Workers' World Today - Issue 17

February 2021 INSIDE

Supporting Employment-based Immigration ... 19

Help for First-time Homeowners ... 18

Do I Need a Divorce Lawyer? ... 13

Issue #17

New York City Council Proposes Sweeping NYPD Reforms

New York Sues Amazon, Saying It Inadequately Protected Workers From Covid-19

BY ERIC UMANSKY AND JOAQUIN SAPIEN PROPUBLICA

T

he New York City Council has announced an ambitious slate of legislation to reshape the NYPD and increase accountability at the nation’s largest police force. Among the proposed changes, the police commissioner would be stripped of final say over disciplining officers.

In an ongoing investigation, ProPublica has detailed how NYPD officers who’ve mis-

i

Editorial credit: Christopher Penler / Shutterstock.com

treated civilians have escaped significant punishment and even been promoted to top positions, while commissioners have often dismissed proposed

AG James

penalties for officers.

The proposed reforms, unveiled on Friday, are laid out in 11 bills and one resolution sponsored by several City Council continued on page 9

Hot Topics and News You Should Know About

Work-life Balance in a Pandemic: A Public Health Issue ... 21

Students with Disabilities Turned Away ... 14

5 Healing Shame Exercises to Help You Show Up Fully

Passing the PRO Act Will Usher a New Era for Workers ... 5

Planning for Advanced Heart Failure ... 25

Labor-Related News - Nationally & Locally

N

EW YORK : New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against Amazon over its failures to provide adequate health and safety measures for employees at the company’s New York facilities and Amazon’s retaliatory actions against multiple employees amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. In failing to maintain a safe work environment by reasonably protecting workers from the spread of COVID-19, Amazon violated New York State Labor Law. In addition, Amazon continued on page 8

... 22

You Finally Got a Job! Now What?

I The Express Train to More Dangerous Subways ... 3

Hundred of Meatpacking Workers Died From COVID-19 ...6

In Memoriam: AFL-CIO President-Emeritus, John Sweeney ... 16

f you finally landed a new job after days, weeks, or even months of trying, congratulations. But now comes a different challenge – succeeding, making connections, and fitting in at your new workplace, a task that becomes even more daunting if you’re working remotely.

“Remote work can magnify some of the more continued on page 17

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February 2021

Every advance in this half-century: Social Security, civil rights, Medicare, aid to education, one after another—came with the support and leadership of American Labor.

—President Jimmy Carter

Contents Editorial credit: Nir Levy / Shutterstock.com

Labor History - February 22

In Solidarity: The Express Train to More Dangerous Subways............................................................................3 Civil Rights: We Need More Black Women On Our Federal Appellate Courts..............................................4 Workers’ Matters Passing the PRO Act Will Usher a New Era of Workers.......................................................................5 Workers’ Safety Hundreds of Meatpackering Workers Died from COVID-19.................................................................6

Photo courtesy NYC Central Labor Council

Albert Shanker dies at age 68. He served as president of New York City’s United Federation of Teachers from 1964 to 1984 and of the American Federation of Teachers from 1974 to 1997 – 1997

In the News .... 16 New York Hotel Workers Seek COVID-19 Vaccine

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Commemoration Thursday March 25th, 6PM: Join us for the virtual commemoration of the 110th Anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.

More information coming soon.

Email info@rememberthetrianglefire.org

Union in Action Healthcare Union 1199SEIU Launches Massive Nursing Home Reform Campaign..............................10 Home Ownership Help for First-time Home Buyers..............................18 Love, Health & Travel Work-life Balance in a Pandemic: A Public Health Issue We Cannot Ignore.................................21

COLUMNS 5 Healing Shame Exercises to Help You Show Up More Fully .... 22 If guilt is our North Star, then shame is a black hole. Shame sucks us into heavy darkness, where no light can get in and no light can escape. Shame says, “I am bad. I am broken. What’s the point?” It says, “I did something bad, therefore I am bad.”

Family: The True Modern Relationship .... 13 In the final analysis, a relatively small percentage of divorces can go from start to finish in a truly uncontested, amicable manner. Many marriage dissolution cases are contentious from before the initial documents are filed with the court.

AFM Local 802 Round Up At AFM Local 802, the union celebrates that the first New York "pop-up" concerts with Jon Batiste and Stay Human were covered under a union contract, and that the AFL-CIO featured Local 802 member Akua Dixon for Black History Month.

Local 802 and the Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds are also demanding health care relief in the New York State budget.

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February 2021

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3

In Solidarity

The Express Train to More Dangerous Subways

BY TONY UTANO

A Supports Workers’ World Today

R

ecently, I was in Albany fighting and seeking support of A1261/S1947, legislation that will create a clear definition of public work and level the playing field for New York’s contractors.

District Council 9 Painters and Allied Trades Union (DC9), the union for painters, prides itself on being a strong advocate for workers’ rights and safety. We are excited about this new publication, Workers’ World Today, which covers the issues of relevance and concern for all workers.

We are encouraged that all workers: blue and white collar will have a voice and platform.

Congratulations on your inaugural issue. We wish much success to the leaders and team of Workers’ World Today and pledge our support.p Davon Lomax Political Director, DC9

statement from CWA President Chris Shelton on the reintroduction of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, historic, bipartisan legislation to make it easier for workers to join a union and bargain with their employers, and to crack down on employers who use unfair union-busting tactics against their employees when they exercise their freedom to join together to improve their workplace: Nobody feels safe in the subway. Not the riders and certainly not the workers.

Daily ridership was down 3.5 million last year. But more people were robbed, raped and murdered in the system than in 2019.

Nearly 360 riders were victims of a felony assault last year. That’s just 20 fewer than the year before, when the trains and stations were packed.

Then came last weekend when two people were killed, and two others nearly killed, in a span of hours on the A line.

Amazingly, the MTA is still pushing forward with a plan to temporarily shutter subway station booths — leaving them unstaffed — for periods of time during the morning, evening and overnight shifts. How can that possibly help the situation? It won’t.

Riders will be less safe and even more fearful.

On one hand, the MTA is demanding Mayor de Blasio put more uniformed police officers in the subway. We wholeheartedly agree.

But on the other hand, the MTA is looking to take away

uniformed station agents, who provide extra sets of eyes and ears for law enforcement. Station agents call for the police and medical assistance all the time.

Here’s a snapshot.

On Sunday, Feb. 14, station agents called for the police and/or EMTs because of these situations: Two riders were assaulted at different stations. Six riders fell, including three who tumbled to the tracks from a platform. Two subway cleaners were being harassed and menaced. A group of eight riders, including two children, were stuck in an elevator. An unattended package was left near a station exit.

There also were some reports of vandalism, someone breaking into a utility room, and people who were injured just outside the station on the street level.

That’s just one 24-hour period.

Right now, a station agent who takes his or her 30-minute meal break is replaced temporarily in the booth for that period of time by another station agent on “lunch relief” duty. Eliminating lunch-relief duty would mean every fulltime booth would be locked and unstaffed for 90 minutes a day.

There are more than 470 booths in the subway system.

In essence, you are talking about a security and safety cut totaling approximately 700 hours a day, approximately 5,000 hours per week.

That’s a lot of time during which a station agent will not be in the booth monitoring turnstile areas and subway entrances.

On Feb. 3, a man commuting to work was slashed across the face on an L train at a Manhat-

tan station in an unprovoked and brutal attack. Bleeding profusely, he went directly to the booth.

“He came up and said, ‘Call the police. I have been slashed,’ ” the station agent on duty that morning said. “He was in a state of shock.”

Last Friday, a mentally ill man with a knife began a murderous rampage on the A line.

He killed two homeless people, and nearly murdered two others who survived, according to police.

A rider at the Mott Ave./Far Rockaway station came across the butchered body of the first murder victim in a train car at 11:19 p.m., and “reported the grisly killing to the booth clerk,” the Daily News reported.

If the MTA’s booth closure plan had been in effect, those booths could have been empty.

The MTA, which says it needs to close booths for 30-minute periods every day to reduce labor costs, tried to implement its plan on Jan. 31. TWU Local 100 filed a lawsuit challenging the move.

We argued booth closures would not only be unsafe but also would amount to a service cut: Riders would be denied services that station agents provide, which include remotely opening service gates for wheelchair users unable to navigate through turnstiles.

We also argued the MTA would be violating state law requiring public hearings before it implements significant service changes.

An MTA lawyer claimed these “mere” staffing changes would only be a “minor inconvenience” to riders.

Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice W. Franc Perry sided with the union. While he didn’t directly answer the

TEAM Publisher Workers’ World Today, Inc Editor-in-Chief Pearl Phillip Contributing Writers Marilyn Silverman Charles Tabasso Victoria Falk Erin Telesford Jennine Estes, MFT Travis Morales Mary Campbell Janet Howard Legal Advisor Brian Figeroux, Esq. Telephone 1-866-435-3286 Email info@workersworldtoday.com Visit us at www.workersworldtoday.com

safety question, Perry ruled on Jan. 28 that the MTA must hold public hearings if it wants to move forward.

The planned “closures clearly constitute a reduction of services and a reduction of access to the system by the general public,” Perry ruled.

An MTA spokesman has said the MTA plans on holding the required hearings.

The MTA faces major financial challenges because of how COVID-19 has ravaged the economy and agency revenues.

But it has received billions of dollars from the federal government, and billions more are expected. It shouldn’t cut corners on safety.

Reducing station staffing would be a bad idea during the best of times. It’s a horrendous and dangerous idea today.p

Tony Utano is president of Transit Workers Union Local 100. This Op-Ed originally appeared in the NY Daily News on February 18, 2021.

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February 2021

4

Civil Rights

We Need More Black Women on Our Federal Appellate Courts

BY CIVIRIGHTS.ORG

S

even months after the death of civil rights lawyer and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in 1993, the American Bar Association’s Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession sponsored a memorial program to honor the legal giant.

At the event celebrating the life of Justice Marshall, Bernice Donald, at the time a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge in the Western District of Tennessee, spoke briefly about what Justice Marshall meant to her. “I owe my professional existence, my professional life, to him. I was one of those individuals who grew up as the child of sharecroppers in Mississippi, and it was through his work that I even dared to dream that I could one day become a lawyer and dared to have the courage to even have a career in the judiciary.”

Donald’s career as a judge

was just getting started. Two years after that memorial, President Clinton nominated her to a federal district court in Tennessee after Odell Horton – the first Black federal judge in Tennessee since Reconstruction – assumed senior status (a form of semi-retirement that creates a new vacancy on the court). Six years later, President Obama appointed Donald to the Sixth Circuit. When the Senate confirmed her on September 6, 2011 by a vote of 96-2, Donald became the first Black woman to ever serve on

that court.

Today, nearly a decade later, Judge Bernice Donald is still the last Black woman confirmed by the Senate to any federal appeals court – a shameful reality that persists because of Republican obstruction during Obama’s presidency and because of Donald Trump’s refusal to nominate any Black judges to the circuit courts.

In early 2016, President Obama nominated Myra Selby and Rebecca Haywood – both Black women with impressive

legal credentials who would have added important and overdue diversity to our courts. Selby would have been the first Black woman from Indiana on the Seventh Circuit and Haywood would have been the first Black woman on the Third Circuit – but Republican senators from Indiana and Pennsylvania, respectively, blocked their nominations.

Once Trump took office, he refused to move Selby’s nomination forward and instead selected Amy Coney Barrett for

that seat. He also replaced Haywood with Stephanos Bibas in what became a pattern of Trump replacing Obama’s nominees of color with white nominees. Over the course of his entire presidency, Trump’s record on judicial diversity was appalling. Of his 234 lifetime judges, more than 84 percent are white and more than 76 percent are men. Only two (not percent – two total) are Black women – who were both appointed to district court seats. Zero of his 54 circuit court judges are Black.

We need to call this what it is: an outrage for our courts and for our nation. When Trump took office, there were seven Black women serving on federal appeals courts. Three have since retired, and three of the remaining four are eligible to take senior status. Now, with President Biden set to begin making judicial nominations soon, he must prioritize restoring the diversity we’ve lost – continued on page 5

February 2021

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5

Workers’ Matters

Passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act Will Usher In A New Era for Workers

A

statement from CWA President Chris Shelton on the reintroduction of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, historic, bipartisan legislation to make it easier for workers to join a union and bargain with their employers, and to crack down on employers who use unfair union-busting tactics against their employees when they exercise their freedom to join together to improve their workplace: This is the moment that working people have been waiting for. With the new proworker administration, and with public support for labor unions at the highest it's has been in decades, CWA members are ready to raise their voices, flood congressional of-

This is the moment that working people have been waiting for. fices with phone calls, and do every single thing within our power to make the the PRO Act – a sweeping labor law reform bill that would usher in a new era for workers – the law of the land.

The pandemic has illustrated how dangerously weak our nation's labor laws are, espe-

cially when workers decide to form a union, thanks to years of shameless corporate attacks on workers' rights. We are prepared for these professional union-busters to spread misinformation and use every dirty trick they possibly can against us in this fight. But CWA members are fired up because

we all know exactly why these corporate special interests have to resort to these dirty tricks – it's because they see the writing on the wall. When millions of workers stand together, these union-busters will be exposed and defeated, and the voices of the workers will finally be heard.p

We Need More Black Women/ continued from page 4 and then advancing it even further. He has promised to nominate the first Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court. President Biden must keep this promise, and do more to enrich all of our courts by nominating more Black women to serve in these lifetime appointments.

In 2021 and beyond, this administration must nominate for federal judgeships individuals who have a demonstrated commitment to civil and human rights, are fair-minded, possess a progressive vision of the law and Constitution, and are reflective and representative of the vast and rich diversity of our country – and that includes nominating Black women to the bench.

Because let’s be clear: Nearly a decade after Judge Bernice Donald’s historic confirmation, it is past time for the president to nominate – and for the Senate to confirm – more Black women. Our rights shouldn’t have to wait any longer.p

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February 2021

6

Workers’ Safety

After Hundreds of Meatpacking Workers Died From COVID-19, Congress Wants Answers

BY BERNICE YEUNG & MICHAEL GRABELL PROPUBLICA

A

key congressional panel launched an investigation this week into the wave of COVID-19 infections that killed hundreds of workers at meatpacking plants nationwide last year and highlighted longstanding hazards in the industry.

Since the start of the pandemic, the meat industry has struggled to contain the virus in its facilities, and plants in Iowa, South Dakota and Kansas have endured some of the biggest workplace outbreaks in the country.

The meat companies’ employees, many of them immigrants and refugees, slice pig bellies or cut up chicken carcasses in close quarters. Many of them don’t speak English and aren’t granted paid sick leave. To date, more than 50,000 meatpacking workers

A photo taken by OSHA during an inspection of the Tyson Foods pork plant in Waterloo, Iowa, at the height of a COVID-19 outbreak shows workers standing close together, separated by recently installed plastic curtains. (Obtained by ProPublica)

have been infected and at least 250 have died, according to a ProPublica tally.

The congressional investigation, opened by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, will examine the role of JBS,

Smithfield Foods and Tyson Foods, three of the nation’s largest meat companies, which, the subcommittee said, had “refused to take basic precautions to protect their workers” and had “shown a callous disregard for workers’ health.”

The subcommittee is chaired by Rep. James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, the No. 3 Democrat in the House.

In response to the subcommittee's announcement, officials for JBS and Tyson said that the companies had spent hundreds of millions of dollars to implement coronavirus protections and to temporarily increase pay and benefits, and they looked forward to discussing their pandemic safety efforts with the panel. Smithfield said in a statement that it had also taken “extraordinary measures” to protect employees from the virus, spending more than $700 million on workplace modifications, testing and equipment.

The House subcommittee noted that reports from a variety of news organizations had illuminated problems with how the meatpacking companies handled the pandemic, and with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s enforcement efforts. The subcommittee cited ProPublica’s reporting on how meat companies blindsided local public health departments, and on Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts’ efforts to intervene when local health officials tried to temporarily shutter a JBS plant amid an outbreak.

ProPublica has also documented how meat companies ignored years of warnings from the federal government about how a pandemic could tear through a food processing facility, and chronicled the role that meatpacking plants like a Tyson pork facility in Waterloo, Iowa, have played in spreading the virus to the surrounding community.

The subcommittee’s inquiry will also scrutinize the federal government’s shortcomings in protecting meatpacking workers. “Public reports indicate that under the Trump Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) failed to adequately

carry out its responsibility for enforcing worker safety laws at meatpacking plants across the country, resulting in preventable infections and deaths,” according to the subcommittee's letter to OSHA. The subcommittee also said that the agency had issued only a “few meager fines” and “failed to show urgency in addressing safety hazards at the meatpacking facilities it inspected.” The letter noted that OSHA had received complaints about JBS and Smithfield plants months before the agency conducted inspections.

David Seligman, a lawyer who helped meatpacking workers in Pennsylvania file a lawsuit against OSHA during the pandemic, said he hopes the subcommittee’s efforts are “just one of the initial steps” to holding companies accountable and ensuring workers are safe. “The harm inflicted on meat-processing workers during this pandemic, in service of the profits of corporate meatpacking companies and under a government that seemed happy to turn a blind eye, is a grave scandal,” Seligman wrote in an email.

In a statement, a Department of Labor spokesperson said that the subcommittee’s inquiry is “focused on the Trump administration’s actions surrounding the protection of workers from COVID-19 related risks,” and the agency is committed to protecting workers, and that new guidance on coronavirus enforcement that was issued in late January will serve as a “first step.”

In its Feb. 1 letters to OSHA, JBS, Tyson and Smithfield, the subcommittee has requested documents related to government inspections at meatpacking plants and COVID-19 complaints lodged with the companies. OSHA was asked to brief the subcommittee by Feb. 15.p

Bernice Yeung covers business with a focus on labor and employment for ProPublica. Michael Grabell writes about economic issues, labor, immigration and trade. In 2019, he was part of a team that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for public service.

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February 2021

8

Know Your Rights NY Sues Amazon/ continued from page 1 unlawfully fired and disciplined employees that objected to Amazon’s unsafe work conditions.

“While Amazon and its CEO made billions during this crisis, hardworking employees were forced to endure unsafe conditions and were retaliated against for rightfully voicing these concerns,” said Attorney General James. “Since the pandemic began, it is clear that Amazon has valued profit over people and has failed to ensure the health and safety of its workers. The workers who have powered this country and kept it going during the pandemic are the very workers who continue to be treated the worst. As we seek to hold Amazon accountable for its actions, my office remains dedicated to protecting New York workers from exploitation and unfair treatment in all forms.”

Attorney General James opened an investigation into Amazon in March 2020 following numerous complaints about the lack of precautions taken to protect employees in Amazon facilities as New York

Editorial credit: Frederic Legrand - COMEO / Shutterstock.com

was ravaged by COVID-19.

The investigation was later broadened to examine whether Amazon unlawfully fired or disciplined employees who reported these safety concerns.

In particular, the investigation focused on two facilities with a combined workforce of more than 5,000 individuals –– JFK8, a fulfillment center on Staten Island, and DBK1, a distribution center in Queens. At the time of these complaints, New York City was the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States, and Staten Island had the highest per capita rate of COVID-19 diagnoses in New York City.

The Attorney General’s in-

vestigation uncovered evidence showing that Amazon’s health and safety response violated state law with respect to cleaning and disinfection protocols, contact tracing, and generally permitting employees to take necessary precautions to protect themselves from the risk of COVID-19 infection, among other things.

For example, Amazon was notified of at least 250 employees at the Staten Island facility who had positive COVID-19 tests or diagnoses, with more than 90 of those individuals present in the facility within seven days of notification to Amazon. However, in all but seven of these instances, Ama-

zon failed to close any portion of the facility after learning of the positive cases. Additionally, Amazon implemented an inadequate COVID-19 tracing program that failed to consistently identify workers who came into close contact with employees who tested positive for COVID-19. On occasions when a worker reported having close contact with a coworker with a positive COVID-19 test, Amazon dismissed the worker’s concerns and did not investigate or follow up on the reports.

The evidence gathered through the Attorney General’s investigation also demonstrates that Amazon unlawfully fired and disciplined workers who reported their concerns about Amazon’s compliance with these health and safety mandates, including Christian Smalls and Derrick Palmer. Smalls and Palmer both raised concerns about Amazon’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic to Amazon managers, made public complaints about Amazon’s practices through the media, and submitted complaints to at least one government agency.

Amazon fired Smalls and issued Palmer a final written warning after they made these valid and reasonable complaints.

The lawsuit, filed in the Supreme Court of New York County, argues that Amazon’s actions are in violation of New York labor, whistleblower protection, and anti-retaliation laws. The suit seeks broad injunctive relief and damages, including: •Requiring Amazon to take all affirmative steps, including changing policies, conducting training, and undergoing monitoring, among others, to ensure that Amazon reasonably and adequately protects the lives, health, and safety of its employees.

•Awarding backpay, liquidated damages, emotional distress damages, and reinstatement for former employee Christian Smalls.

•Awarding liquidated damages and emotional distress damages for employee Derrick Palmer.

•Requiring Amazon to give up the profits it made as a result of its illegal acts.p

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Hot Topic Sweeping NYPD Reforms/ continued from page 1 members, including Speaker Corey Johnson, Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo and Public Safety Committee Chair Adrienne Adams.

City Council member Stephen Levin, who also helped craft the legislation, drew a “direct line” from ProPublica’s coverage to the proposed changes on discipline.

Another bill in the package would remove NYPD officers as the default responders to emergency calls related to mental health. As ProPublica recently detailed, the NYPD has killed at least 16 civilians in crisis over the past few years, including 32-year-old Kawaski Trawick, who was shot just 112 seconds after officers arrived at his apartment.

The NYPD and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office told ProPublica they are assessing the bills.

“We look forward to reviewing all legislation and working

in partnership with the Council in pursuit of our shared goal of longstanding police reform,” the mayor’s office said in a statement.

Despite support among key City Council members, the changes are not a foregone conclusion. For example, decades-old state laws have left some ambiguity about whether the council can on its own roll back a police commissioner’s discipline authority.

So the City Council has proposed that the state Legislature move on the issue first.

The legislative package comes as Gov. Andrew Cuomo has required local governments, including New York City, to adopt police reform plans by April 1.

The NYPD and de Blasio have also offered their own changes. The NYPD has adopted detailed guidelines — “a disciplinary matrix” — laying out the punishments officers should face for misconduct.

Last week, de Blasio proposed to expand the power of the Civilian Complaint Review Board to investigate alleged police abuse.

Neither de Blasio’s proposals nor the matrix would limit the NYPD’s current discretion over discipline.

The CCRB voted last week to use the NYPD’s disciplinary matrix, but some members of the 15-member board expressed reservations.

“We are literally adopting the police’s own policies,” said board member Marbre StahlyButts. Noting that the NYPD would not be required to follow the guidelines, she called the matrix “meaningless.”

Levin told ProPublica the NYPD can’t be left to discipline officers on its own. The NYPD has failed to do so for decades, he said, “so why would we think things would change without laws requiring them to do so?”

Some reform advocates in New York City said that while

they’re glad to see the council take action, the proposals alone aren’t enough. “There needs to be careful scrutiny, additions to the package, retooling and a real commitment to significantly decrease the NYPD's outsized budget, scope, size and power,” said Anthonine Pierre, spokesperson for Communities United for Police Reform.

Also on Friday, the Brooklyn district attorney, Eric Gonzalez, announced he is moving to vacate more than 200 warrants related to prostitution and dismiss the underlying charges.

In December 2020, ProPublica published an investigation of how prostitution is policed in New York City. Our story showed that those arrested for buying and selling sex are almost exclusively people of color, that many vice officers don’t believe the arrests improve public safety and that they were driven significantly by overtime pay.

The district attorney, who

began moving in this direction last year, has also renewed his support to repeal the law that makes it illegal to loiter for purposes of prostitution. Critics have long said the law is often used to harass transgender people. Gonzalez said he is also asking the state Legislature to pass a bill that would expunge past prostitution convictions, so that they no longer appear in background checks for employment, housing or other opportunities. This would affect more than 25,000 Brooklyn cases dating back to 1975.

The move was one of many reforms that Brooklyn Defender Services, which represents tens of thousands of defendants a year, advocated for in a letter to the district attorney and other officials after the ProPublica story.p Mollie Simon contributed reporting. Article published Feb 1, 2021

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February 2021

10

Union In Action

Laborers Local 79 and Mason Tenders' District Council Launch Laborers Fight Back

M

ass incarceration of Black and brown communities has led to an ever growing labor pool of vulnerable, disadvantaged and discriminated-against workers. Labor brokers known as body shops prey on people returning home and leverage workers' parole mandates of maintaining employment as a condition of their release.

These body shops take advantage of the scarcity of job opportunities available to formerly incarcerated New Yorkers. No contractor or developer should be allowed to condemn Black and brown construction workers to economic imprisonment and bodily harm. That’s re-sentencing, not Real Re-Entry.

Laborers Local 79 and the Mason Tenders’ District Council have launched Laborers

Healthcare Union 1199SEIU Launches Massive Nursing Home Reform Campaign

O Photo courtesy NYC Central Labor Council

Tell the City Council to #EndBodyShopsNow! Fight Back to address the rampant exploitation of justice affected laborers in the New York City construction industry.

Formerly incarcerated New Yorkers are told that in order to survive life after prison, they must accept dangerous, lowwage construction jobs. Local 79 is fighting against exploita-

tion, and to increase career opportunities in the union construction industry for formerly incarcerated New Yorkers.

New York City must regulate and license body shops to stop the exploitation of formerly incarcerated workers. Real reentry means real economic security.p

n the heels of the New York State Attorney General’s report that revealed that nursing homes with fewer staff had more COVID deaths, 1199SEIU, the largest healthcare union in the country, this week launched a multi-million-dollar advertising campaign to reform the nursing home industry. The union supports legislation to hold nursing home owners accountable to ensure quality care for the state’s most vulnerable, and protections for the dedicated men and women who care for them.

Union officials say the campaign, called Invest in Quality Care, is necessary now because the COVID-19 pandemic amplified chronic shortcomings in the nursing home industry, in-

26 Court Street, Suite 701, Downtown Brooklyn

cluding inadequate infection control, insufficient hours of care, low wages, high turnover, reliance on per diem workers, profiteering and insufficient state oversight.

“We cannot simply return to pre-pandemic conditions of sub-standard care and lowquality jobs,” said Milly Silva, Executive Vice President of 1199SEIU. “True comprehensive reform is needed to ensure that residents receive the highest levels of care, and that workers are able to remain safe and healthy as they tend to the residents they know and love.

The state must ensure that the billions of taxpayer dollars being spent to provide care are actually being spent on quality care and not siphoned off as excessive profits.” p

NYC, masks and social distancing are working!

WHAT’S NEXT

IN THE COVID-19 FIGHT? NOW, WE ALL NEED TO GET TESTED OFTEN, even with no symptoms, to keep reducing the spread.

TO FIND EASY AND SAFE TESTING AT NO COST TO YOU,

VISIT NYC.GOV/COVIDTEST OR CALL 212-COVID19

Your work is essential!

Protect yourself & others from flu and COVID-19 this fall and winter:

MASK UP

LATHER UP

SLEEVE UP

Wear a face mask that covers your nose and mouth.

And keep your distance (at least 6 feet) from others when you can.

Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water aren’t available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

Getting a flu vaccine is more important than ever.

Everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine every season.

A flu vaccine can protect you, your loved ones, and your co-workers from flu.

You can also protect those around you by staying home if you are sick.

CS319348D

Learn more at cdc.gov/flu

February 2021

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Family: The True Modern Relationship

Do I Need A Divorce Lawyer?

BY MARY CAMPBELL 311DIVORCE.COM

I

f you have made the decision to end your marriage, or if your spouse has indicated that he or she wants to pursue a divorce, you undoubtedly have many questions and concerns. If you are like most people, high on the list of questions is whether or not you should retain a divorce lawyer. There are a number of factors to contemplate when considering the need for legal representation in a divorce case.

Legal Representation and an Uncontested Divorce Divorces have the propensity for being some of the most hotly contested, emotionally charged legal actions in the U.S. justice system. With that noted, there are divorce cases that commence as uncontested causes of action.

In basic terms, an uncontested divorce is one in which the parties to the case, the married couple, reach agreement

on the issues associated with the marriage dissolution. If that type of scenario exists, the parties to a divorce can pursue a marriage dissolution themselves in some instances.

An important reality about so-called uncontested divorces needs to be borne in mind. A marriage dissolution process that starts out uncontested may devolve quickly into something altogether different.

In the proverbial blink of an eye, a generally agreeable divorcing couple can end up fighting madly and not watching out for their important individual legal interests.

Understanding the potential for devolution of a divorce case once thought to be uncontested, even friendly, there are certain situations in which the ending of a marriage should never been deemed uncomplicated by its very nature: •Divorce cases involving children •Divorce cases involving more than a minimal amount of property and/or debt •Divorce cases in which a

prenuptial agreement is in place •Divorce cases in which on or both parties are struggling with some type of substance use disorder •Divorce cases in which one or both parties have some type of mental health condition

Document Review by a Divorce Lawyer A common motivator for people to hope their divorce will be uncontested is so that they can avoid paying attorney fees.

The reality is that a hotly contested divorce can result in growing attorney fees.

Nonetheless, the negative consequences of proceeding with a divorce case without legal representation can prove more costly.

Even is a divorce proves to

play out in a relatively amicable fashion, and the parties are able to reach an agreement between themselves, they are nonetheless wise to seek legal counsel to review a property settlement agreement and other documents associated with the case. Bear in mind that a particular attorney can only represent one party when it comes to reviewing divorce documents. Thus, the advisable course is for both spouses to seek a legal review of a property settlement agreement and other documents in an uncontested divorce case, Benefits of Hiring a Divorce Lawyer There exist a variety of key benefits to hiring a divorce lawyer, even when a case seems minimally contentious and relatively “easy” at first

blush. These include, but are not limited to: •Legal representation of the parties can lower the emotional level otherwise found in such a case •Legal counsel better ensures that documents are prepared properly and court procedures are followed •Spouse’s legal rights and interests are better protected with the aid of an experienced divorce lawyer In the final analysis, a relatively small percentage of divorces can go from start to finish in a truly uncontested, amicable manner. Many marriage dissolution cases are contentious from before the initial documents are filed with the court. Some divorce cases become complicated and emotionally charged as the matter progresses in court. Because of the risks associated with a seemingly uncontested divorce becoming anything but, parties to a divorce typically are wise to seek their own legal counsel.p

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February 2021

14

Education

Students with Disabilities Turned Away From NYC’s Free Pandemic Child Care Program

BY ALEX ZIMMERMAN & CHALKBEAT AND CAITLIN ANTONIOS

A

s New York City was on the brink of shutting down all school buildings in November amid rising coronavirus cases, Janet Marte frantically tried to find child care for her 6-year-old son.

The Brooklyn mom, an X-ray tech who works in-person, turned to Learning Bridges, a city program designed to offer parents free child care on days that children in grades pre-K through eight are learning remotely.

But when she asked if they could accommodate her son — who has autism, a nut allergy, and requires the support of a one-on-one paraprofessional at school — she was surprised at the response.

“Unfortunately we do not provide paras. You would

Heather Dailey launched a survey to find other parents who were shut out of the city’s Learning Bridges program. Her efforts caught the attention of New York’s attorney general. Courtesy of Heather Dailey

need to contact DOE about getting a para,” wrote a staff member at the Park Slope Armory YMCA, one of the organizations contracted with the city to provide child care seats. “Constant one-to-one supervision is not possible in our programs. I wish we could be more helpful.”

The response left Marte and her husband, a city employee also working in-person, scrambling for alternatives. They took days off, paid out-of-pocket for child care, and sometimes left their son with older relatives, who weren’t able to help him log on for remote learning.

It also left them frustrated, given the city’s promises to prioritize students with disabilities for the child care program.

“Basically they said if you don’t have a typical child they won’t be able to help you. It’s horrible that that’s even allowed,” Marte said.

“We have to make sure we don’t get fired and stay employed because what is an education if we’re hungry?”

A ‘Very Big Deal’ Again and again, families of students with special needs have been turned away from the city’s child care program or simply gave up trying to secure slots after it became clear they wouldn’t have access to special services, according to interviews with parents and advocates.

The program has been hobbled by other problems, including delays in assigning seats to families, and offerings with hours and locations that in some cases proved infeasible for working families.

After pressure from advocates and questions from reporters, the education department circulated more detailed guidance last week about how to determine whether a student needs extra support, and it created clearer procedures for obtaining services at Learning Bridges sites.

If a student needs a paraprofessional, for example, the education department is supposed to work with the site on making those arrangements.

The guidance underscored that students with special needs shouldn’t be denied access.

“We have also reminded Learning Bridges/Learning Labs programs that we are committed to working with them and families to provide appropriate support based on each child’s needs, and no child should be turned away because they have a disability,” accord-

ing to the guidance document, which was obtained by Chalkbeat and THE CITY. Those changes are a “very big deal,” said Maggie Moroff, a special education policy expert at Advocates for Children, which has handled at least a dozen cases of students being denied access to the program.

“It was very unclear what the process was in the beginning.”

The changes, six months into the school year, may not make much difference to families who were already discouraged from attending. But the city recently expanded eligibility for the program to include students who are learning fully remotely and it can also be a backup for parents when school buildings are shuttered due to multiple coronavirus cases.

Training Gaps The root of the problem, according to some advocates and providers, is the system was not designed to accommodate all students. City officials leaned on community-based nonprofit organizations to quickly create tens of thousands of seats for Learning Bridges, an enormous task that will cost at least $93 million from the education department’s budget, city officials said.

But unlike traditional schools, those community providers may have limited experience working with students with special needs. The centers are often staffed by people without any specialized training, making some of them nervous about enrolling students with more complicated needs.

At the same time, the education department did not immediately create a clear process to provide extra services that might have allowed more students to participate, leaving providers to make decisions about which children they would be able to accommodate.

They “never said, ‘we can train your staff’ or ‘here are the guidelines to work with students with various disabilities,’” said Vito Interrante, who oversees four Learning Bridges sites operated by Children’s Aid, a nonprofit group.

Interrante said his sites have cotinued on page 15

February 2021

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Education Disabilities/ continued from page 14 been able to accommodate students with disabilities who receive services like speech and occupational therapy, and they help students log in for digital versions of those therapies.

But the program isn’t able to serve those who have behavior problems, are at risk of wandering off, or are typically served in classes much smaller than the 15-student classrooms in place at his sites. So far, he said, he has only turned away one student on those grounds.

“We’re employing people who are making $15-18 an hour — they’re not trained to work with students who have specialized issues,” Interrante said. “Our hearts go out to these parents because we realize they’re in a tough spot.”

New Procedures On Tap Last week, the education department notified providers of more concrete procedures for accommodating students with disabilities. Officials said they consider students’ existing learning plans, which spell out what services they’re entitled

to in regular school settings, to determine what accommodations they might need at a Learning Bridges site.

If a provider believes a student may need additional services to be accommodated, they are instructed to contact the education department or the Department of Youth and Community Development, which also oversees the program.

Crucially, the new guidance says the city will provide paraprofessionals who often work individually with students with behavior or health problems. Not having such paraprofessionals proved a significant barrier to access Learning Bridges for many students.

City officials did not say how many students with disabilities are currently being served in the Learning Bridges program or why there weren’t clearer procedures for serving students with disabilities from the beginning.

“We are committed to working with families and sites to provide additional support and appropriate services based on each student’s needs, and

At least one student with a disability struggled to get a seat at the Park Slope Armory YMCA. Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY

no child should be turned away because they have an IEP or 504 plan,” Sarah Casasnovas, an education department spokesperson, wrote in an email.

The new guidance also comes after some parents have exerted pressure on their own.

Parents Take Action Heather Dailey was so frustrated with her Learning Bridges experience that she began a survey with a few other parents in the hope that quantifiable data would highlight the failures of the program and spark change.

Dailey, who lives in Jackson Heights, sought out a Learning Bridges seat because her third

grade son was distracted at home and required constant redirection, something she couldn’t manage on top of her job as a social worker. After weeks of delay, she was matched with a site in Flushing that suggested they didn’t have the necessary staff to meet her son’s needs.

“They didn’t flat out say we couldn’t work with him, but they said this doesn’t really seem like the right place,” Dailey said, noting that the situation was so challenging at home that she got a prescription for her son for ADHD medication to help him focus.

After launching her survey, Dailey discovered she wasn’t the only parent going through

the experience: Of the roughly 60 parents of students with disabilities who responded, 22 had not heard back from a Learning Bridges site and 28 had been unable to attend for a reason directly related to their child’s disability.

The survey ultimately drew the attention of New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office reached out to Dailey to learn more. (Representatives for James and the city’s education department declined to comment on the status of any possible investigation.)

To some parents, their initial experience with Learning Bridges soured them on the program, which may complicate efforts to assure parents that the centers can handle students with disabilities. p This is part of an ongoing collaborative series between Chalkbeat and THE CITY investigating learning differences, special education and other education challenges in city schools.

This story was published on February 25, 2021 by THE CITY

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February 2021

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16

In the News

In Memoriam: AFL-CIO President-Emeritus John Sweeney (1934-2021)

J

ohn Sweeney, who led an era of transformative change in America’s labor movement, passed away Feb. 1 at the age of 86. Sweeney was one of four children born to Irish immigrants in a workingclass Bronx neighborhood shortly after the Great Depression. His parents, James and Agnes Sweeney, worked as a bus driver and a domestic worker, respectively. Sweeney always understood the struggles and the pride of working people.

Sweeney was interested in politics from childhood. His mother took him to see Franklin Delano Roosevelt's funeral train. He often spoke about his father’s loyalty to his union, the Transport Workers Union (TWU), and its colorful president, Mike Quill, with a

sense of what it did for his family. Solid meals.

A week of vacation.

And political rallies with his father.

Sweeney met his wife, Maureen Power, while working on a political campaign. He ran for and was elected Democratic district leader and volunteered for John Kennedy’s presidential campaign. But it was the labor movement where it all came together for him.

As a young man, Sweeney held jobs as a grave-digger and building porter while studying economics at Iona College in New Rochelle, New York, where he joined a union for the first time. Sweeney was exposed to Catholic social teaching from an early age, including the Xavier Labor School, whose head was the inspiration for the priest in the film “On the Waterfront.” He worked throughout his career to forge alliances between Catholic leaders and the labor movement.

"All of NYC Labor mourns the loss of former AFL-CIO President John Sweeney," said NYC CLC President Vincent Alvarez. "President Sweeney was a son of New York City, born and raised in the Bronx. He rose up through our City’s Labor Movement by fighting every day for working people and communities, eventually leading SEIU nationally before taking on the reins of the AFLCIO in 1995. President Sweeney was not only a giant of the Labor Movement, but he was also a person of enormous integrity, class, compassion, and grace. He was one of our own, and his contributions to the lives of NYC’s and our nation’s workers will never be forgotten. We send our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones."p

GWC-UAW Local 2110 Members Rally and Announce Strike Deadline

Photo courtesy NYC Central Labor Council

G

raduate Workers of Columbia-UAW Local 2110 held inperson and virtual rallies to mark two years of bargaining for a contract, saying that Columbia University's persistent stonewalling for these two years leaves them no choice but to escalate in their efforts to ensure decent conditions for student workers. At noon, members and supporters gathered at a masked and socially distanced in-person rally on the steps of Low Library. This event was livestreamed to include student workers and supporters across the globe.

Later that night, a second rally took place on Zoom, affirming the announcement of a March 15 deadline by which the workers will strike if a contract is not reached.

At both events, GWC workers shared testimonials about why they

New York Hotel Workers Seek COVID-19 Vaccine

Workers Represented by IUOE Local 30 Ratify First Union Contract in Guggenheim History

N

ew York’s Guggenheim Museum has signed a contract with its first-ever labor union, the latest in a wave of collectivebargaining agreements at museums across the US. “Local 30 committed to these workers that we would relentlessly pursue an agreement where their talents and skills were justly recognized,” said William Lynn, business manager and financial secretary of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 30 (IUOE). “We are proud to announce today that such an

Photo courtesy NYC Central Labor Council

agreement has been reached with the Guggenheim.”

The three-year contract covers 22 full-time staff who work in engineering, art services, preparation, and fabrication, as well as 145 on-call staff whose tasks include exhibition preparation, installation and maintenance.

The agreement secures a raise of about 10 percent for covered employees, as well as annual bonuses for on-call workers. Full-time workers will now also receive health care at no cost.p

need a fair contract now. The urgency of this contract is recognized and supported on local and national levels, and elected politicians and workers from unions at universities across the country joined GWC to declare their support and solidarity with the fight. Last spring, GWC voted 96% YES to authorize the bargaining committee to call a strike if needed to achieve a fair contract. It is in Columbia’s power to avert a strike by giving GWC workers the contract they deserve after two years of bargaining. It is in the workers' power to secure decent working conditions and a strong first contract. p

T

he hotel industry is urging NY State to designate its staffers as crucial front-line workers so they can be vaccinated against COVID-19. More than 400 members of the Hotel Trades Council died after getting infected with COVID-19, with many employees contracting the virus on the job.

“Hotel workers are essential workers who have been working on the

frontlines throughout this pandemic. They’ve been serving high-risk populations like quarantining travelers and COVID-exposed and other high-risk populations,” said Hotel Trades Council President Rich Maroko. “Over 400 of them have died and thousands more have been sickened, including dozens who have been sickened in just the past few weeks of this year.

Hotel workers deserve to be protected as they continue to perform their essential functions.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week updated its vaccine guidance to add workers of “Traveler Accommodation” for Phase 1C eligibility, and hotel industry insiders note that 80 percent Hotel Trades Council workers are people of color who are deemed at a higher risk to catching COVID-19. p

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Jobs & Recession You Got the Job.../ continued from page 1 difficult experiences people encounter any time they start a new job,” says Bob Slater, coauthor with his son, Nick Slater, of Look Out Above! The Young Professional’s Guide to Success.

“You’ll be placed in situations where you must perform before you think you’re ready.

You may need training that isn’t provided, forcing you to learn on your own and improvise as you go. You may have to meet expectations you weren’t informed about. All of this can happen even if you’re in the office. If you’re working remotely, you may want to just throw up your hands.”

But take a breath. Whether your new job is remote or not, the Slaters say chances of success increase greatly if you follow these six approaches to your work – believe, risk, persevere, adapt, get help, and give help: •Believe. A deep-rooted belief in yourself will have a tremendous impact on your outcome, perhaps especially when you’re working remotely, Nick

cially those who take risks. But a failure, if you learn from it, can move you closer to success.”

Slater says. “You need to believe in your ability, judgment, and equal right with others to achieve and enjoy success,” he says. “You need to believe that you can make it in this world, and that no matter what the challenge you will, ultimately, figure out a way through.”

•Risk. Accepting risk speeds the learning process, so don’t let being on the other side of a screen deter you from jumping in and getting involved, Bob Slater says “Those who put themselves in challenging situations discover more quickly

what works – and what doesn’t – and how to adapt,” he says. “They gain confidence as they realize their capabilities are greater than they thought.”

•Persevere. Life is difficult in general, remote work is difficult in particular, and many people may want the same thing you want, Nick Slater says. “Recognizing this reality may help you resist looking for shortcuts that aren’t there and overcome the temptation to give up,” he says. “Keep pushing yourself and expect some failures. Everybody fails, espe-

•Adapt. Remote work forces you to hone your ability to adapt, and that’s a good thing because being able to adapt is important regardless of the job situation, Bob Slater says.

Adapting is about doing something differently when what you’re doing isn’t working.

“It’s not merely plowing forward, but going forward with a new plan,” he says. “That may mean trying to find new ways to please a demanding client. It may mean taking to heart tough performance feedback from your boss and doing something about it. It may require giving yourself time to catch up when colleagues seem more confident and skilled than you.”

•Get help. Don’t let the screen and distance become a barrier to asking for help when you need it, Nick Slater says. “Expose yourself to knowledgeable people in fields that interest you,” he says. “Find a mentor or two to guide you

and hold you accountable.

Share your goals and aspirations with a few friends you trust. Ideally, your close circle of friends will be people you can learn from and who will learn from you.”

•Give help. Reach beyond the screen to give back as you go, Bob Slater says. “Use some of your time and talent to encourage, teach, and coach others,” he says. “Speak well of people, and when you see them perform well in their job, congratulate them.”

To become a better employee, team member, writer, presenter, leader, or better anything else, you will need to grow, Nick Slater says.

“One year from now,” he says, “you’ll be the same person you are now unless you meet new people, try new things, have new experiences, develop new skills, or learn more about the things that impact your world.”p Bob Slater and Nick Slater are the co-authors of Look Out Above!

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February 2021

18

Home Ownership

Help for First-time Homeowners

BY ANNA CHANG-YEN

B

uying your first home can be both exciting and intimidating.

Homeownership offers many people a kind of personal freedom they’ve never had before, but it also comes with major financial responsibilities. Government programs make it easier to take the plunge of homeownership.

Who Is a First-Time Buyer?

The definition of first-time buyer varies by program. It is important to note that the term can be used very broadly and does not only apply to buyers who have never owned a home before. For the purposes of some tax and government programs, a first-time buyer is anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the last three years.

Read carefully the guidelines for any program before applying for assistance.

Education The federal government helps first-time homeowners by providing money to state-run programs. Buyers who receive assistance through these programs must attend a housing counseling class approved by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Housing counseling is a great way to understand the financial commitment you make when you sign your name to the mortgage papers — before you sign on the line.

Down Payment Assistance Because a massive down payment can be an obstacle to homeownership, many programs for first-time buyers focus on helping them with the down payment.

Most financial assistance programs for first-time buyers are run through individual states.

For example, in New York, the Home Investment Partnerships Program provides up to $10,000 in down payment assistance and $2,000 in closing cost assistance to low-income

first-time buyers in the form of a deferred, forgivable, interestfree loan.

At the federal level, Fannie Mae’s HomePath Ready Buyer program, announced in April 2015, provides a closing credit of 3% to first-time buyers of a HomePath home.

Loan Programs The FHA loan program may be ideal for first-time buyers with little cash to close the deal. FHA allows down payments as low as 3.5 percent of the purchase price, which has

helped many people become homeowners for the first time.

Tax Benefits First-time homebuyers will find that tax deductions can help make their new home more affordable. Mortgage interest, private mortgage insurance and property taxes may all be deductible, lessening a homeowner’s financial tax burden. In general, home ownership expenses that are not deductible include homeowner’s insurance premiums, homeowner’s association dues, closing costs and maintenance and repair costs. Consult a tax advisor for more information about how homeownership can change your tax situation for the better.

Free Consultation Need assistance? We will be happy to meet with you and share our guidance. Schedule an appointment today. For a free consultation on buying a home, down payment assistance or tax issues, call us at 855-768-8845.p

February 2021

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Old & New Immigrants: Their Rights

The Biden Administration Is Already Supporting Employment-Based Immigration, But Uncertainty Remains

BY LESLIE DELLON

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usiness immigration has already benefited from the change in administrations. On January 25, President Biden issued an executive order directly replacing a Trump-era executive order that wreaked havoc on the H-1B visa category.

Biden’s ‘Made in America’ Order The recent executive order adopted “Buy American” policies and revoked President Trump’s “Buy American Hire American” (BAHA) executive order.

BAHA—issued in April 2017—specifically targeted H1B workers. This visa category is for jobs that require a worker to apply a body of highly specialized knowledge

acquired through a bachelor’s or higher degree in a “specific specialty” or equivalent at the entry level. Government agencies frequently cited BAHA in support of various Trump administration efforts to change the rules around the H-1B program.

The Biden administration also is maintaining employment authorization for H-4 spouses of H-1B workers who are at certain stages in the green card process.

The Trump administration stated repeatedly that it would rescind the Obama-era regulation authorizing these spouses to work. However, the proposed rule to rescind was withdrawn on January 25. It had been pending review within the executive branch and had not even been issued for public comment.

Trump’s Remaining Visa Bans But uncertainty remains. President Trump extended the “nonimmigrant visa ban” until March 31, 2021. This ban, accomplished by presidential proclamation, suspended the entry to the United States of foreign nationals on H-1B and certain other nonimmigrant visas with a few exceptions.

A court found the nonimmi-

grant visa ban to be unlawful.

But it only precluded the ban from being enforced against the parties who filed the suit, including members of two organizations that sued on behalf of their members.

It is unclear whether President Biden will allow the ban to expire or revoke it. Also unknown is whether the president would revoke it outright or issue new restrictions.

Two final rules affecting the adjudication of H-1B visa petitions have been delayed from taking effect in March for further review.

One of these rules would have changed how U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) selects the registrations of U.S. employers that want to file H-1B petitions subject to the annual “cap.”

The change would have given preference to jobs with the highest wages in the particular occupation and area of employment.

There are four wage levels that are supposed to correspond to the education, experience, and supervision required. Level 1 is “entry level;” Level 2 “qualified;” Level 3 “experienced;” and Level 4 “fully competent.” The continued on page 20

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February 2021

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Old & New Immigrants: Their Rights Employment-Based Immigration/ continued from page 20 result could have substantially reduced the number of recent foreign graduates who could work in the United States, as USCIS expects no Level 1 and likely only 75% of Level 2 wage registrations to be selected with the new system.

Many of those who commented on this rule maintain that the change conflicts with the law establishing the H-1B category. With the effective date to be delayed until December 31, registration will now begin on March 9 under the same random selection process USCIS used in 2020.

Similarly, the Department of Labor (DOL) delayed the effective date of a rule that changes the way that the “prevailing wage” rate is calculated until May 14, 2021. While this rule applies beyond the H-1B visa category, it will affect how a U.S. employer determines the required wage when filing an H-1B petition.

Wage levels for a particular data source (the Occupational Employment Statistics survey)

that many employers use to identify the “prevailing wage” will be set at higher percentiles than before. An employer of an H-1B worker must pay the higher of the “actual wage level” paid to other workers with “similar experience and qualifications for the specific employment,” and the “prevailing wage level” for the “occupational classification in the area of employment.”

The delay does not change the July 1 start date for DOL to implement the first in a series of new prevailing wage rates.

Many commenters had questioned the assumptions and data underlying DOL’s changes.

The Biden administration also appears to be interested in wage issues, stating in a summary that its immigration bill “incentivizes higher wages for

non-immigrant, high-skilled visas to prevent unfair competition with American workers.”

This language is concerning, as it overlooks existing legal requirements and protections. However, the expectation is that the new administration will give more careful consideration to facts and figures than to rhetoric.

Biden’s Proposed Business Immigration Changes Other major changes that the Biden administration announced were included in an immigration bill it sent to Congress (but not yet publicly available) are: •End the practice of requiring separate immigrant visa numbers for the spouse and children of the principal applicant. *Currently, for example, a

“principal,” who is a skilled worker, and her noncitizen spouse and three children (the “derivatives”) are approved for green cards based on the principal’s eligibility. One visa number is issued to each of them. Since there is an annual limit of 140,000 on employment-based visa numbers, using employment-based numbers for derivatives substantially depletes the annual supply. If only one visa number was assigned to the principal and her derivatives, then more numbers would be available during the year for other workers.

•End the per-country limitations on visa numbers. Each country is limited to a certain percentage of employmentbased visa numbers in addition to the annual limit. This has created backlogs of many years for many born in India and China. This proposal is more controversial than the proposed change in counting derivatives, as removing the per-country limits would create longer waiting periods for noncitizens born in other countries if the annual limit remains fixed at 140,000.

Provide a faster path to a green card for noncitizen graduates with advanced STEM degrees from U.S. universities.

•Prevent children of H-1B workers who are also in backlogs for immigrant visa numbers (for green cards) from becoming ineligible (“aging out”) when they become 21 years old.

•Create a pilot program “to stimulate regional economic development” by allowing certain governmental entities to petition for foreign workers.

•Various measures to “protect workers from exploitation and improve the employment verification process.”

The Biden administration has recognized that America is strengthened by having both American and foreign workers. But this administration must not allow the hateful messaging of the past four years to distract it from achieving the balance that Congress intended of welcoming employment-based immigration while protecting American workers.p

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February 2021

21

Love, Health & Travel

Work-life Balance in a Pandemic: A Public Health Issue We Cannot Ignore

BY DAVE COOK, ANNA RUDNICKA & JOSEPH NEWBOLD THE CONVERSATION

B

efore the pandemic, a common objection to remote working was the suspicion that staff would disengage and productivity levels would drop. But recent evidence suggests the opposite is true – working from home effectively means working more.

In the UK, for example, many employees are reportedly putting in an extra two hours a day. It’s even longer in the US. Our survey also indicates that feeling fortunate to still be in work, the collapse of worklife boundaries, and the fear of being under surveillance from employers, have all led to people working harder for longer.

Those juggling work and caring responsibilities are often struggling the most. A recent UK poll showed 71% of working mothers who requested furlough to look after their children were refused. The “sandwich generation”, those managing childcare and caring for older relatives, are also having a hard time.

These factors all point to a future where overwork is normalised and work-life balance becomes nothing more than an aspiration. We must not allow this to happen.

But what is work-life balance precisely? It is a term so frequently dropped into conversation that it can sound vague and open to interpretation. According to Anna Cox, a professor of human-computer interaction at UCL, it means “feeling in control of how you balance the various demands of all aspects of life to enable wellbeing and avoid illness”. It should involve “happiness, fulfilment and job satisfaction”.

She adds: “Just because we can be connected to work all

the time, doesn’t mean we should be. Policymakers need to take concrete action to protect workers’ rights to switch off.”

Another disturbing trend that makes switching off so difficult is the emergence of socalled “bossware”, controversial software that some companies use to monitor employees, under the guise of “productivity enhancement”.

In November 2020, there was uproar following reports that even Microsoft 365 gave bosses the ability to measure email activity and the use of shared documents.

Bossware – even the fear of it – encourages a culture of overwork. In our survey of 500 UK workers, respondents told us of their concerns over privacy during video calls, regularly interrupted personal time and the constant pinging of work notifications. One worker explained: “If I leave at 12.30 for a lunchtime walk, and later see my boss messaged me on Slack at 12.35, my heart sinks.”

Take a break Our work, as part of the eWorkLife project, also included in-depth interviews to investigate the transition to remote working. Another find-

ing was that social norms around taking breaks from work – a colleague inviting you out for coffee or lunch – are vanishing. Expectations for workers to be available 24/7 were accelerating before the pandemic and, unchecked, they will become the norm.

It is vital to establish flexible social rituals around taking short breaks throughout the workday. But workers will gradually lose these healthy habits unless companies create work cultures and clear policies that encourage staff to take breaks. The government needs to take action to tackle these rapid social shifts, which should not be left to individual workers to navigate.

And although some companies are leading the way by regularly surveying employees, this is not the norm. Instead, trade unions are publishing research and pressing for change. (White-collar workers might feel joining a union is stigmatising, yet the pandemic has shown that any job can be precarious.) And when high-profile bosses talk of workers “playing the victim card” it’s little wonder staff feel voiceless.

The immediate policy response should be to temporar-

ily force companies to accept furlough requests for those with caring responsibilities.

Companies should also be strongly encouraged to update or publish flexible working policies.

Shockingly, 60% of US companies still haven’t shared their remote working policies, and workers at all levels have had enough of inaction. One executive who quit due to spiralling workload confided to us: “Sure, employers are under huge pressure to survive this pandemic. But asking staff to carry the brunt through inhuman productivity rates is unsustainable.”

A change of approach is essential. Since the arrival of the pandemic, large numbers of people are working longer and harder. And even with increased rates of vaccination, home working in some form is surely here to stay. Ensuring it continues in a balanced way should not a responsibility that rests entirely on individuals.

The EU is now rightly urging its member states to implement policies that support work-life balance and the right to disconnect, and the eWorkLife project is urging the UK Government to take similar steps.

Achieving a work-life balance is not just a worthwhile goal – it is an essential one. It is vital for mental health, physical health, and long-term economic success – and a task at which governments and businesses should be working much harder.p

Dave Cook is a PhD Candidate in Anthropology, UCL. Anna Rudnicka is a Research Fellow, UCL. Joseph Newbold is a Lecturer in Human-computer interaction, Northumbria University, Newcastle

Montserrat to Launch a Remote Workers Travel Show

Montserrat Moves Host Stevika Rodney.

Photo: OECS Press

B

rades, Montserrat: Why should you work remotely from Montserrat? On February 17, the Government of Montserrat will launch its new travel and tourism show called Montserrat Moves. The show will be used to promote Montserrat’s new Remote Worker Stamp and will feature remote workers’ stories, interviews with local entrepreneurs and government officials, as well as tips about travelling to, living in, and working from Montserrat.

“Montserrat has several unique attributes that make the Remote Worker Stamp attractive including safety, good mobile penetration, good internet connectivity, an adequate health care system and a high standard of education and public service. These things collectively give us an opportunity to enter the market with this particular initiative to promote and elevate Montserrat’s position as a world-class destination for leisure and business travel,” said Dr. The Hon. Samuel Joseph, Deputy Premier and Minister of Communication, Work, Labor and Energy (MCWLE).

“The new show is one of the many marketing tools that Bass Consultancy Services has employed to date, to promote the Stamp and Montserrat,” he added.p

www.workersworldtoday.com

February 2021

22

Love, Health & Travel

5 Healing Shame Exercises to Help You Show Up More Fully

BY CARLY GOLDSTEIN-SCHU, LMFT ESTES THERAPY

I

spend so much of my life thinking about shame and all of the ways it impacts our lives and relationships. I see the presence of shame in my therapy office (or on my screen, via Telehealth therapy) often. It shows up in my own life, too. In fact, I’ve yet to meet another human who doesn’t have a close, personal relationship with shame. Shame is a palpable thing. There are many signs of shame in a person: I see it in slouched posture, avoiding eye contact, fidgeting hands, hugging and hiding behind pillows to create physical distance. Shame is a shrinking sensation. Shame is the thing that sustains suffering, because it convinces us that if anyone sees the messy, dark, scary parts of us, we will be unsafe, unlovable, unsuccessful, and wrong. In fact,

shame often keeps people away from counseling and other types of support. Therapy is all about being truly seen and heard, and shame wants nothing less than to be seen and heard. Shame wants us to be hidden and alone.

Guilt vs. Shame When I talk about my working definition of shame, I like to contextualize it in my working definition of guilt. Guilt is our North Star. It is a compass.

Guilt is that feeling inside that says, “I acted out of line with my character, and I need to make a change.” Guilt shows us where we’re out of integrity and gives us a nudge to get back in alignment. Guilt says, “I am not bad, but I did something that isn’t okay. I must do better.” Guilt is certainly not a pleasant or comfortable feeling, but it’s an important one.

It is not debilitating. It is temporary and eases as soon as we make amends, take accounta-

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bility, and change our behavior.

If guilt is our North Star, then shame is a black hole. Shame sucks us into heavy darkness, where no light can get in and no light can escape. Shame says, “I am bad. I am broken.

What’s the point?” It says, “I did something bad, therefore I am bad.”

Pride & Shame Shame also has a really interesting relationship with Pride.

Think of Shame & Pride as flip sides of the same coin. Most of us have experienced people in our lives who flip-flop between deep shame and seemingly egotistical pride. It’s the switch between “I’m not good enough” and “I’m better than all of those people.” On the surface, this can look confusing and strange. In reality though, it makes perfect sense.

Shame and Pride serve the same function: They are hiding places. Shame says, “I’m not as

good as anyone else, so I don’t really have to show up in vulnerable ways.” Pride says, “I’m better than everyone else, so I don’t really have to show up in vulnerable ways.”

Shame and Pride look different, but keep us protected from real vulnerability. It can feel scary to show up in our lives with both confidence and humility, boldly stepping into our emotions and humanity, knowing we will get things wrong. So instead, we choose

the hiding place of Shame or the hiding place of Pride, or we run back-and-forth between the two.

The Impact of Shame Now that we’re on the same page about what shame is, let’s talk about the impact shame has on our lives. I probably don’t have to convince you that shame is unpleasant. We all know what shame feels like.

It is lonely, defeating, and so continued on page 25

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February 2021

23

Love, Health & Travel Healing Shame/ continued from page 22 painful. However, shame doesn’t just feel uncomfortable for us. In fact, when we’re in our shame, the people in our lives lose us. It keeps us cut off from connection and community. It makes us completely inaccessible to our partners, families, friends, and communities. We get sucked into that black hole and we become unable to hear and acknowledge the pain of those we love. We become incapable of taking accountability when we’ve done wrong. We wind up making someone else’s hurt all about us. This is actually an incredibly common theme in both individual therapy and couples therapy: One person’s shame pulls them offline from their partner. That is not a fun place to be. So what do we do about it?!

Healing Shame Exercises Shame is like a cockroach.

When we shine the light on it, it flees. In order to get rid of shame, we have to pull the shameful stuff into the light.

Here are 5 healing shame exer-

cises to help you step outside of shame when it shows up.

1. Therapy Both individual therapy and couples therapy are amazing ways to begin healing shame.

Therapy is a focused, intentional space where you get to be seen, heard, and supported by someone who believes in you and wants you to be your best self. Good therapy will help you step outside of shame and more fully into your life.

shame wants us to hide. It takes a massive amount of courage to open up to a loved one about something we hold shame around. However, when we open up to someone we love and trust, shame goes away. Here’s a tip: When you open up to someone, clearly communicate what you need from them. Do you need reassurance? Validation? A hug?

Be clear with them so they can support you in a way that feels good.

2. Opening up to a trusted loved one This one will probably feel scary. Like we discussed,

3. Online forums Especially during COVID-19, online forums and social media are fantastic (and so-

cially distanced!) ways to connect with other people who may be experiencing something similar to what you’re experiencing. The experience of community is an antidote to shame.

4. Affirmations Spend some time each day on affirmations. When shame shows up, talk back to it. Try one of these affirmations: “I am whole and lovable;” “I am allowed to make mistakes;” “I am allowed to show up in my full, imperfect humanity;” “I am enough.”

5. Inner child work Imagine that shame voice as a scared younger part of you. If it’s hard to visualize yourself, visualize someone in your life who you feel compassion toward. Then, imagine that person feeling the same shame you’re carrying around. Imagine what you’d say to them. It might sound something like, “I know you’re going through xyz. I still care about you and love you. You’re safe with me.”

Healing shame is not an easy process, but the more we practice it, the easier and less scary it becomes. If you take away nothing else from this article, please remember that you are not alone in your shame. The rest of humanity is right there with you.p Here at Estes Therapy we like to put our minds together and collaborate on pieces in order to get the best content for our readers.

So when you see a post by “Estes Therapy” it means we all worked together to provide even more well rounded information on these topics from the differing experiences and viewpoints of the team!

www.workersworldtoday.com

February 2021

25

Love, Health & Travel

Planning for Advanced Heart Failure

A

n important part of shared decision-making in advanced heart failure is to clarify what you would want done when future events occur – including unexpected ones. Would you want a feeding tube? CPR? Would you want a tube placed down your throat to help you breathe?

The process of anticipating future scenarios and communicating your preferences is called advance care planning.

It allows you to speak for yourself, even when you can't.

It also helps your family make decisions according to your priorities.

Advance care planning involves: •Learning what health decisions you may have to make in the future •Thinking about your goals and preferences •Discussing what is important to you with your family and doctor •Documenting your plan in an advance directive, which can be updated if your wishes change Palliative care The goal of palliative care is to help patients live better by relieving symptoms and improving quality of life.

Receiving palliative care, which isn't the same as hospice, doesn't mean you have to stop heart failure treatment.

Palliative care can be provided when you need it, no matter the stage of illness.

Palliative care can provide: Relief of pain and symptoms of heart failure Emotional and spiritual support for you and your family Help with making complex treatment decisions Assistance with practical issues, such as advance directives or insurance Support services for caregivers, such as respite care and grief counseling Members of the palliative care team may include a doctor, nurse, social worker, chaplain, physical therapist, occupational therapist, dietitian and psychologist. These professionals can become a part of your healthcare team, just like your cardiologist and other physicians.

Care at the End of Life Talking about and actively preparing for end of life can be upsetting. Even though you can't control when you die, you can make plans to control many aspects of the dying process.

In advanced heart failure, care options at the end of life include: Turning off an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (PDF): Electrical shocks from an ICD can cause unnecessary suffering for patients and families near the end of life. The shock function of an ICD can be deactivated, or you may choose not to receive a new battery when the current one expires.

Turning off a mechanical heart pump: A decision must be made about when to turn off a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) at the end of life.

A thoughtful discussion and careful plan about when you would want to discontinue LVAD support should be part of the decision-making

process before the device is implanted.

ily to develop a personalized care plan based on your goals and needs.

Hospice care: When the transition is made from quantity of life to quality of life, hospice care provides comfort and support to advanced heart failure patients and their families. Hospice care services are often provided in the home by a team that includes a doctor, nurse, therapist, social worker and other professionals. They work with you and your fam-

Hospice care services may include: •Medical care to manage symptoms (the hospice nurse and doctor are on call 24 hours a day to provide care) •Emotional and spiritual counseling •Physical and occupational therapy to help a person develop new ways to perform

daily tasks, such as getting dressed, taking a shower and moving safely around the house •Art therapy, music therapy and other complementary therapies •Respite care to provide a break for caregivers and families •Home health aides to help with bathing, grooming, eating and other personal health needs •Help with insurance, legal documents and other practical issues •Trained volunteers who provide a variety of support services, such as babysitting, running errands and preparing meals •Bereavement support and counseling for caregivers and families Making plans for how you want to spend your remaining life can be tough. But difficult discussions now can simplify difficult decisions later.p -American Heart Association

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Elections 2021

Dissident Democrats Furious Over Endorsement of Brooklyn Judge Accused of Cheating Home Aide

BY GREG B. SMITH THE CITY

D

issident members of Brooklyn’s Democratic leadership on Wednesday blasted the way the party pushed through an endorsement of a judge accused of cheating a home care worker out of thousands of dollars of wages.

The Kings County Democratic Committee held an urgent and private endorsement session via Zoom Friday after THE CITY made an initial inquiry about Judge Dweynie Paul’s candidacy.

The jurist — the candidate preferred by the committee’s leader, Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte — won the party’s nod for a Surrogate’s Court judgeship.

That vote came days before THE CITY revealed that Paul, a sitting civil court judge, had been sued by a home care

Judge Dweynie Paul Paul for Surrogate 2021/Facebook

worker who said she’d been paid well below minimum wage to assist the jurist’s aging mother.

“It’s a complete injustice,” Kristina Naplatarski, a Democratic district leader in Brooklyn. “It’s completely unfair.”

The suit charged that between November 2013 through December 2016, Paul violated state labor laws by

failing to pay the worker, Marie Coffy, overtime. For more than a year, Coffy monitored the judge’s mother 24 hours a day, five days a week, with her pay coming out to $2.29 an hour, the suit alleges.

Paul allegedly owed Coffy more than $264,000 in wages.

The parties settled the lawsuit in 2017 and the terms were not disclosed.

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Through a spokesperson, Paul said the arrangement with Coffy was made by her mother, a retired nurse who has since passed away.

The state’s highest court has ruled that it’s legal for home care workers to be paid for just 13 hours of a 24-hour shift, on the assumption that they get eight hours sleep and three hours for meals. Workers say that’s all but impossible given their duties.

An ‘Outrageous!’ Tweet On Wednesday, Naplatarski, a member of the party executive committee charged with deciding endorsements for district attorney and Surrogate’s Court and Supreme Court judgeships, criticized the process for backing candidates.

She said members were given only short notice and were provided no information about the candidates before Friday’s emergency meeting, which was held in executive session — out of the public eye.

“We had no knowledge of the lawsuit [against Paul].

Were other district leaders informed? I’m not sure. I was not given any information about it,” Naplatarski told THE CITY Wednesday. “It’s pulling the wool over district leaders’ eyes before taking a vote.”

Paul is a former campaign manager for Bichotte, who is the leader of the Kings County Democratic Committee. As THE CITY reported, Bichotte told other district leaders before the endorsement meeting that Paul was her choice for Surrogate’s Court.

Naplatarski and another district leader who spoke to THE

CITY on the condition of anonymity questioned why they weren’t given an opportunity to interview the candidates pre-endorsement.

The party has a screening committee, but it provided no details about the backgrounds of the Surrogate’s Court judge candidates — Paul and Acting Supreme Court Justice Rosemarie Montalbano — other than saying both were “qualified,” Naplatarski said “We do not know anything about what happened in that screening panel,” she added.

District Leader Julio Pena said on Twitter Wednesday that the committee leadership limited district leaders to 30 seconds each to speak before the Surrogate’s Court endorsement. He wrote that he tried to request more time, but the chair of the virtual session, Bichotte, didn’t recognize him.

“Outrageous!” he tweeted.

A Powerful Patronage Role The endorsement is a clear boost for Paul.

She can now expect the party will use its political muscle — including its fundraising network — to get her elected.

She held a major fundraiser on Feb. 11, although the contributors aren’t yet known because campaigns aren’t required to disclose this information until May — just weeks before the June 22 primary.

A spokesperson for the Kings County Democratic Committee did not respond to a request for comment about the endorsement process.

In 2016, Paul was elected to Civil Court in Brooklyn with the Kings County Democratic Committee’s support. She has since been temporarily assigned to sit in Queens Family Court.

Surrogate’s Court judges, who are elected to 14-year terms, have the power to give out lucrative estate cases to lawyers favored by the party.

It’s a patronage platform that dates to the days of Tammany Hall.p

This story was published on February 24, 2021 by THE CITY. Read more at www.workersworldtoday.com

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