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The Citizen


The Citizen
Photo (cc) niznoz

As Barack Obama assumes office, New York immigrants have lost jobs and seen their incomes drop. With the recession reverberating throughout the economy, immigrants have reduced the amount of money they send to their country of origin -- and some even consider whether to go back themselves.

In the midst of such tough times, many immigrants place less importance than they once did on immigration issues. A national survey taken recently found that most Latinos think the economy is the most important issue facing the new president, followed by education, healthcare and national security. Only 31 percent of Latinos rated immigration as an "extremely important" issue for Obama to address immediately.

During his campaign, Obama said little about immigration. There are, though, indications that the new administration might take somewhat different stands on some immigration issues than its predecessor. At her confirmation hearing for secretary of homeland security, for example, Janet Napolitano said that, under her leadership, the department would focus more on what she termed "unscrupulous employers" than on raids targeting undocumented workers.

Some advocates are looking to the new administration to reverse a last minute decision by outgoing Attorney General Michael Mukasey that immigrants facing deportation do not have a constitutional right to counsel in their hearings or the right to go to federal court on the grounds that their lawyer acted poorly or improperly.

Beyond specific policies, many immigrants see Obama as offering a new sense of hope. Colombian immigrant Nora Chaves has said she thought that, with Obama's election, "immigrants have a chance to really build America and to build dignifying lives in this country."

Locally, violence against immigrants continued to raise concern, with some fearing that the faltering economy could produce a new wave of anti-immigrant bigotry. On Staten Island, three men were charged with assaulting black people, including a Liberian immigrant, on the night of Obama's election. Police, though, still have made no arrests in the fatal beating of Jose Sucuzhanay, an immigrant from Ecuador, on a Brooklyn street last month. Not far from the city, investigations by journalists revealed a pattern of attacks on Latinos in Patchogue, a town on Long Island. Late last year, Marcelo Lucero, an Ecuadorian immigrant, was fatally stabbed by teenagers who reportedly regularly beat up Latinos. The U.S. Justice Department is investigating, with an eye toward examining the Suffolk County Police Department's handling of such crimes.

Back in the city, the mayor's office issued and then recalled a report on whether to establish hiring centers for day laborers. The report was pulled back after critics on the commission writing it complained that the report did not offer any specific proposals.

These and other stories on the economy and other issues, from the Chinese, Korean, Polish, and Bangladeshi language press via our partner, Voices That Must Be Heard




City Issues, Then Recalls Report on Day Laborers (El Diario /La Prensa)
Hours after the mayor's office finally released the report by a commission studying the possibility of establishing day laborer hiring centers in the city, the administration withdrew it. The move was a response to pressure from members of the commission who were disturbed that the report did not include specific proposals for establishing the centers.

More Chinese in New York Lose Jobs (World Journal)
The number of job seekers coming to Chinatown's employment services has increased noticeably in recent weeks.

Unemployed Chinese Immigrants Wonder Whether to Stay or Go (World Journal)
Many immigrants unable to find work here think of returning to China but worry their situation there would not be any better.

Recession Affects Bangladeshi Immigrants (Bangla Patrika)
New York Bangladeshis, from busboys to executives, have lost their jobs or seen their incomes decline. "Has the land of opportunity turned to an irony of fate?"

Declining Exchange Rate Squeezes Korean Students (Korea Times New York)
The Korean currency is weaker against the American dollar than it's been in 11 years, bringing despair to many Koreans studying in New York.

Many Poles Join Ranks of the Unemployed (Nowy Dziennik / Polish Daily News)
Emilia Sroczynska, owner of Emilia Agency in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, says she had seen a sharp increase in the number of Poles applying for unemployment benefits.

Livery Drivers Seek to Organize (El Taxista News)
A group of taxi drivers have formed a committee to consider forming an Association of Independent Livery Drivers in New York.

Korean Churches Seek Japanese Converts (Korea Times New York)
Korean Christian churches in the New York area hope to spread the gospel to Japanese people, who have been largely resistant to Christian evangelism.

Food Vendors Seek Changes in City Rules (El Correo de Queens)
With thousands of vendors unable to sell their wares because of city red tape, food cart operators hope the City Council will pass a law to speed licensing procedures.

Greenpoint Residents Produce Cuts in Funds to Protect Tenants (Nowy Dziennik / Polish Daily News)
Poles gathered at City Hall to protest the Bloomberg administration's decision to cut funds for a program to protect tenants in Greenpoint from the effects of gentrification.

The Citizen


 

Left Photo (cc) Richard Rodriguez, Right photo (cc) achang999

New York's immigrant communities greeted the election of Sen. Barack Obama as president with a mix of elation, anticipation and curiosity. The foreign language and ethnic newspapers speculated about what an Obama administration would mean for their readers -- and their native countries.

El Diario /La Prensa, for example, tried to gauge what an Obama presidency would mean for U.S. relations with Mexico and other Latin American countries. The overall reaction there has been positive, the paper said, although "sectors of the extreme left ... remain skeptical" about Obama. Elsewhere in the region, the Colombian government has concerns about whether Obama will continue to oppose the free trade agreement with the U.S. that that nation wants.

In an article written before last month's terrorist attack in Mumbai, the Indian Express said the Indian government will look at how Obama handles three key issues: the contested area of Kashmir, nuclear non-proliferation and climate change. The New York Carib News spoke with experts who predicted that an Obama administration will cultivate friendlier relationships with West Indian nations, including possible trade concessions and development. And among Turkish businesses people, Obama's election was "met with [an] optimistic reaction" and a belief that trade between the U.S. and Turkey will now increase, according to Zaman USA.

While the United States will have its first black president in Obama, the Irish Voice noted another milestone: "Joe Biden is also the first Catholic vice president. And early exit polling suggests the Obama-Biden ticket won about 54 percent of the Catholic vote."

Many see Obama's election as a sign of a new day -- and fading of bigotry -- in the United States, but last month also saw a sign of the persistence of prejudice. Some 50 miles from New York City, in Patchogue, N.Y., Marcelo Lucero, an Ecuadorian immigrant was stabbed to death allegedly by a group of local teenagers. Following the murder, prosecutors said the young men charged in the case often got together to hunt down, attack and injure Hispanic men in the Suffolk county community.

Immigrant advocates have "described the attack as a reflection of widespread anti-Latino sentiment and racial intolerance in Suffolk County," the New York Times reported, some of it apparently fueled by anger at illegal immigrants and day laborers.

Meanwhile, immigrants and others are feeling the effects of the economic downturn. In a grim post-election commentary, Nowy Dziennik / Polish Daily News said, "Obama will take over the leadership in the worst moment from the financial point of view .... A couple of months from today we will be able to see clearly the consequences of the rapidly worsening macroeconomic indicators -- the decrease of sales and production, deterioration of consumers' attitude and mass layoffs conducted by big corporations."

In Chinatown, the hard times have forced some to scrounge for food, as Bangladeshis cut back on the celebration of Eid-ul Azha, an important religious festival, and groups helping low-income Asians worry about budget cuts. These and other stories from the Spanish, Chinese, Bangladeshi, Korean and Polish language press, via our partner, Voices that Must Be Heard.

Hard Times in Chinatown, World Journal
In Manhattan's Chinatown, the ranks of the impoverished have grown. Families unable to pay the grocery bills survive by cutting costs however possible and even picking through trash bins outside supermarkets.

Slumping Economy Dims Celebration, Weekly Thikana
Feeling the effects of the recession, Bangladeshi immigrants in New York have cut back on the amount of money they send home and have spent less this year to celebrate Eid-ul Azha, a major Muslim religious festival.

Rising Rents Threaten Bodegas, El Diario / La Prensa
With close to 80,000 of the city's Latino businesses threatened by higher rents and abusive practices by real estate speculators, small business owners are supporting a proposal by City Councilmember Robert Jackson, which would spell out the rights of small businesses in commercial rental contracts.

The State Senate's Latino Rebellion, El Diario / La Prensa
When two Latino Democratic state senators threatened to not vote for Malcolm Smith for majority leader, Latinos called for more power sharing in Albany.

School Crowding Worries Bronx Parents, El Diario / La Prensa
Concerned about too many students cramming local schools, parents in parts of the Bronx oppose the Department of Education's plan to scale back school construction.

Immigrants Protest Budget Cuts, Korea Daily News
Asian non-profit organizations charge that proposed cuts in the city budget will affect many low-income families. The Asian groups are especially concerned about cuts in English-language classes for immigrants.

Chinese-American Support for Obama Not a Landslide, World Journal
While Barack Obama won New York by a huge margin, many in the Chinese community had doubts about both him and his opponent, John McCain. In at least one Chinatown polling station, McCain trounced Obama.

Day Laborers Arrested in Queens, El Diario / La Prensa
The arrested of these workers represents a change in city policy. What does it mean?

Rezoning Aims to Protect Greenpoint's Character, Nowy Dziennik
In an effort to curb excessive development of Brooklyn's Polish neighborhoods, the city planning department has proposed height limits for new construction and efforts to provide more low-income homes.

Why She Drives, El Diario / La Prensa
One of New York's very few woman cab drivers talks about the risks and rewards in her line of work.

Helpline Aids City's Irish Seniors, Irish Voice
Copying an idea launched in Ireland 10 years ago, older Irish people living in New York City will be able to dial a number to speak with a fellow senior about fears, worries and life in general.

 

Delivering Better Pay


 

Students protest outside of Saigon Grill on University Place, May 4, 2007.

Republic, a popular restaurant that serves Asian noodle by Union Square, is not your typical Asian restaurant with fluorescent lighting and $2 hot and sour soup. The chic lounge-like restaurant features a full bar where a lychee martini can cost $10, and the average wait on a Friday night is 30 to 40 minutes.

However, under the trendy façade, the restaurant owners treat their deliverymen differs basically the same way as the proprietors of many Chinatown restaurants where employees work for little pay under harsh conditions, according to some deliverymen who worked at Republic. They said they often work as many as six days a week, and more than 65 hours a week, for wages as low as $175 per week and without overtime pay. In other words, they make less than $2.70 per hour.

Eight deliverymen decided to take actions against the restaurant, which is a part of restaurateur Jonathan Morr's restaurant empire, the Jonathan Morr Group. The company owns several trendy restaurants in New York, including Bond Street, Indochine, Kittichai and Town.

In May 2007, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund and a New York law firm, Davis Polk & Wardwell, filed suit on the men's on their behalf by. After the filing of the complaint, the restaurant retaliated by cutting the worker's hours, fining them for minor infractions and serving rotten food for their free meals, the men told the New York Post.

This was the latest in a round of lawsuits involving restaurant deliveries brought in a city where many residents reply heavily on take-out food, the lawsuit attracted widespread attention. In a previous case, Saigon Grill restaurants had to pay some of its former deliverymen a total of $4.6 million for back pay and compensation.

"It's really about dignity. End the retaliation, and respect the workers for asking what they are entitled to," said Mika Nagasaki, an organizer for Justice Will Be Served! Campaign, which held a protest outside Republic last month.

"The mistreatment of delivery workers is a widespread problem throughout New York City," said Ken Kimerling, legal director of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. "Restaurants make millions of dollars from the take-out and delivery of meals, yet they often pay less than the minimum wage and rarely pay overtime to the workers who provide these services."

The Saigon Grill Case

The Saigon Grill case, a landmark case in New York City's recent labor movement, could set the precedent for deliverymen in the city. It also was organized by Justice Will Be Served, an umbrella group consisting of 318 Restaurant Workers Union, Chinese Staff and Workers Association and National Mobilization Against Sweatshops.

According to papers filed on behalf of 36 deliverymen in 2007, Saigon Grill, a popular chain with restaurants in Upper West Side and Greenwich Village, paid only $520 a month to many deliverymen who worked more than 260 hours each month. This averaged out to under $2 an hour, far less than the legal minimum wage.

On Oct, 20, Judge Michael Dolinger of U.S. District Court in Manhattan ruled against Saigon Grill and its owners, Simon and Michelle Nget, saying, "At a minimum, Simon Nget and Michelle Nget showed no regard whatsoever for legal requirements in connection with their wage policies."

He also found that the company had illegally retaliated against 23 delivery workers by firing them after they filed the complaint, but he has not rendered a judgment on that issue.

"I believe in united power. All of the workers need to come together, " said Jerry Weng, a worker at Ollie's, a popular noodle shop chain which was sued by its employees in 2007. He told Gothamist that the Saigon Grill victory is inspiring him and his coworkers to demand just pay.

Josephine Lee of Justice Will Be Served told the New York Times that as a result of the Saigon Grill case. "Many restaurants have already started to pay their deliverymen much better," she said, adding that seven of the workers have been rehired.

Meanwhile, on Dec. 2, Saigon Grill owners, Simon Nget and Michelle Nget were arrested on more than 400 criminal charges, including violating minimum-wage laws, falsifying business records and defrauding the state's unemployment insurance system.

According to state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo those charges arose from allegedly fake payroll records that the Ngets submitted to the State Department of Labor during an investigation. Cuomo's office said the couple had tried to reduce their unemployment insurance taxes by not reporting the employment of more than 65 people. The Ngets face charges that might lead to up to four years in prison.

Pay for Immigrants

While the courts appear to be siding with the deliverymen, the Saigon Grill and Republic cases have generated heated debate over compensation for the restaurant workers. Some bloggers said these deliverymen are undocumented immigrants and should be rounded by the authorities.

"They come here illegally, make money to send back to their countries so it's not even going back into the economy, pay no taxes yet use our services," wrote Lisa L. in a post on the New York Post's website.

"These are clearly illegal immigrants…It is their presence in this country that allows an employer to get away with those kinds of wages. Legal immigrants and citizens would never stand for it," wrote Michael F. in a post on nytimes.com.

But Naomi, also on nytimes.com, argued that immigration status should not be the issue. "I believe the point is that minimum wage is law in the U.S., and thus, it should be enforced, judgments on the legality of the immigrants' status not an issue in this case - rather that the employers are breaking the law," she wrote.

Changingfaces on Washingtonpost.com shared Naomi's opinion: "I think all immigrants should have the right to protest unfair labor conditions. Teach those businesses a lesson: people aren't slaves and just because they come from a different country and are trying to make a better life for themselves, doesn't mean you can take advantage of them."

Meanwhile, some bloggers said the restaurant has to exploit their workers in order to keep the prices low.

"If they pay the workers a fair wage, then Republic will have no choice but to charge 50 bucks for noodles!" wrote Babyhitler on Gothamist.com.

"So the result of the strikes would probably be higher prices for the consumer. …And they keep telling us that illegal immigrants keep our prices down. I say raise the wages where Americans workers will work at them, then you wouldn't have half the illegal immigrants that we do now," wrote Ednafreeman1 on Washingtonpost.com.

Larry Tung, a native of Taiwan, teaches media and film courses at Kean University in Union, New Jersey. He is also a documentary filmmaker whose work focuses on immigrant and Asian American issues.



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