., Professor and Chief Economist and Carl E. Van Horn, Director and Professor of Public Policy both of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University and Lawrence Chimerine, Ph.D., Managing Director and Chief Economist at the Economic Strategy Institute all point to a recovery that is underway; with economic indicators pointing to a sustained recovery. Unfortunately it will be a jobless recovery (see U.S. Job Seekers Exceed Openings by Record Ratio from the NY Times for instance). We may not see job gains or low unemployment again until 2018. People will be desperate and there will have to be significant changes in the way we assist and work with these folks. These workers will need training to prepare themselves for this new environment and for the jobs that are available — an investment in their potential.

The assessment that struck home for me was a review of our investment in human potential. The value of our investment in the people of this nation has declined for decades (see here for instance). What we pour into education, health, wellness, culture, family, and leisure points to a wholly wrong set of priorities and an ethic where human life is considered cheap — life as just another cog in the machine. Funny how people of faith, calling government, industry, and society on the carpet over this, have spoken the truth here. Too bad — the message has fallen on deaf ears and over relatively the same period of time.

Oh, and speaking of people who do not invest in or respect human potential, Senator Michael Enzi of Wyoming is near the top of the list. He believes that people shouldn’t be empowered to take care of themselves because they just might form unions. As with many Washington insiders he thinks that people should seek the approval of business and/or government before they do anything. I can’t believe he’s from the west.

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