Wins Workers Rally for Support
About 200 former Wins of California garment workers and supporters gathered at Huntington Square Park in San Francisco on Sept. 17 to demand that action be taken by U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao to retrieve an estimated $1 million in back wages from the women’s apparel manufacturer. But Chao was a no-show.
On Sept. 17, Chao was scheduled to give a speech called “Labor Challenges in the Coming Year” to the San Francisco Common Wealth Club at the Fairmont Hotel (across the street from Huntington Square Park), but she withdrew one day prior to the event, according to Gordon Mar, a spokesman for the Chinese Progressive Association, a grass-roots workers’ rights organization based in San Francisco’s Chinatown.
“We assume she was aware of our plans to picket her appearance,” said Mar, who added that at the workers’ urging, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi sent Chao a letter last week suggesting that she address concerns of the Wins workers at their rally.
The workers—many of whom are women who only speak Chinese— were employed by Wins of California and subsidiaries Win Fashion and Win Industries of America, all owned by Jenny Wong, Ana Wong and Toha “Jimmy” Quan. The former employees are suing the owners for three months of unpaid wages from April to July 2001, approximately $850,000, say state and federal authorities.
So far, around $420,000 has been placed in a lock box while the case is being resolved by the District Court in San Francisco. However, more than a year later there are still matters that need to be resolved before the workers get their paychecks. And, as Mar pointed out, many of the workers’ unemployment benefits are running out.
“This case has been complicated by other issues,” explained Department of Labor spokeswoman Sue Hensley, who added that a settlement conference between GE Capital, one of the Wins factors, and the bankruptcy trustee has been scheduled for next month.
Hensley said Chao canceled her appearance at the Common Wealth Club because an early morning meeting was added to her schedule, which forced her to take a later flight to the Bay area.
At the rally, a few of the workers spoke about labor laws and the need to improve job training and employment opportunities for low-wage immigrant workers. Also in attendance were a representative from Pelosi’s office and San Francisco Board of Supervisors members Chris Daly and Leland Yee.
But many of the workers were hoping to meet with Chao during her visit to San Francisco, Mar said, adding that advocacy groups and workers are urging Chao to take a stance on the Wins case.
“She’s the first Chinese-American woman to hold a cabinet-level position—she is someone they can identify with, so the workers are particularly disappointed in her lack of follow-through on promises she made earlier this year,” said Mar.
Reached for comment following the rally, Chao called the workers’ situation “unfortunate” and said that the Department of Labor is doing everything it can to seek justice for them. —Claudia Figueroa
