Albany needs to stop playing political football with this issue, and begin ENFORCEMENT of beauty and nail salons that operate illegally, throughout the state, and deprive workers (legal American-born citizens, as well as undocumented aliens) of their due wages. The State can write all the laws they want, but if they choose not to enforce those laws, all is for naught. FYI, until it was found with it's governmental pants down on this issue, the State did nothing to enforce those laws. Let's see how it pans out, now. Again, this is not just nail salons. Check with your hair stylist to find out the last time s/he so much as WASHED the hair brush used on yours and everyone else's scalp. Compliance with the rules is few and far between.
Great to see the information getting out there, and for these nail salon workers to at least know they have some rights, and support from the local government.
It is very impressive how the city is offering an educational opportunity to the salon owners and workers instead of taking immediate punitive measures. Let's see how it has panned out 6 months down the road.
What amazes me is that people still come to this country thinking that they will have better lives. Surely word gets back to their home countries that they are living five to a room in decrepit apartments, working like dogs, making no money? Why do they still come? Our streets are not paved with gold. Do they still believe that?
What you describe is the cost they are willing to pay for a chance at a better life then no chance at the place they left behind. The American Dream is alive and well.
Even at these abusive and illegal wages, they still make significantly more than they could in their home countries. That's why they come. Not to mention the threat of violence from governments, gangs, drug cartels and/or abusive partners they may be escaping at home. Try reading the NYT "World" section some time.
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I think this conversation should expand to examine labor conditions for any non English speaking person in this city. Domestic workers, such as home health aides, also work in dangerous conditions without adequate protection. How can we further protect workers in private settings employed by individuals? I would like to see govt efforts that focus on increasing opportunity and mobility for all hard working people, despite country of origin. No one would work in dangerous low paying jobs if the U.S. was truly a land of opportunity
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Yes much praise for volunteers of New York Good luck
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The women who willingly paid next to nothing for manicures and pedicures are now suddenly all in favor of fair wages and working conditions for nail salon workers. A bargain is great until somebody tells you it is isn't fair to the worker who provides it. Funny how these so called intelligent customers didn't realize that on their own. Hypocrites.
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The only way manicurists will make a fair wage is if the women who think they need a "mani-pedi " go to salons that are licensed, with licensed employees and are willing to pay what it's worth. It's obvious that $10/manicure is not enough to pay fair wages. On the other hand they are also encouraging an illegal trade in unskilled workers who are exploited.
If all the rules and regulations are enforced then most of these women will lose their jobs. However, hey work in a job which requires training, licensing and even a medical exam to qualify for the job. The patrons are endangering their own health by going to these unlicensed manicurist in improperly ventilated shops.
It is the women in NYC who use these services who need to be educated. They should know that $20 plus a "generous" 20% tip is not enough to pay for a proper manicure and pedicure and they need to patronize only those places that follow all the laws.
If all the rules and regulations are enforced then most of these women will lose their jobs. However, hey work in a job which requires training, licensing and even a medical exam to qualify for the job. The patrons are endangering their own health by going to these unlicensed manicurist in improperly ventilated shops.
It is the women in NYC who use these services who need to be educated. They should know that $20 plus a "generous" 20% tip is not enough to pay for a proper manicure and pedicure and they need to patronize only those places that follow all the laws.
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I think the situation at nail salons demonstrates how the consumer who faces ever increasing costs of living, finds himself tolerant of, and even dependent on brutal working conditions across the globe and at home. One of the many complications related to a receding middle class.
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Can the Times make it their next mission to cover the lives of interns, volunteer lawyers and other indentured corporate servants who are not only NOT getting paid but also NOT getting a guarantee of job (almost never) and saddled with debt in excess of thousands? I am sympathetic to the plight of the women who work in these salons, however, there are victims at all strata of society. How about Cuomo swiftly enact legislation to enforce corporate lenders/Wall Street to payback what they've swindled over the course of a decade or more?
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When he's done with the nail salons he can hit the Diners that underpay waitresses and cheat them of tips. Or the mostly illegal kitchen staffers who work long shifts for less than minimum wage.
My sister worked at one on Queens Blvd. that kept the employees on as part time and kept their earnings in two sets of books. Part of her pay was in a paycheck and the rest was cash. He underpaid workmen's compensations and Social Security and Medicare taxes. If large parties refused to pay the minimum tip he told them they didn't have to pay and she lost the tip because he wouldn't compensate her. When she quit she was the last employee who wasn't illegal. Her back and legs were shot and she had no access to medical care. At last she is on Disability and Medicare but receives a very low amount because of the under-reporting of wages. Yes, she is partly at fault but what else is a semi-literate person to do who has no other skills?
My sister worked at one on Queens Blvd. that kept the employees on as part time and kept their earnings in two sets of books. Part of her pay was in a paycheck and the rest was cash. He underpaid workmen's compensations and Social Security and Medicare taxes. If large parties refused to pay the minimum tip he told them they didn't have to pay and she lost the tip because he wouldn't compensate her. When she quit she was the last employee who wasn't illegal. Her back and legs were shot and she had no access to medical care. At last she is on Disability and Medicare but receives a very low amount because of the under-reporting of wages. Yes, she is partly at fault but what else is a semi-literate person to do who has no other skills?
Or not getting paid OT, esp. in the private sector corp job.
Maybe we should just shut down all the evil businesses - and I mean all as you indicate all are bad - and march west to see if we can etch out a living on the land.
PS we have national labor laws and a Dept. of Labor that receives billions to 'create' new laws and enforce them (they prefer the former to the latter). We don't need more laws, but do need to enforce those we already have. Won't happen, government would rather create new. To heck with enforcement.
PS we have national labor laws and a Dept. of Labor that receives billions to 'create' new laws and enforce them (they prefer the former to the latter). We don't need more laws, but do need to enforce those we already have. Won't happen, government would rather create new. To heck with enforcement.
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Now if you have a lot of money and want to use people, that sums all this up. As the business owners can "do what they want". "As they take the risks". "It is the market". I can go on, but why. I do know I am right. And the New York Times is right too. People can be open about what they pay and how they treat those who work for them. When your can't say what you do, that says it all.
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Kudos to the volunteers. For the rest of us, making a point to talk with women who use these services about the health and labor issues faced by nail salon employees is something we should be doing.
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Let's see: College educated middle class women go around telling poor uneducated women how to stand up for their rights and be out of a job.
Does that about sum it up?
Does that about sum it up?
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No, it doesn't. Not at all. Not even close.
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DGA: How so?
Does anyone really believe that these women have other options if they lose their jobs?
Does anyone really believe that these women have other options if they lose their jobs?
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Yup, it does. Wonder why all these volunteers don't just go to city hall and ask why existing, national labor laws are not being enforced. Guess that wouldn't make the news, and doesn't 'feel' as good. Next Arab Spring coming to a city near you ..., but who will be blamed? I'm sure it's the fault of the South or the Reps, somehow it always is. Sad. What has happened to the democratic party? To freedom of thought? To enforcing existing laws vs. adding another hundred agencies to implement new ones or do a 'study?'
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So thrilling for the Democrat/Liberal/Progressives who follow this drivel. Just think - we can come up with a whole NEW oppressed group, whether they're really oppressed or not.
Why is it that you 'progressives' are so anxious to create drama and confusion when none is warranted. What is it about you as a class that thrives on the fear and the negative?
Why are you all so anxious to create new 'victims', even when they're not?
Why is it that you 'progressives' are so anxious to create drama and confusion when none is warranted. What is it about you as a class that thrives on the fear and the negative?
Why are you all so anxious to create new 'victims', even when they're not?
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See the original NYT news stories linked in this article for documentation of brutal working conditions at nail salons.
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This is a perfect example of what happens in lots of industries when there's insufficient government regulation. Nail salons raced to the bottom and wound up treating their workers like slaves.
You think the owners of nail salons live the 1% life? You think they'd like to pay their workers decent wages if they could walk away with the same net profit afterwards? I do.
The "elasticity," as economists put it, is at the top. The landlord's probably a 1%er and will rip off the owner, because the landlord can. The rich landlord could probably cut the rent significantly and still live a comfortable life. Likewise, a lot of the women who frequent these places are 1%ers too and would pay twice as much for a mani/pedi if they were confident those sums would trickle down to the workers.
What's needed here is regulation, which in this particular case means enforcement. Because the market has effectively enslaved these workers.
You think the owners of nail salons live the 1% life? You think they'd like to pay their workers decent wages if they could walk away with the same net profit afterwards? I do.
The "elasticity," as economists put it, is at the top. The landlord's probably a 1%er and will rip off the owner, because the landlord can. The rich landlord could probably cut the rent significantly and still live a comfortable life. Likewise, a lot of the women who frequent these places are 1%ers too and would pay twice as much for a mani/pedi if they were confident those sums would trickle down to the workers.
What's needed here is regulation, which in this particular case means enforcement. Because the market has effectively enslaved these workers.
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I frequent an appointment-only Chicago nail salon, with six stations each of which is occupied by a licensed English-speaking tech operating along the same compensation model as hair salons do with their stylists. My manicurist is the owner, and her sister the receptionist. I get a liquid gel mani every other week (to facilitate my guitar playing) and add a pedi once a month. There are no fumes, drills or masks--all the products are the lowest-VOC available. I pay dearly--$40 for the french mani, $100 for the mani-pedi--tip 20%, and do so quite willingly. Having seen abuses in shopping-mall nail mills similar to those in NYC (the difference being only that Chicago techs are primarily Vietnamese or Cambodian rather than Korean), I will never go back to the “bargain” places. If I ever have to give up my ethically-priced nail services, I would go the DIY route rather than exploit and endanger another human being.
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Maybe these hundreds could convince women to stop using these chemical dumping areas too. Not very likely though. Vanity always trumps safety, especially if it is of someone else.
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How about volunteers to educate interns on their rights?
Nail salon owners outrageously and illegally pay little or not wages to new hires, under the rationale that the new workers are 'learning the trade' and they are training them.
Companies big and small do the same thing with both US and foreign 'interns', with no corresponding outrage.
In the case of nail salons, not only the (mostly) foreign-born workers are suffering discrimination, but also the (mostly) foreign-born owners.
Nail salon owners outrageously and illegally pay little or not wages to new hires, under the rationale that the new workers are 'learning the trade' and they are training them.
Companies big and small do the same thing with both US and foreign 'interns', with no corresponding outrage.
In the case of nail salons, not only the (mostly) foreign-born workers are suffering discrimination, but also the (mostly) foreign-born owners.
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I am a man, important to say because like most men I never enter a nail salon.
The only people who can really make a difference here are not city employees handing out leaflets, well intended as they are. Nor are there enough inspectors or could there be to police this clearly exploitative business.
No, the only people who can cause this to change are the customers, the middle class, upper middle class and the rich women who frequent nail salons.
They can change it by confronting owners and manager, insisting on fair treatment, insisting that service to them be provided by gloved workers, insisting on seeing the improvements to protect not only the health of the workers but their health as customers and by paying the workers directly in cash, not just tips but the fees as well and then watching to see that the worker keeps her fair share.
Of course there is no way of knowing once you leave one of these places if what you insist on when you are there will not be undone by coercion.
But if enough women with money speak up sharply and always for the women without money and warn they will go elsewhere if a shop does not improve, it can begin to change.
The only people who can really make a difference here are not city employees handing out leaflets, well intended as they are. Nor are there enough inspectors or could there be to police this clearly exploitative business.
No, the only people who can cause this to change are the customers, the middle class, upper middle class and the rich women who frequent nail salons.
They can change it by confronting owners and manager, insisting on fair treatment, insisting that service to them be provided by gloved workers, insisting on seeing the improvements to protect not only the health of the workers but their health as customers and by paying the workers directly in cash, not just tips but the fees as well and then watching to see that the worker keeps her fair share.
Of course there is no way of knowing once you leave one of these places if what you insist on when you are there will not be undone by coercion.
But if enough women with money speak up sharply and always for the women without money and warn they will go elsewhere if a shop does not improve, it can begin to change.
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Volunteers helping exploited nail salon workers have the responsibility to also discourage then from working altogether if they are not licensed. Unlicensed workers not only create health hazards at work, but by charging a pittance, hey are driving out legitimate licensed salon workers out of business.
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hummm...low to almost nothing wages?..is the recipient of the info materials carrying a real LV or a imported fake -
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I look forward to future exposes on the dangerous working conditions and low pay of shoe shiners, takeout food delivery guys in NYC, crop pickers, garment factory workers, fast food workers, restaurant dishwashers, etc. so that people who patronize or support one or more of these other businesses (i.e., everyone on the planet) can feel equally chastised.
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In NYC last weekend I saw a sign in a midtown Manhattan nail-shop window reading "Mani & Pedi Only $29.95!".
No owner can provide those services for so little money while paying a fair wage or providing decent work conditions.
I'm sorry it took so long for the NYC women who avail themselves of such services to realize this. Shame.
No owner can provide those services for so little money while paying a fair wage or providing decent work conditions.
I'm sorry it took so long for the NYC women who avail themselves of such services to realize this. Shame.
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The whole manicure craze and indifference culture here is seriously alarming. Starting from five year olds' mani-pedi birthday parties, what are the mothers thinking? The American style consumerism is so deeply ingrained at such a young age, what kind of value does it teach to the young? And has anyone noticed the proliferation of spas and back rub parlors next to the nail salons? Pampering industry is the domestic version of off-shore labor sourcing. American consumers by now are so used to cheap and fake, that's the real shame.
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I'm a little skeptical that all these women are "shocked" at the working conditions of the manicurists who work at these salons. Many women have been going to get their nails done once a week, at the same place for years.
They didn't see what was going on because they had no interest. One very simple solution is to pay a tip that is equal to the price of the manicure itself. If employers are going to improve the working conditions, the price of typical manicure will and should go up. In the meantime, put your money where your mouth is!
They didn't see what was going on because they had no interest. One very simple solution is to pay a tip that is equal to the price of the manicure itself. If employers are going to improve the working conditions, the price of typical manicure will and should go up. In the meantime, put your money where your mouth is!
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That tip will probably end up in the pocket of the salon owner, even if given to the worker. Strong pressure will be exerted to turn in all tips so the entire staff can "share."
What a great response! Thank you Julie Menin and NYC AND the Times for bringing this human rights issue to the fore and responding to it.
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Where are the inspectors on Smith Street and Court Street? Those women look like servants. I always tip cash and place right in their hands.
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Your second point is spot on
But to the first: Dodd/Frank, CFPB, etc. is a bit bigger than handing out flyers
But to the first: Dodd/Frank, CFPB, etc. is a bit bigger than handing out flyers
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How about they run a campaign to let all patrons know that there is and always has been something fundamentally wrong with paying just $10 for 30 minutes of labor when you consider the overhead of running a salon in Manhattan.
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Wow, NYTimes, you really started something. Good work.
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What headway we can make when it's about small businesses exploiting their workers but when it's banks who are too big to fail, nothing can be done.
You want nail salons to treat their workers fairly in a safe environment? I'm completely on board. But you should also pay more for your nail treatments so businesses aren't pressured to try to cut every corner.
You want nail salons to treat their workers fairly in a safe environment? I'm completely on board. But you should also pay more for your nail treatments so businesses aren't pressured to try to cut every corner.
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