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Austin Weekly News, February 15, 2017
The next gathering of the Westside Men’s Network will be this coming Friday, February 17th at MacArthur’s at 12 noon. Be sure to let the cashier know that you’re with the Westside Men’s group to get your lunch for $10. Enjoy a great lunch with some casual networking; time to introduce ourselves and our business/organization; and this week one of our members, Leroy Duncan, will provide a presentation to help us with some of the things to be aware of during Tax Season. Remember, if you haven’t had a chance to bring some clothes for the Breakthrough men who could use some good clothing for pursuing employment, you can bring it with you this Friday. Join us for a special gathering happening at Circle Urban/Rock Church this coming Thursday at 1 PM. “What if we live love in our community?” Come out and join in the community conversation. WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer
And, be sure to check out Cook County’s RFP’s from the Justice Advisory Council. http://legacy.cookcountyil.gov/purchasing/public/listalldocs.php You only have until March 9th to get the proposal in, so if you’re interested you need to get going!
“WORK NOW!’: Black Workers Matter members on the grounds of Mercury Plastics on the West Side. The company doesn’t hire enough local and minority workers, they say.
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Too few locals? from page 1
custom thermoplastic plastic, fabrication and printing services, according to its website, has come under fire in the past for perceived racism. A group of African American men filed a federal class-action lawsuit against MVP Staffing, a temporary hiring agency, and other companies, Mercury Plastics included, on the basis of racial discrimination practices against African American applicants in favor of Hispanics, according to a December 2016 report by The New York Times. Hassan Blanch, another founder of BWM, said that he and other protestors have spoken with current and former employees of Mercury Plastics and discovered that still very few, if any, hail from predominantly African American communities on Chicago’s West Side. He said Mercury Plastics’ employees should reflect the residents of the community in which it resides. “We had a discrimination issue and we came together and politicked, took care
of business and won,” said Blanch. “We’re back again dealing with the same issues.” Marquis Sheppard, 21, a former employee at Mercury Plastics was front and center during the protest. He believes he was unfairly terminated due to the color of his skin. The Austin resident claims his work performance was under consistent high scrutiny despite positive results during his month of employment. Since that time he’s been unable to have a discussion with hiring personnel at Mercury Plastics or the temp agency that employed him. He said he believes in BWM’s effort to highlight discrimination. “It seems like they’re only hiring from one part of the West Side of Chicago and leaving the other one out and that’s not right,” said Sheppard. “It really irks me, it really angers me inside but what can I do? I’m not an alderman, I’m not in the state Senate, I don’t have the upper-hand but what I try to do is get my voice heard and try to put my feet to the ground and make an impact.” David Goldman, Mercury Plastics manager and son of Rick Goldman, offered a statement of “no comment” to Austin Weekly News after the conclusion of the protest. CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com