Community Watch Program For NY Labor

When it comes to unfair labor practices, there are plenty that go in this state. However, the Department of Labor can only do so much to combat it with budgets being axed and too many businesses to investigate. On the other end, it is hard for workers to take on their employers alone, with victories at Saigon Grill too far and few in between. So the Department of Labor is going to try something new, combining the best of both worlds.

From The NYT Cityroom:

In an announcement, the state labor commissioner, M. Patricia Smith, called the program, the New York Wage Watch, a “one-of-a-kind grass-roots tool in the fight against illegal labor practices.”

The six-month pilot will begin with six participants: the Chinese Staff and Workers’ Association, which will focus on Chinatown, Flushing and parts of Long Island; Make the Road New York, which will focus on Bushwick; the Workplace Project, based on Long Island; the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which will look at high-end supermarkets; the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which will focus on retail stores in Lower Manhattan, Bushwick, the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx and parts of Queens; and the Centro del Inmigrante, based on Staten Island.

The six groups will conduct know-your-rights training, providing employers with information about compliance and distributing brochures to workers in supermarkets, laundromats, nail salons, day-labor sites and other work areas. They will have a designated contact in the Labor Department’s Division of Labor Standards, which enforces wage and hour laws, to whom they can refer violations or detailed questions from employers.

Critics are quick to jump on this because the groups aren't neutral, in that they look out for the workers more so than just playing fair. However, in these times of rampant corporate welfare and dominance over society, we need a buffer to fight businesses that take advantage of workers and the current situation is not working. Like Ms. Smith mentioned, it is a pilot program and if it doesn't work then we'll try something different. The key is that we have a goal to keep wages fair for every single worker in this state.

Justice For The Arabic Language

Despite the high and lofty ideals set forth in the Constitution, all men are not treated equally (even though they are created as such) and because some of us rely heavily on fear, others' rights are taken away in the name of false security. Sometimes the silliest situations make for the best examples, such as what happened to Raed Jarrar at JFK as he was flying JetBlue back in 2006. In response to his wearing a t-shirt with Arabic writing on it, a few passengers made a ruckus and JetBlue forced him to change and sit in the back of the plane. Not a bright idea on their part, now it's payback time.

From The ACLU:

NEW YORK -- In a victory for constitutional rights, two Transportation Security Authority (TSA) officials and JetBlue Airways have paid Raed Jarrar $240,000 to settle charges that they illegally discriminated against the U.S. resident based on his ethnicity and the Arabic writing on his t-shirt. TSA and JetBlue officials prevented Jarrar from boarding his August 2006 flight at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport until he agreed to cover his shirt, which read "We Will Not Be Silent" in English and Arabic, and then forced him to sit at the back of the plane. The American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on Jarrar’s behalf in August 2007.[...]

On August 12, 2006, Jarrar was waiting to board a JetBlue flight from New York to his home in Oakland, California, when he was approached by two TSA officials. One of them told Jarrar that he needed to remove his shirt because other passengers were not comfortable with the Arabic script, telling him that wearing a shirt with Arabic writing on it to an airport was like “wearing a t-shirt at a bank stating, ‘I am a robber.’”

Jarrar asserted his First Amendment right to wear the shirt, but eventually relented to the pressure from the TSA officials and two JetBlue officials who surrounded Jarrar in the gate area and made it clear to him that he would not be able to get on the plane until he covered up his shirt. Terrified about what they would do to him, Jarrar reluctantly covered up his shirt with a new t-shirt purchased for him by JetBlue. The lawsuit later revealed that JetBlue and the TSA officials did not consider Jarrar to be a security threat. Nevertheless, even after he put the new shirt on, Jarrar was allowed to board the plane only after JetBlue changed his seat from the front of the plane to the very back.

JetBlue and the TSA should be ashamed of themselves for this behavior. While ordinary passengers are entitled (unfortunately) to their ignorant fears, representatives of airlines and a government agency should know (or at least act) better and respect people's rights. A t-shirt with Arabic is just as threatening as one with English, Spanish, French or Farsi. It is time that Americans start to understand that.

Discrimination Alleged At DoJ Civil Rights Dept.

In a perfect world (or even less than perfect) the civil rights division of the Department of Justice is supposed to fight racial strife where it shows its ugly head wherever and whenever within our country. Unfortunately under the Bush Administration, the trouble of race and discrimination is under it's very own roof.

From The Tri-State Defender:

Joi Hyatte, who works in the voting rights section, states in the lawsuit that her boss subjected her and other African American employees to “numerous forms of discrimination and harassment.”

The suit, filed May 29 in U.S. District Court in Washington, alleges that supervisors used special hiring programs to circumvent regular procedures and avoid giving African Americans on staff an opportunity to apply for analyst jobs.

Hyatte, a 13-year veteran of the department who received outstanding evaluations, says in the suit that she was “repeatedly denied the opportunity to apply and compete” for promotions because she is African American.

A few weeks after her suit was filed, the Justice Department’s inspector general issued its own report stating that applicant screeners for the department had illegally used political or ideological factors in a recruitment program, preferring law school graduates with conservative credentials to those with more liberal political ties.

Race may very well be a part of this but it seems to me that the corrupt and crony ways of the Administration trump everything that the Executive Branch stands for these days. Making sure the "right people" get well-paid means more than upholding the law when it comes to minority treatment, respecting the Hatch Act and anything else that may be written in the legal code to protect the government from itself. Ms. Hyatte deserves everything she wants and then some....as the rest of us deserve a Justice Department that serves the country and not the cronies within it.

NYPD Blows Off Arab-American Applicant

Another story is about to rock the NYPD for its discriminatory conduct. Being sued by Critical Mass bike riders and a stinging Internal Affairs report apparently wasn't enough for their sagging reputation. Now it seems that an officer related to the hiring process for new recruits denied Said Hajem a position solely based on his ethnicity, despite having an exemplary application and prior review.

From OnNYTurf:

According to court documents, plaintiff, Said Hajem came to the US in 2000, and was studying and working at the same time. He supported himself while learning English, and continued his education. He received a degree in Accounting and a certificate of proficiency in English. Two years later he completed a degree in Business Management. The NYPD requires an applicant have 60 college credits and a GPA of 2.2. Hajim has a Bachelor's degree in Economics and two Associates Degrees with a GPA of 3.33.

Following 9/11 and after seeing a 60 Minutes special on recruiting problems with the NYPD and the need for Arabic speakers on the force, Hajem decided to pursue a career with the Police Department. He took the police academy entrance exam in February of 2006, and scored an 85.9. He also underwent a written and oral psychological examination and was told at the time he was passed and was clear to continue to the Police Academy. He also passed the Academy physical exam and received a congratulatory letter from Police Commissioner Kelly.

Hajim was then contacted by Officer Ramkissoon who wanted Hajim to come in for an interview and provide three references. When Hajim met with Ramkissoon he was told in substance "these are Middle Eastern names and I want American names. You may be a terrorist and they may say good things about you." He added "I am against people who come from other countries and want to be police officers here."

That is what we are dealing with in the NYPD. Even though this is about one applicant and one officer, the problem with our police force does not stop with Officer Ramkissoon. Thanks to people like Rudy Giuliani and those like him, the police force that is meant to protect us is becoming increasingly militarized and rife with racial stereotypes despite what seems to be an ethnically diverse workforce.

FDNY Sued For Recruiting Discrimination

New York's bravest are being targeted for a discrimination suit that alleges the testing required join the FDNY is skewed to hurt minority's chances for getting the job. The Department of Justice filed the suit in Federal Court today against the city.

From WCBS-TV:

Captain Paul Washington is the past president of the Vulcan Society, a group that brought a lawsuit against the FDNY five years ago. That lawsuit was the basis of the current federal investigation.

"The fire department will be getting what it deserves for not having acted on their own. They have had more than enough opportunity," Washington told CBS 2 in April.

"The guy who gets the 99 or 100 on a test isn't going to be any better than the guy who gets the 80 or 75. The fire department knows that, the mayor's office knows that, everybody does," Washington adds. "They should not use that test as a barometer on who's going to get on the job or not."

Other major cities such as Los Angeles and Boston have 40 to 50 percent or more of their ranks filled with minorities. In New York that number is between 8 and 9 percent. The city claims that the suit is unwarranted and that the Fire Department has made changes to their policy to accept for people of color. Yet no real change has been seen yet since Paul Washington first filed a suit five years ago. It seems like the city is just stalling and because of that, what is left of our Justice Department is set to prosecute and achieve some equality for what is seen as the most honorable fire department in the world.