Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 37 VTMBH Article: Article Order 1 VTMBH Article: Title Dispute between union and factory owners causes a thousand Chinatown garment workers to lose health insurance VTMBH Article: Author World Journal Staff VTMBH Article: Publication World Journal VTMBH Article: Original Language Chinese VTMBH Article: Translator Xiaoqing Rong VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb Because their employers did not pay the health insurance fee to the union on time, about a thousand garment workers from a dozen Chinatown garment firms lost their guaranteed health insurance from the union yesterday. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body Because their employers did not pay the health insurance fee to the union on time, about a thousand garment workers from a dozen Chinatown garment firms lost their guaranteed health insurance from the union yesterday. The garment workers union staged an alternative strike, by organizing frequent meetings during working hours, to pressure factory owners to sign a contract requiring them to pay workers health insurance fees. To fight back, the factory owners threatened to close the factories. The victims of the stalemate are the one thousand of workers who want to keep their health insurance, as well as their job. These days, more and more workers are asking about government health care. A female worker went for a thorough physical examination at Local 23-25 Unites mid-Manhattan health center yesterday. After the basic check-up, the doctor asked her to come back later for a further exam. The worker knew she couldnt because her union health insurance would be cut off by the end of that day. Like this female worker, many garment workers rushed to the clinics yesterday to use their health insurance for the last time. However, one days check-up cannot guarantee a lifetimes worth of health. The workers worried about where they would get the money to visit a doctor in the future. The union said there were still a dozen firms that hadnt signed the contract, which requires that factory owners pay a $115 health insurance fee for each of their workers to the union. And some other firms that did sign, havent paid one cent since July of this year. The union said it would distribute a list of the firms which had paid the money to the manufacturers, and ask them to process orders only from those on the list. Mae Chan, associate director of Local 23-15 Unite, said the union thought about a formal strike last week. But during the last several days, more firms signed the contract or paid the money. It did not seem necessary to organize a formal strike. But the union said it would continue to organize meetings during working hours in those firms that hadnt signed or paid yet. This is another type of strike, Chan said. Teddy Lai, executive manager of Greater Blouse, Skirt & Undergarment Association, Inc., said yesterday that although factory owners cannot fire workers because of their participation in a strike, the strike may cause the closure of factories. And, it would be hard for garment workers of those closed firms to find a new job in the current economic situation. Qingkun Cheng, a garment factory owner, said, when the industry was in its heyday, it was the manufacturer who paid for the workers health insurance. Now that the industry is in a downturn, the ball was thrown to the factory owners. According to Cheng, $115 per worker was a big burden for the ownersand he believed the price would continue to increase. An owner, who only identified himself as Mr. Chen, said that the union shouldnt cut the workers health insurance under any circumstances. But Mr. Chen said that he hasnt signed the contract yet because he would have to pay the health insurance fee for his 40 workers, which is more than four thousand dollars per month. If I sign the contract, the only thing I could do next is to close the factory, he said. The owner of the factory at 80 Walker Street recently signed the contract, but he said its only to avoid an immediate strike. He estimates that most of the firms which have signed the contract will survive, at most, for a few months. The garment industry will face a more severe situation when more firms close. The union will assist the workers who lost their health insurance to buy COBRA insurance. But compared to the garment workers meager salary, the insurance fees of $181 per month for single person, and $450 for a family, are likely to be too much. A female worker, who identified herself as Ms. Leung, said that since the union cannot guarantee health insurance, it is meaningless to join. People who are familiar with the industry said that because the union cannot provide unionized firms as much manufacture orders as they did, some unionized firms may have to close and reopen as a non-unionized firm. And the unionized workers will lose their jobs during the shuffle. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-10-01 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 96 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Dispute between union and factory owners causes a thousand Chinatown garment workers to lose health 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. Because their employers did not pay the health insurance fee to the union on time, about a thousand Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-10-01