Daily Dose & Announcements: 06/11/09
June 10, 2009
>> Korean Waitresses Win Settlement for Wrongful Termination and Unpaid Minimum Wage and Overtime
>> Public Health Crisis Looms as Gov. Schwarzenegger Proposes Gutting State Funding for HIV/AIDS Services in CA
>> Akshaya Patra Partners with Online Shopping Portal OneCause
>> The 2nd Annual San Francisco Filipino American
Jazz Festival
>>
Speaking for Business, Listening to the Community
Compiled by Beleza Chan
Nation
Korean Waitresses Win Settlement for Wrongful Termination and Unpaid Minimum Wage and Overtime
Newark, NJ - The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund’s (AALDEF) New Jersey-Asian American Legal Project (NJ-AALP) announced a settlement on behalf of two Korean waitresses against Soo Moon Nam Jib Restaurant-the largest Korean restaurant in Palisades Park, New Jersey. AALDEF NJ-AALP filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey for years of unpaid minimum wage and overtime pay and a charge with the National Labor Relations Board for violating Federal laws protecting workers who organize for improved working conditions. The settlement announcement follows a week when community residents and workers protested against the ongoing labor violations at another eatery, Dongari Restaurant, in Fort Lee. AALDEF Staff Attorney Alex Saingchin said, “These workers labored long hours at Soo Moon Nam Jib for what amounted to pocket change. And their employers fired them for simply talking with their co-workers about improving their work environment. The owners of Soo Moon Nam Jib broke the law. We’re happy to have helped the workers receive justice.” The waitresses worked twelve-hour days at the busy Soo Moon Nam Jib Restaurant, serving and cleaning up after customers at a non-stop pace. Yet, the employers never paid them minimum wage or overtime pay. In addition, the employers fired the two waitresses after the workers participated in a meeting to discuss the conditions at the restaurant as well as incidents of tip stealing. This win marks another victory in AALDEF NJ-AALP’s Campaign for Korean Restaurant Workers’ Rights in New Jersey and follows the protest at Dongari Restaurant in Fort Lee , New Jersey . Last week, AALDEF, former employees of Dongari restaurant, and local residents demanded that the employers pay their workers the tens of thousands of dollars owed to them in unpaid wages, chanting “Respect labor laws!” and “Workers are not your slaves!” The owners of Dongari continue to break the law and not pay their workers. Some of the workers have not been paid in over eight months. AALDEF Community Organizer, Elizabeth Koo, said, “When workers work, their employers have an obligation to pay. But somehow, the owners of Dongari think that the rules don’t apply to them. The workers are struggling to find jobs, make rent, and support their families. Yet, the owners make money from the restaurant, live in an affluent neighborhood, and drive a luxury BMW. This case is about right and wrong.”
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Bay
Public Health Crisis Looms as Gov. Schwarzenegger Proposes Gutting State Funding for HIV/AIDS Services in CA
San Francisco - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is seeking to balance the state budget on the backs of some of California’s most vulnerable residents-including people living with HIV and those at greatest risk of HIV infection. By cutting more than $80 million of support for HIV care, prevention and treatment, the governor’s budget jeopardizes lives and threatens to reverse years of progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The budget cuts include $12.3 million from the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), which enables 35,000 low-income and unemployed Californians living with HIV to pay for lifesaving medications. Gov. Schwarzenegger has provided no specific plan for reducing ADAP, but one proposal is to increase cost sharing for those who already cannot afford the costly HIV drugs, making it more difficult for people to access treatment. Other proposed cuts would virtually eliminate state government support of HIV testing, prevention and education efforts, and other care and support services. These cuts include: $24.6 million from HIV Prevention and Education and $43 million from the state Office of AIDS budget for HIV testing, counseling, surveillance, early intervention services, therapeutic monitoring, housing, and home and community-based care. Cuts to testing and treatment will inevitably lead to more HIV infections throughout the state. By cutting HIV education, Governor Schwarzenegger ensures communities hardest hit by HIV will lose access to critical information about HIV transmission. It is estimated that one in five people who are living with HIV are unaware they have the virus. Without HIV testing and prevention education services, this lack of awareness and rate of infection will only increase, unchecked. California has served as a model to the nation and world for its dedication to a sound prevention, care and treatment response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic for more than 25 years. These cuts threaten to dismantle the state’s efforts in the fight against HIV disease.
Akshaya Patra Partners with Online Shopping Portal OneCause
Boston - The Akshaya Patra Foundation, the world’s largest NGO-run midday meal program, recently partnered with OneCause, an online community aimed at socially conscious shoppers who support causes of their choice while shopping online.
Those interested in helping Akshaya Patra can make their online purchases through OneCause and pick Akshaya Patra as the cause to be benefited. OneCause helps Akshaya Patra by contributing a certain percentage of every purchase made to the shopper’s designated charity. OneCause is partnered with hundreds of well-known merchants, including Amazon, Apple, Macys, Nordstrom, Target and offers buyers special coupons and savings opportunities. Up to 20 percent of the total cost of each purchase goes directly to Akshaya Patra, at no extra cost to the consumer.
Akshaya Patra’s vision is that no child shall be deprived of education because of hunger. A public-private partnership, Akshaya Patra is currently feeding over one million children from 17 kitchens located in seven states in India.
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Arts
The 2nd Annual San Francisco Filipino American
Jazz Festival
Event: The 2nd Annual San Francisco Filipino American
Jazz Festival
Description: Featuring Mon David, John Calloway,
Anna Maria Flechero, Raquel Abe Lagrimas, Tateng Katindig, Anne Marie Santos.
Presented by the
San Francisco Filipino American Jazz Festival
in collaboration with the
Filipino American National Historical Society,
San Francisco Pistahan Parade Festival
, San Francisco Filipino Cultural Center,
Philippine American Writers and Artists, Inc.
Details: Aug. 8-9, Yerba Buena Gardens,
San Francisco
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Commerce
Speaking for Business, Listening to the Community
Event: Presented by the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce
Description: San Leandro, Now’s The Time An Economic Forum. San Leandro Is Changing. We’re Taking Charge of Our Future. Listen to Our Story. Now’s The Time! Key Note Speaker: Michael Freedman of Freedman, Tung & Sakaki “How The Current Economic Downturn Will Reshape Suburban Communities”
Details: $40, June 22, 3 p.m. - 5 p.m., San Leandro Library
Contact: http://www.sanleandrochamber.com/chamber_store.htm#Events
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