Paul Bass Photo
Hedy Montez, Mariel Herrera, James Bhandary-Alexander at WNHH FM.
Rosa Morales went to see “that lawyer on State Street.” Then she lost her job.
Morales is one of five former employees of a New Haven cleaning company who say they got fired after asking to be paid for overtime and, in Morales’ case, seeking legal help.
“That lawyer” is James Bhandary-Alexander of New Haven Legal Assistance Association (which is based on State Street). Bhandary-Alexander is the agency’s sole lawyer dedicated to filing suits on behalf of workers like Morales who say they’ve been unfairly and illegally treated. He’s currently working on about 10 workers’ rights lawsuits, including a federal case he’s preparing for the five former workers of the cleaning company. (The workers’ former boss declined to answer questions from the Independent.)
NHLAA could handle many more cases if it had more lawyers to do so. Toward that end, it is raising money to expand its workers’ rights practice; an Oct. 27 fundraising party at Fair Haven’s Bregamos Theater will be dedicated to that goal. (Click here to read more about that event.)
These are hard times for low-wage workers. Nationally, Supreme Court deicions like Janus vs. AFSCME , a weakened union movement, wage theft from vulnerable immigrants, among other factors, have helped depress real wages. This recent New York Times Magazine article detailed how getting a job is no longer a route out of poverty — that many people actually can’t afford to work.
In addition to filing lawsuits, Bhandary-Alexander has worked with other activists to push for a higher minimum wage and paid family medical leave, to goad government into investigating and prosecuting wage-theieving employers, and fair-scheduling rules for hourly workers.
He discussed that effort on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven” program. He was joined by Maribel Herrera, a native of Mexico who also lost her job at the cleaning company. She said she was paid $10 an hour — but only for six of the nine hours a day she worked. When she asked for a raise, and for a day off (she was scheduled for six days a week) so she could have time to see her three children, her employer retaliated by firing her, she said.
Click on the Facebook Live video to watch the full interview, in which NHLAAA’s Hedy Montez provided translation assistance.
Check out how greedy Whole Foods own by Amazon is trying to discourage unions.
Amazon training videos coach Whole Foods staff on how to discourage unions
The Guardian obtained internal videos sent to Whole Foods management, coaching them on how to watch for unionizing
Amazon-owned Whole Foods Market has stepped up its efforts to crack down on union activity among employees – instructing managers to watch out for warning signs of union activity and to tell possible union members that joining a union is a "roll of the dice".
Following a mass email sent out on 6 September by Whole Foods employees seeking to coordinate with one another to discuss workplace issues and the prospect of forming a union, Amazon released training videos for managers in an attempt to head off union efforts.
The Guardian obtained Amazon training videos first reported by Gizmodo that were recently sent out to Whole Foods store management and team leaders (department managers), coaching them on how to union bust within their stores
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/sep/27/amazon-whole-foods-training-video-union-busting-efforts-staff