Meches Rosales has lived in the Big Apple for 17 years, and affirms that she has mostly earned a living as a nanny and domestic worker, but angrily confesses that, just as in New York the heat of summer is as real as the cold of winter, He has had to get used to another harsh reality: “here, workers can be fired just like that, at any time, without any justified cause”.
“Domestic workers and nannies like me get fired all the time for no reason, after working hard taking care of children and families. On Friday they tell you not to come on Monday, or they send you a text the night before so that you don’t come back,” says the Guatemalan worker, drawing a picture that, according to figures from the Municipal Comptroller’s Office, faces 60% of the employees of the Big Apple, because municipal laws allow layoffs at any time and without prior notice, in a figure known as “at will”, at will where it is not the employer’s responsibility to justify the layoffs.
“I have already been run like this six times. The last time was on October 29, 2018, after working in a house for more than a year and a half. And well, what happened to me, to go home, with my little things, being left in total stress and in limbo”, added the nanny, a member of the organization Carroll Gardens Association, part of the Coalition of Domestic Workers.
And in their desire for this labor practice to change in the Big Apple, workers, activists, defenders of immigrants and politicians demonstrated this Wednesday outside the City Council, to demand that this legislative body approve the call Secure employment law, promoted by Councilwoman Tiffany Cabán.
The bill seeks to change the rules of the game, to guarantee that workers in the Big Apple are not fired from one day to the next, without reason, and that if that final decision is made, a warning process has been given to employees in case of committing labor faults. The law warns that when the dismissal is warranted, the employer would be obliged to notify 14 days before.
Modesta Toribio, labor affairs organizer for the Make the Road NY organization, warned at the demonstration that the urgency of approving the Law against unfair dismissals, not only seeks to protect employees from “staying with one hand in front and the other behind.” , in case of losing their jobs, but to put a stop to abuses and outrages that are daily bread, especially for immigrant workers.
“With this legislation we would achieve that workers can claim their rights, because right now, as the owners and employers are using the power they have to fire them without prior notice, or just cause, whenever they want, employees are victims of exploitation, abuse labor, sexual abuse and theft of wages”, said the labor defender. “In addition, the law would guarantee that they cannot dismiss a worker to hire another just to pay less, because they would have to prove that the dismissed worker is really no longer needed.”
The Dominican activist stressed that now more than ever, when new hate messages and rhetoric against immigrant communities are emerging, such as Donald Trump himself, who assured on Tuesday that the new migrants arriving in the country are “mentally ill” from psychiatric units and “the baddest people ever seen,” urges New York to protect the working class.
“The Municipal Council has to approve this law now. If it doesn’t, it would be sending a negative message to the immigrant and working community, because it would leave them in the abyss, favoring corporations and employers that steal and exploit and use the working class as a disposable machine,” said the organizer. “It is time to pass this legislation.”
The protesters, who after their day of protest undertook the task of visiting the offices of the 51 members of the Municipal Council to ask them for their support for the initiative, insisted that bad employers have used the so-called “at will” employment, to will, for their benefit, by firing employees to “silence them when they dare speak out against mistreatment, unsafe working conditions, and wage theft.”
Yta Yosara Pérez, who participated in the day of action, narrated how working in a demolition company, she was not only the victim of salary theft, labor exploitation and sexual harassment, but after suffering an accident, she was left to her fate, as City law does not provide any protection against layoffs.
“I worked 10-hour shifts, six days a week, doing all sorts of tasks without the proper tools, for a pay of $100 a day and no overtime compensation,” said the immigrant, a member of Make the Road NY. “I lived with this abuse, along with other injustices out of fear of getting fired. One day, I had an accident while working, and my bosses dumped me in the emergency room and fired me. It is time for the City to protect workers from being fired without just cause.”
City Comptroller Brad Lander joined the call for the Big Apple Legislature to move forward on what he called a “common sense” law that would benefit not only immigrant communities and service area workers but all New York employees.
“It makes no sense to fire anyone without justification, and that is an idea shared by the majority of New Yorkers,” said the official, after ensuring that 81% of voters support the Safe Work Act and the protections it would provide to workers. all workers against unfair dismissals. “New York City needs to step up immediately and ensure that it will stand up for its workers, with the respect and dignity they deserve.”
Vincent Perrone, president of the Local 804 IBT union, urged the Municipal Council to advance the new labor guarantees, which even in Latin American and European countries are workers’ rights.
“As part of the labor movement, Teamsters Local 804 advocates for all workers to have just cause of protection. We stand for equity in the workplace and that is why we stand for the Safe Work Act,” said the trade unionist.
Aadit Siwakoti, an organizer with the Desis Rising Up and Moving association, who was fired without explanation from a restaurant where she worked after complaining about the “unsafe and toxic environment,” said her story is that of thousands of New Yorkers, who are unprotected.
“After that, I faced hard times as I spent months looking for a job. That is why passing the Safe Jobs Act would make a difference in the lives of working-class immigrants like me, because it would give us the power to denounce unfair treatment without putting our livelihood at risk,” said the community leader.
Irene Tung, senior researcher and policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project, said that so-called “at-will” work hurts workers, families and entire communities, so she called on the City Council to side with workers and protect them.
“It’s the engine that drives the continuing race to the bottom in job quality in New York and across the country. With the Secure Jobs Act, New York’s leaders have the opportunity to lead the charge toward a good jobs economy. New Yorkers across the political spectrum overwhelmingly agree that we need stronger protections against wrongful termination, he concluded.
Diario NY consulted the City Council about the position of the president of that legislative body, Adrienne Adams, before the initiative, but they did not reveal if the political leader supports it, nor when it will be put to a vote.
“This bill will go through the legislative process,” a City Council spokesperson said.
At the end of the day of protest, the demonstrators said goodbye to the legislative body, shouting over and over again: “no more dismissals without just cause”, “no more dismissals without just cause”, “no more dismissals without just cause”.
The Safe Jobs Act in brief
- The bill was introduced by Queens Councilwoman Tiffany Cabán
- It would put an end to the so-called “at will” jobs, the current figure, which allows employers to fire workers without giving an explanation and without just cause, from one moment to the next.
- It would empower workers to speak up when faced with workplace abuse, knowing that the law would protect them from being fired without cause.
- Additional training for workers on their rights would be included
- It would grant second chances and a notice process to try to remedy labor failures.
- If the dismissal occurs, the employer would be required to give a prior notice of 14 days and an explanation of the reasons for the dismissal in writing.
- 81% of New Yorkers support the protections offered by the law
- 60% of New York workers have suffered at some point the effects of being fired without explanation or just cause