SAN’s March for Justice on May Day 2010
Artesia , CA: SAN’s march on May Day 2010 followed in the footsteps of a huge victory with Ziba Beauty Center, says a SAN press release. It adds: On March 18 th, 2010, Los Angeles Superior Court’s Judge Solner, certified a class action lawsuit against Ziba Beauty Center, for widespread violations of California Labor Laws. The class action is impacting over 315 former and current workers who have been employed by Ziba since 2004. This certification sends a strong signal to workers that Ziba will be held accountable for its exploitation of immigrant women workers.
“This is a huge victory against the exploitation of immigrant workers, like me,” said plaintiff Jyoti Parmar, who worked as a “threading artist” at Ziba for approximately 8 years. “I worked long hours at Ziba without rest breaks and don’t believe Ziba ever paid me overtime,” added Parmar.
In August 2009, SAN launched an official campaign to stop the exploitation of South Asian, Latino and other immigrant workers on Pioneer Blvd (a.k.a. “Little India”). Pioneer Blvd is home to over 50 South Asian stores/restaurants and is visited by thousands of consumers of South Asian cultural products weekly
Despite the official launching of our campaign and the recent Ziba Victory, many businesses continue to abuse workers. SAN has found that similar to the exploitation that workers experience around the world, most workers on Pioneer Blvd. are paid below minimum wage, receive no benefits, work long hours and are harassed if they demand their rights.
This is why SAN, workers and the community celebrated and protested on the streets on May Day 2010, International Worker’s Day! SAN called for solidarity and empowerment of all marginalized working people in our communities, especially at the event.
On May 1 st, 2010, SAN marched along Pioneer Blvd. from 4pm to 7pm to celebrate “International Workers’ Day”. Participants walked up and down Pioneer Boulevard to raise awareness about the exploitation of workers within this South Asian consumer district.
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