Labor Trafficking Committee

 Meeting Minutes

12:30 pm – 2:00 pm

City Hall, room 421

San Francisco, CA

 

Participants:

Saerom Choi, APILO

Cristy Dieterich, DPH

Antoinette Flores, DPH

Marie Gaillac, Northern Coalition Against Human Trafficking

Penelope Gomez, San Francisco Environment

Elise Hansell, DOSW

Jen Jackson, San Francisco Environment

Megan Kalsman, San Francisco Environment

Minouche Kandel, DOSW

Sojeatta Khim, DPH

Antonia Lavine, SFCAHT/JCEHT

Cristina Lee, DPH

Beverly May, CAMTC

Cristine Ticas. DA Victim Witness

Hediana Utarti, AWS

Dyanna Quizon, Board of Supervisors

Angelina Romero, SFUSD

Aradhana Tiwari, Legal Aid at Work

 

Update on Healthy Nails Program

 

Powerpoint

A small workgroup put together a powerpoint on labor rights/human trafficked and shared with SF Environment.  SF Environment has reviewed and has some feedback:

• Need to keep training under an hour, including current content on health issues;
• Because program is voluntary, and owners are present during training, want to tread softly on the info provided – how to be seen as trusted collaborator.  Not possible to do separate trainings for owners and nail technicians due to scheduling issues and because it’s not always clear who the owner is;
• It could be framed in a way so that the information on worker rights is provided “to be shared with colleagues who may work at other locations” so as not to imply current workplace has problems. Project Connect at DPH uses this approach.
• Less confrontational suggestion: have a slide that says that the city and county has lots of info about hours and wage, and then here is a brochure on it; so a slide to prompt the handing out of brochures; and have a different slide on employment benefits and workers comp, and then prompt to hand out;
• Want the employees to have the brochures on hand, since the owners keep a binder, but workers might not check out the binder;
• Less detail on the human trafficking;

 

A small group will meet with SF Environment staff to fine tune the training.

 

Outreach

SFCAHT volunteers could possibly be mobilized to do outreach to nail salons to encourage them to join the Healthy Nails Program.

 

Outreach to tech companies to help promote the program:

• Minouche prepared a one pager at the recommendation of one tech company to help explain the program and how tech companies can help.  Minouche shared the document and will e-mail an electronic version.  It was suggested that we include information on the state law that passed encouraging communities to create Healthy Nail programs (AB 2125).
• AB 2025 which also passed this year might be relevant, as it requires persons owning nail salons (and other businesses) and persons licensed as nail technicians (and other licencees) to receive information about basic labor rights.
• Reach out to YELP – Dyanna Quizon has a connection at Yelp and offered to reach out to him.  It would be great for YELP have a little logo for those salons that have done the trainings (ie. Green Business Program) – it would be an incredible benefit to these businesses – so advertising is really sought after by the businesses
  • DOSW has contacts at Google and will reach out to them.
• Megan from SF Environment will provide brochures on the Healthy Nail Salon program in English and Vietnamese so people can share them.

 

Christine from Victim Witness noted that sometimes the victims of sting operations want to go into the nail businesses, so it would be helpful to share this information with them.

 

Project Connect Update

 

• Dongmei has been out in the field a lot with the intern from SFSU, and going to different establishments which were flagged by environmental health as problematic. 
• Dongmei held a focus group with 6 Cantonese speaking massage workers to hear about needs and concerns, and get feedback on brochures that they are developing.  Biggest concerns:
  • Issues around pay, but mostly people wanting a better job;
  • Concerns about going into other vocational fields, immigration questions;
  • How to get a real license if they bought fake ones
    • DPH can provide info on the accredited schools and the appropriate channels to get the correct information
•  Dongmei created a group on WeCHAT, and it is snowballing to more and more people; they are inviting others.

 

Environmental Health Massage Establishment Hearings

The hearings that DPH holds when inspectors find violations are massage establishments have improved since they started using trained administrator law judges to presiding over thee DPH hearings.  Businesses get cited for various conditions: improper certificates; lewd acts, and inappropriate attire.  DPH is exploring how to better respond to practitioners who get cited, so that instead of getting a fine, they could meet with Dongmei and get information about their rights.

 

There was discussion that the recent legislation included language to limit fines to owners rather than practitioners, so concerning if practitioners are still getting fined.

 

Supervisor Tang is working on clean up language to the massage ordinance, and Dyanna will double check to make sure it is clear that practitioners are not penalized.

 

There was discussion of CAMTC and DPH certification.  Local ordinance prevents both.  CAMTC notifies DPH when someone applies to them who has a home or work address in San Francisco, so DPH can see if they are licensing locally.

 

There was discussion about problems with proper interpretation at the hearings.  DPH can bring an interpreter, but they don’t always know ahead of time if someone will need one.   

 

Strategic Planning Retreat

The Mayor’s Task Force on Anti-Human Trafficking Strategic Planning retreat has a facilitator, and tentative date (January 30 from 9-5) and just waiting to confirm location. Want to make sure each committee has representation.  From the Labor Committee the following people are confirmed: Christy Dieterich, Aradhana Tiwari, Patrick Fosdahl, Hediana Utarti, Saerom Choi, Dyanna Quizon, Marie Gaillac and Antonia Lavine.

 

Human Trafficking Awareness Month Events in January

• Antonia is putting together a calendar of events with SFCAHT.  If you send her items, she will include in the calendar. 

 

• Events that are currently scheduled:
  • SFCAHT –      
    • 1/11 – opening press conference @ city hall
    • Closing event - teen power event – teen poster contest;  teens performing; 2/13

 

• Alameda HEAT/APILO/Legal Aid at Work
  • Trying to do as much outreach as possible, - 3 main events – kick starting hopefully a larger Know Your Rights campaign year round – either monthly or bimonthly
    • Perhaps at the Mexican Consulate and inviting others to join
    • Filipino community – needing contacts; Dyanna Quizon might have contacts there;
      • Know Your Rights presentations within the community
      • The venue can be at the consulate perhaps; since the orgs could
    • 1/10 – street level health and Mujeres Unidas y Activas

 

• APILO’s Brown Bag Series – Jan – Feb 2017 – 6 events total
  • One includes Legal Aid at Work’s training -- for service providers: screening for civil remedies;
• DA Victim Witness office
  • Training the service providers; training the therapists/healthcare providers;
    •  

Meetings for 2017

There was a preference to move the meetings later to begin at 2:30. 

 

The following persons agreed to reach out and invite other stakeholders assigned as follows:

• San Francisco Immigrant Legal Defense Collaborative – Aradhana
• Larkin Street Youth Services – Minouche
• Young Workers United – Angelina/Minouche
• Mexican Consulate – Aradhana
• Mujeres Unidas y Activas – Hediana

 

• Next Meeting
  • 2/10 – 2:30 – 4pm @ Legal Aid at Work