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To read the full article and view the photos, visit http://www.chinahush.com/.
Showing posts with label wages. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wages. Show all posts
Monday, October 6, 2014
Repost: Iron fist in a velvet glove, Chinese women on construction site
To read the full article and view the photos, visit http://www.chinahush.com/.
Friday, September 19, 2014
Repost: Lessons from returning women migrant workers
A recent article in The Phnom Penh Post illuminates the importance of protecting Cambodian women who face many challenges and dangers while they migrate to and from worksites in Thailand:
Visit http://www.phnompenhpost.com/ to read the full article.
"Chandy’s story was positive – she received her wages, retained her belongings and returned to Cambodia unharmed. But in crossing into Thailand as an irregular migrant, there were no guarantees of her safety or protection. Indeed, many of Chandy’s fellow returnees had much darker stories to tell." (Holliday, 10 Sept. 2014)Chandy's story is just one of many women who overcome barriers to earn a living for themselves and their families.
Visit http://www.phnompenhpost.com/ to read the full article.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Repost: US Department of Labor settles charges of racial discrimination with New York City-based federal contractor Parsons Brinckerhoff
On May 8th, the US Department of Labor circulated a news release that describes contractor Parsons Brinckerhoff's settlement over hiring discrimination for federal construction jobs. The news release states, "During a scheduled compliance review, OFCCP investigators determined that Parsons Brinckerhoff violated Executive Order 11246 between 2010 and 2012 by using a hiring process that resulted in systemic discrimination. The agency found that Parsons Brinckerhoff did not follow its own written hiring policies and failed to use a consistent selection process for screening, interviewing and selecting assistant engineers. As a result, zero minorities were hired as assistant engineers during the review period...Under the terms of the conciliation agreement signed by both parties, the contractor will pay $188,043 in back wages and interest to the affected job seekers and will offer assistant engineer positions and retroactive seniority to at least four class members as positions become available" (OFCCP, 8 May 2014). This settlement will affect 247 job applicants.
Visit http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/ofccp/ to read the full press release about this settlement.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Repost: A woman working a "man's job" - Mrs. Maombi, bricklayer
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| Mrs Maombi with her trowel. © Photo: Thierry Kayandi/RNW http://www.rnw.nl/africa |
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, few people are surprised when a woman drops her apron for a job to help support her household. But many were surprised when Maombi Aristide chose to become a bricklayer.
By Thierry Kayandi, GomaAristide, 34, is a mother of six who realized that her family could no longer manage on her husband’s salary alone. Working for the Congolese National Police, he did not earn enough to pay for their children’s education.
DRC’s persisting socio-economic crisis has forced many Congolese women to seek an incoming-generating activity to help make ends meet at home. Maombi is certainly not a unique case. But her choice of job was. Bricklaying is still seen as an exclusively male trade in such a traditional and conservative society like DRC.
From vending to bricklaying
Before entering the construction industry, Maombi sold snacks on the streets of Goma. She made around three dollars a day, with one dollar being spent on the 15-kilometre trip to and from her home in Ndosho. This meagre income was barely enough to put food on the table.But Maombi found inspiration for her future job in the Rwandan city of Gisenyi, near Goma, after crossing the border to look up an old neighbour. She found her working on a construction site where all the bricklayers were women. With no man to guide or supervise them, the women’s determination and independence made a deep impression on Maombi.
“These Rwandan women inspired me, especially their dynamism," she recalls. "That same evening when I returned home I told my husband about it and decided to change my activities.”
Maombi first worked for a few months as an intern assistant bricklayer for the renovation of the school she attended as a child. Once completed, the school began offering a new course encouraging women and girls to take up careers in construction. Maombi jumped at the opportunity and, through her teachers, she found her next job on a construction site.
A better income, a better life
Maombi’s living conditions have improved considerably with the six to eight dollars she now earns per day. She has no reason to miss her hawking days. Thanks to her financial contribution, her family can now afford both education and healthcare.Her husband is proud of her. Maombi now also has more time for her children since she works closer to home and no longer has to undertake long and costly bus commutes.
“My husband didn’t like it when I was selling on the streets because I would often come home late at night, when the younger children were already asleep,” she explains.
Her eldest daughter is now 14 and wants to follow in her mother’s footsteps by taking construction courses at the school. She is only waiting for her father’s approval. How could he possibly say no?
Visit http://www.rnw.nl/ to view this article's source.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Repost: Meet Janette Wipper, OFCCP's New Pacific Regional Director
Dear Colleagues,
Today, I am pleased to welcome Janette Wipper to OFCCP as our new Regional Director for the Pacific.
Janette (starts out like “just” not “January”) comes to OFCCP from Sanford Heisler, a national civil rights law firm. During her seven-year tenure there, she litigated complex class action lawsuits on behalf of workers facing discrimination, misclassification and wage theft. In 2010 she was tapped to serve as Managing Partner, overseeing the establishment and expansion of Sanford Heisler’s San Francisco office.
At the firm, Janette served as lead advisor and consultant on the use of statistical evidence and experts in numerous class action cases. Among her many significant victories is the landmark Novartis lawsuit in which the pharmaceutical giant had to pay $250 million for discriminating against 5,600 female sales representatives in pay, promotion and because of pregnancy. That is the largest jury award for workers in a class action sex discrimination case ever. And Janette played a crucial role in the victory by uncovering flaws in the analysis used by a key expert for the defense. For her efforts on the Novartis case, she was named one of Law360’s rising stars in March of 2013.
Prior to joining Sanford, Janette practiced civil rights impact litigation at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the NAACP and New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. Throughout her career, she has been a champion for social and environmental justice on behalf of low-wage workers, women and communities of color. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Janette received a B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from Vermont Law School. In between acquiring these two degrees, she worked as field coordinator in Ecuador, advocating on behalf of indigenous communities affected by oil contamination in the Amazon. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and five-year-old daughter.
As the head of OFCCP’s Pacific operations, Janette will oversee more than 100 staff working 12 offices and responsible for enforcement across 11 states and territories. The Pacific is one of the largest and most diverse regions in our agency, and, over the past year, staff in the region were responsible for negotiating more than $2.2 million in back wages and 933 job offers on behalf of 3,685 workers affected by discrimination – the largest remedies in the nation.
I am thrilled to welcome Janette to OFCCP and am confident that she will be a terrific addition to our team! I know you will agree.
Pat
Today, I am pleased to welcome Janette Wipper to OFCCP as our new Regional Director for the Pacific.
Janette (starts out like “just” not “January”) comes to OFCCP from Sanford Heisler, a national civil rights law firm. During her seven-year tenure there, she litigated complex class action lawsuits on behalf of workers facing discrimination, misclassification and wage theft. In 2010 she was tapped to serve as Managing Partner, overseeing the establishment and expansion of Sanford Heisler’s San Francisco office.
At the firm, Janette served as lead advisor and consultant on the use of statistical evidence and experts in numerous class action cases. Among her many significant victories is the landmark Novartis lawsuit in which the pharmaceutical giant had to pay $250 million for discriminating against 5,600 female sales representatives in pay, promotion and because of pregnancy. That is the largest jury award for workers in a class action sex discrimination case ever. And Janette played a crucial role in the victory by uncovering flaws in the analysis used by a key expert for the defense. For her efforts on the Novartis case, she was named one of Law360’s rising stars in March of 2013.
Prior to joining Sanford, Janette practiced civil rights impact litigation at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the NAACP and New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. Throughout her career, she has been a champion for social and environmental justice on behalf of low-wage workers, women and communities of color. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Janette received a B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from Vermont Law School. In between acquiring these two degrees, she worked as field coordinator in Ecuador, advocating on behalf of indigenous communities affected by oil contamination in the Amazon. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and five-year-old daughter.
As the head of OFCCP’s Pacific operations, Janette will oversee more than 100 staff working 12 offices and responsible for enforcement across 11 states and territories. The Pacific is one of the largest and most diverse regions in our agency, and, over the past year, staff in the region were responsible for negotiating more than $2.2 million in back wages and 933 job offers on behalf of 3,685 workers affected by discrimination – the largest remedies in the nation.
I am thrilled to welcome Janette to OFCCP and am confident that she will be a terrific addition to our team! I know you will agree.
Pat
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Repost: Illinois program recruits more women, minorities for construction work
By Judy Masterson
jmasterson@stmedianetwork.com
January 11, 2014
Wesley Simpson of Waukegan is serious about getting a good job, which is why he recently underwent a rugged 11-week training program for road construction.
“Getting this opportunity means a lot,” said Simpson, 33, who last earned $10 an hour as a forklift driver, a job in Aurora, more than 60 miles from home.
Road construction, though seasonal, pays well and offers good benefits. Simpson could earn between $15 and $20 an hour to start. If he lands an apprenticeship, his hourly wage would climb to $37.
“I need the money,” Simpson said. “I have a 6-year-old son to support.”
Simpson graduated in December from T.C.A.R.T., the Transportation Construction Apprenticeship Readiness Training, Referral and Intermodal Placement Program. It’s a long name for a clear-cut goal: recruiting minorities and women for government-funded road construction.
“The bottom line is right now in the state of Illinois approximately 92 percent of highway construction workers are white males,” said Rev. Arthur Gass, president of the Black Chamber of Commerce of Lake County. “Those numbers have to change if we’re going to be in compliance with state and federal mandates.”
The Black Chamber is one of four community-based organizations − the other three are in Chicago − that are working in partnership with the Illinois Department of Transportation to recruit and train people for the program, which consists of three-weeks of classes in construction math and comportment and eight weeks of hands-on-construction training in south suburban Wilmington.
Just 125 T.C.A.R.T. spots are available for residents of Lake and McHenry counties; 532 applications were accepted.
Trainees are 85 percent African American, 12 percent Hispanic and 3 percent white, according to Gass, who said federal contracts require 16.9 percent minority and 6.9 percent female participation.
“The workforce ought to reflect the diversity of the community,” Gass said. “Highway construction jobs are supported by the motor fuel tax, 14 percent of which is paid by African Americans and yet we pick up less than 2 percent of those jobs. That’s pretty lopsided.”
Petite Coleman, 30, of Beach Park, last earned $12.31 an hour as a certified computer tech at a warehouse store in Vernon Hills. Her talent and liking for hands-on work came through during the technical training portion of T.C.A.R.T.
“Pouring and laying concrete was my favorite,” Coleman said. “The instructor had me doing multiple things and, by doing so many things, I was involved in the process from beginning to end.”
In road construction, Coleman said, she can work the same amount of hours but double her income. She wants to join a union. Her goal is to become a welding inspector, a job that requires a thorough knowledge of many trades.
“I’m a hard worker,” Coleman said. “I believe that you go to work to do your job. I don’t mind working long hours. I just want to be compensated.”
The Black Chamber will also work to help trainees find jobs for the springtime road construction season.
“We will reach out to any and all contractors, be they union or non-union, and make them aware that our people have the training, that they have the skill sets required and that they will make exemplary employees,” Gass said.
T.C.A.R.T. in Lake County has a 97 percent success rate so far, Gass said. The program has a zero tolerance policy for tardiness or absence. Trainees also have to figure out transportation to Wilmington, 95 miles south of Waukegan. Some have formed car pools. Some commute to Chicago to catch a bus from the Urban League office there.
“These are people determined to work and acquire the skills they need,” Gass said.
T.C.A.R.T., Gass said, “eliminates the excuse that contractors often use: that they can’t find qualified people.”
“They now have a pool of highly qualified people who have proven themselves,” Gass said.
For more information on the highway construction training program T.C.A.R.T., call the Black Chamber of Commerce of Lake County at (847) 599-9510 or the Chicago Urban League at (773) 285-5800.
Visit http://newssun.suntimes.com/ to view the original article.
Wesley Simpson of Waukegan is serious about getting a good job, which is why he recently underwent a rugged 11-week training program for road construction.
“Getting this opportunity means a lot,” said Simpson, 33, who last earned $10 an hour as a forklift driver, a job in Aurora, more than 60 miles from home.
Road construction, though seasonal, pays well and offers good benefits. Simpson could earn between $15 and $20 an hour to start. If he lands an apprenticeship, his hourly wage would climb to $37.
“I need the money,” Simpson said. “I have a 6-year-old son to support.”
Simpson graduated in December from T.C.A.R.T., the Transportation Construction Apprenticeship Readiness Training, Referral and Intermodal Placement Program. It’s a long name for a clear-cut goal: recruiting minorities and women for government-funded road construction.
“The bottom line is right now in the state of Illinois approximately 92 percent of highway construction workers are white males,” said Rev. Arthur Gass, president of the Black Chamber of Commerce of Lake County. “Those numbers have to change if we’re going to be in compliance with state and federal mandates.”
The Black Chamber is one of four community-based organizations − the other three are in Chicago − that are working in partnership with the Illinois Department of Transportation to recruit and train people for the program, which consists of three-weeks of classes in construction math and comportment and eight weeks of hands-on-construction training in south suburban Wilmington.
Just 125 T.C.A.R.T. spots are available for residents of Lake and McHenry counties; 532 applications were accepted.
Trainees are 85 percent African American, 12 percent Hispanic and 3 percent white, according to Gass, who said federal contracts require 16.9 percent minority and 6.9 percent female participation.
“The workforce ought to reflect the diversity of the community,” Gass said. “Highway construction jobs are supported by the motor fuel tax, 14 percent of which is paid by African Americans and yet we pick up less than 2 percent of those jobs. That’s pretty lopsided.”
Petite Coleman, 30, of Beach Park, last earned $12.31 an hour as a certified computer tech at a warehouse store in Vernon Hills. Her talent and liking for hands-on work came through during the technical training portion of T.C.A.R.T.
“Pouring and laying concrete was my favorite,” Coleman said. “The instructor had me doing multiple things and, by doing so many things, I was involved in the process from beginning to end.”
In road construction, Coleman said, she can work the same amount of hours but double her income. She wants to join a union. Her goal is to become a welding inspector, a job that requires a thorough knowledge of many trades.
“I’m a hard worker,” Coleman said. “I believe that you go to work to do your job. I don’t mind working long hours. I just want to be compensated.”
The Black Chamber will also work to help trainees find jobs for the springtime road construction season.
“We will reach out to any and all contractors, be they union or non-union, and make them aware that our people have the training, that they have the skill sets required and that they will make exemplary employees,” Gass said.
T.C.A.R.T. in Lake County has a 97 percent success rate so far, Gass said. The program has a zero tolerance policy for tardiness or absence. Trainees also have to figure out transportation to Wilmington, 95 miles south of Waukegan. Some have formed car pools. Some commute to Chicago to catch a bus from the Urban League office there.
“These are people determined to work and acquire the skills they need,” Gass said.
T.C.A.R.T., Gass said, “eliminates the excuse that contractors often use: that they can’t find qualified people.”
“They now have a pool of highly qualified people who have proven themselves,” Gass said.
For more information on the highway construction training program T.C.A.R.T., call the Black Chamber of Commerce of Lake County at (847) 599-9510 or the Chicago Urban League at (773) 285-5800.
Visit http://newssun.suntimes.com/ to view the original article.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Save the Date: "Building Economic Security for Low-Income Women" Roundtable on Fri, 9/27/13, 9:30-11:30am
Budget Buddies
Center for Women & Work at University of MA, Lowell
Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union
The U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau
INVITE YOU TO AN IMPORTANT ROUNDTABLE:
BUILDING ECONOMIC SECURITY FOR LOW-INCOME WOMEN
Friday, September 27, 2013
9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Corporate Offices of Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union
257 Father Morissette Blvd, Lowell, MA
The roundtable will bring thought leaders in the Greater Lowell area together to discuss potential pathways to financial stability for low-income women once they’ve learned essential money-management skills. During this time we will break into four work groups that will consider the following topics:
1) How do we help women find flexible work situations?
2) How can women qualify for higher-paying jobs?
3) What opportunities are available for women in “green” jobs?
4) How can we help homeless women veterans reenter the work force?
Attendance is free but registration is required. Space limited to 25
RSVP: To register, please send an e-mail to kathrynbrough@verizon.net by close of business on September 23 and include your name, organization, and telephone number. Please also indicate your preference(s), if any, for the work group you’d like to join.
1) How do we help women find flexible work situations?
2) How can women qualify for higher-paying jobs?
3) What opportunities are available for women in “green” jobs?
4) How can we help homeless women veterans reenter the work force?
Attendance is free but registration is required. Space limited to 25
RSVP: To register, please send an e-mail to kathrynbrough@verizon.net by close of business on September 23 and include your name, organization, and telephone number. Please also indicate your preference(s), if any, for the work group you’d like to join.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Higher Wage Equality for Women in Construction
"Women's-to-men's earnings ratios were higher among women employed in construction (92 percent) and agriculture and related industries (85 percent) than among women employed in other services (72 percent) and financial activities (71 percent)."
See the full article, Women’s earnings and employment by industry, 2009 on the Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor's website.
See the full article, Women’s earnings and employment by industry, 2009 on the Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor's website.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Repost: Meet an 80-year-old female mechanic at Oregon Tradeswomen Archives Project in Northeast Portland
Joanna Neal (left) and Becca VandeWalle, students at Oregon Tradeswomen Inc., construct benches for a picnic table for Village Gardens in North Portland. Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc.The Oregon Tradeswomen nonprofit will hold a special event Saturday in Northeast Portland exploring the history of women in trade careers. Among the guests will be an 80-year-old female auto mechanic and a 60-year-old carpenter.
The organization, which helps women access living-wage careers in construction, aims to document tradeswomen history. Saturday's event, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., is sponsored by the Tradeswomen Archives Project in California.
The tradeswomen archiving event will be held at the Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. office, 3934 N.E. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, #101. For more info, contact Dawn Jones at 503-335-8200 x 31.
For Northeast news, follow me on Facebook & Twitter.
-- Larry Bingham
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Repost: The Mag Interview | Alise Martiny helps women build a future
THE MAG INTERVIEW
The Mag Interview | Alise Martiny helps women build a future
Alise Martiny, who had been a concrete finisher for 32 years, is now the business manager at the Greater Kansas City Trades Council.
Alise Martiny of Merriam is business manager for the Greater Kansas City Building and Trades Council. This conversation took place at Crossroads Coffeehouse.
Q What is the Building and Trades Council?
AThe AFL-CIO is the umbrella organization over all of organized labor. Underneath that are different departments, and one is building trades. So I work with all the construction trades on a daily basis.
Q How did you end up with this big union job? It’s not the kind of post people expect a woman to fill.
A No, it’s not. I’m the first female to hold that job in Kansas City and in Missouri. I’ve been in construction a long time.
Q How did you get into it?
A I was going to KU and I got up there and decided it wasn’t for me. Came home and heard an ad on the radio trying to get more minorities and females into the construction industry. This was 1980, when President Carter was pushing for affirmative action.
Q How did you get trained?
A I did an apprenticeship program with the cement masons.
Q How much does it cost to get into an apprenticeship program like that?
A Nothing. It’s all paid for by private dollars from labor management. So it makes a lot more sense for some people than taking on huge debt for college — it’s become people’s highest debt after home mortgages.
The programs are three to five years and when you start out you start out on a 50 percent scale, which is about $14 to $20 bucks an hour.
And you start right out getting health insurance and a pension, which not a lot of people get anymore.
Q You spend a lot of time speaking to young women about construction jobs. What is your message to them?
A That there are great opportunities for women in construction. Our numbers for women are very low. Our goal for females in Kansas City, Missouri, is 2 percent, and we are meeting that, but just barely.
Q Wow. Two percent is the goal?
A Yes, it’s low. It’s so sad.
Q Why do you think it’s so low?
A If you look at what it is across the country, it’s 3 1/2 to 4 percent. That’s low, and we are still lagging.
I think we haven’t done a good job of letting women know that they can do this job. Construction is a great job for a woman, especially if she is trying to provide health insurance, a pension and a livable wage for her and her family.
Read the full interview at http://www.kansascity.com/.
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