Even I have to admit that last week’s NY Times expose on the horrid working conditions for nail technicians in New York City is 100% responsible for this lightning-fast response from Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Effective immediately, he said in a statement, a new, multiagency task force will conduct salon-by-salon investigations, institute new rules that salons must follow to protect manicurists from the potentially dangerous chemicals found in nail products, and begin a six-language education campaign to inform them of their rights.
Nail salons that do not comply with orders to pay workers back wages, or are unlicensed, will be shut down. The new rules come in response to a New York Times investigation of nail salons — first published online last week — that detailed thewidespread exploitation of manicurists, many of whom have illnesses that some scientists and health advocates say are caused by the chemicals with which they work.
“New York State has a long history of confronting wage theft and unfair labor practices head on, and today, with the formation of this new Enforcement Task Force, we are aggressively following in that tradition,” Mr. Cuomo said in a statement. “We will not stand idly by as workers are deprived of their hard-earned wages and robbed of their most basic rights.”
It’s a far more muscular response than I expected from Cuomo, that’s for damn sure. It throws into sharp contrast the whining about the need for government regulations in general over the weekend by Charles Murray, doesn’t it?
Perhaps this would be a good time for Mr. Murray to publicly stand up for the rights of nail salons to treat employees as indentured servants, and to instruct owners to resist these “bad” regulations, hmm?
SuperHrefna
Good! I’m glad Cuomo is proving useful for something.
schrodinger's cat
Have MattY and Erik D Kain defended the unlicensed nail salons?
Helmut Monotreme
Oh, don’t worry. Reason is on the job fighting for the worker’s right to be exploited and work for far less than minimum wage:
http://reason.com/blog/2015/05/08/nail-salon-narratives
Belafon
So, maybe the NYT should return to being a local paper.
Rafer Janders
Job well done, but it doesn’t go far enough — these sorts of abusive labor practices aren’t going to stop until the employers who engage in them wind up in handcuffs. Theft is theft.
Tommy
@Belafon:
LOL, how about it. The NYT is the only pub I pay to use on my phone and tablet. I often don’t like how many of their stories are framed. Many of their op-ed writers make my skin crawl.
But I also know it is the “paper of record” and they drive the coverage of many media outlets and I think as a liberal it is important for me to understand this and follow what they are doing.
Oh they do have the best info graphics around, and I am a info graphic nerd, so they do have that going for them.
With that said, as you noted maybe they should try being a local paper. In a city the size of New York, with Wall Street and everything else, I’d assume there are plenty of local story lines to research.
aimai
This actually makes me cry, with joy. I’ve never had a manicure or a pedicure–didn’t grow up at a time when this was at all a “thing” that women my age/class did. But I’ve noticed with some bemusement that it has become very popular over the last ten or so years and I was just about to give in and have one. Its become very much a social interaction for some of the women I know. but I felt uncomfortable about going for it. Reading those two articles made my head spin with horror, not just the wage theft but the literal poisoning of those women and their families. I am glad that Cuomo, for whatever pragmatic reasons, has decided to do the right thing for these workers. I don’t see the customer base as being very politicial or politicized or able to do more than muster a small boycott of some neighborhood place if they were to hear about unfair labor practices. Institutional and structural change has to come all at once, from the top down,to be effective in such an industry.
Emma
@aimai: I have pedicures and manicures every two weeks, without fail. When I couldn’t afford it, I did them myself but it’s a wonderful luxury to have them done (as with yourself, it’s a cultural thing). I ONLY use a salon and my manicurist has been the same person for 12 years now. I’ve noticed the springing up of walk-in “nail salons” in Miami and you couldn’t get me in one for anything under the sun. My advice would be, have the fun, pay the extra for a good salon.
The whole nail industry in New York has been an issue for a while. I lived in Long Island between 1990 and 2000. There were a series of reports about the possibility of infection from badly-cleaned instruments. My salon issued each one of the regulars their own instruments in a little pouch, even though they steam-cleaned all their stuff.
rikyrah
that was a sad article. these women are being totally exploited
srv
Forget the unemployed folks, where will money launderers go?
schrodinger's cat
@aimai: I do my own pedicures, very relaxing. Have had it done professionally may be twice in my life.
schrodinger's cat
The bigger story that underlies the whole nail salon story is that of the exploitation of illegal immigrant labor.
SuperHrefna
In my ( Long Island) circle the first article, about wage theft, was widely circulated alongside admonitions to tip more, but the second article, about workplace toxins, wasn’t. I suspect because there was no way to spin it and still go for that weekly cheapo mani pedi. Personally I love mani pedis ( especially the pedicures, but I love having someone shape my cuticles, which I am terrible at doing) but I don’t go often because I won’t go to the super cheap places and I can’t afford to go regularly to the expensive ones. I hope Cuomo gets the industry into shape, I suspect that organized crime is deeply involved with it all ( because when is it not?) so that may take quite some doing.
Belafon
@srv: Hell?
CONGRATULATIONS!
Well, right here’s the difference between a really shitty Democrat and a Republican. The Republican would have simply said “free market Ayn Rand Adam Smith tax cuts”, like the voodoo spell that it is, and walked away.
Big ole hound
@schrodinger’s cat: Maybe everyone should stop “getting their nails done”. How many could stand the sacrifice???????? Horrors
Tommy
@schrodinger’s cat: That was just what I was thinking. Let’s face it, any industry where a majority of the workers might not have documentation in be in this country “legally,” maybe can’t speak English, and who don’t have the support of family and friends, well assholes are going to exploit them.
Heck I am almost surprised that the Chamber of Commerce falls more in line with us then Republicans as it relates to immigration. I would assume a lot of their paying members would want things to stay just the way they are so they can exploit workers at every turn.
Tommy
@SuperHrefna: I am a dude but I’d love to get a manicure. Been thinking about it for years. I hear from my female friends it can be a very nice, relaxing experience. Oh and I am also a little vain :)!
For me it is why I drive a little further to go to a “real” barber. One that will shave my head, and give me a shave with a straight razor. Heated shaving cream. Having a warm towel placed on my face for five minutes or so.
Sometimes that little stuff is nice and relaxing. Something to do to treat yourself nice for a few minutes.
Belafon
@Tommy: The blog host loves them.
Amir Khalid
It’s sad that the urgency of Governor Cuomo’s response — entirely appropriate and necessary in the circumstances — is seen as extraordinary.
WereBear
I’m missing a whole cluster of expected genes for my gender, and the love of the mani-pedi is similarly missing. Like shoe madness, and and putting up with uncomfortable clothing (my tolerance is in the negative numbers,) soaking in a hot tub, and reading romances.
However, kudos for Cuomo, and
is exactly right. Maybe it’s the difference between an inconsistent and neglectful parent and the one who beats you and locks you in the closet… but it’s a difference.
CONGRATULATIONS!
@Big ole hound: I suggested this to my wife once. I got A Look.
I know better than to bring this up ever again. I think we just need to accept that this is something women do, make it safe and legal for the workers, and move on.
scav
I doubt it anyone really objects, so long as one pays for the indulgence and perhaps recognizes that it’s one of those nice to have “I’d die without X” things instead of an actual “die without” thing. Apparently I’m a fan of free-range, unshaped cuticles, go figure.
SuperHrefna
@CONGRATULATIONS!: The thing about getting ” your nails done” is that it isn’t really about the color of your nails, the actual polishing takes a tiny fraction of the time, it’s mostly about getting your poor abused hands and feet looked after – soaked, massaged, exfoliated, oiled, trimmed. It really is an extraordinary pleasure. I remember once when I was all on my own for my birthday I got a $100 pedicure, and it was just utter bliss.
schrodinger's cat
@WereBear: I am not a slave to fashion either but I think one can be chic and comfortable at the same time. There is nothing wrong with wanting to look nice and not like you just rolled out of bed.
Tommy
@Belafon: Yeah I need to get one this week. Part of it is I used to bite my fingernails until they bleed. I did this into my late 30s. A nasty, nasty habit. Now I have fingernails my hands look so much better. Maybe one of my best features :).
Keep telling myself I should treat/reward myself by getting a manicure. As many here have said, and I said about my barber, sometimes treating yourself to something nice. That makes you feel better and enjoy, sexy even. Well I am all in on stuff like that.
I of course can shave my head (I use the HeadBlade system). But at least once a month I “treat” myself to going to the barber. I live in a rural area and my barber charges me $10 to shave my head, give me a shave, and trim and square up my goatee.
If that isn’t a heck of a deal I don’t know what is!
scav
@schrodinger’s cat: Do cuticles get very mussed in bed?
gene108
This is what happens, when industries do not have lobbyists up the wazoo sitting in state capitols and pouring millions (or billions) of dollars into politicians PAC’s, Super PAC’s, and re-election campaigns.
From an industry point of view, nail salons need to lobby-up. Some donations to the Chamber of Commerce, at the least, may blunt such a drastic government response in the future.
Omnes Omnibus
@scav: I suppose that would depend on what one was doing in bed.
scav
@Omnes Omnibus: Apparently there are multiple levels of athleticism, riotous abandon and attention to detail that I have utterly failed to fathom, let alone practice.
Tommy
@WereBear: I’m missing a whole cluster of expected genes for my gender [….]
Well as the metrosexual guy over here I must have gotten your missing genes. I have a serious shoe problem. I of course don’t buy purses, but I have another problem with laptop bags, messenger bags, backpacks, you name it.
But the main reason I responded to you was your comment about uncomfortable clothes. I assume this is far more of a problem for women. The shit you are supposed to wear to be “sexy” I often don’t find sexy nor would I think remotely comfortable.
I am willing to bet I have more clothes than 99% of the men in America. But I REFUSE to wear any clothes that are not comfy. Just won’t happen. I recall years and years ago there was a reality TV show about a shop that sold bras. These women would come in with breasts of all sizes. Get fitted. They were almost in tears that they could have a bra that fit as well as it did.
If you met me face-to-face I bet you might think I am one of the better dressed people you’ve met. But nothing I own isn’t comfortable. In fact I’d take comfort over style, but I’ve found you don’t really have to sacrifice either.
Belafon
@Big ole hound: And we should stop going to Applebee’s until they raise their salaries.
schrodinger's cat
@scav: I was responding WB saying that she won’t wear uncomfortable clothes just to be fashionable like the rest of her gender.
ETA: I am not a nail salon patron, I take care of my cuticles myself.
catclub
@WereBear: I suspect that the nail salons are small enough that they have been under the radar, and have not given to Cuomo. I suspect that the Chamber of Commerce feels the same way: They have not joined the COC, so we will not go to bat for them as we usually would.
aimai
@SuperHrefna: Right. I’m not criticizing anyone for going to have their nails done, btw. But One of the worst things was not only the wage theft and the slave labor conditions of the women described in the NYT article was the fact that when the customer did tip, it was often stolen and in any event abusive practices like fining the worker for errors or customer disatisfaction could also strip women of even the money they had earned directly from customers.
catclub
@gene108: Beat me to it.
scav
@schrodinger’s cat: But why assume comfort as goal #1 necessarily meant slovenly as outcome? Are gender non-steroetypes so dangerous? The he-manicure set are chiming in without apparent loss of face or esteem.
Paul in KY
@Amir Khalid: Good point, Amir.
gene108
@Tommy:
The cynic in me thinks that they support greater legal immigration to keep the supply of labor higher than the jobs available, which creates downward pressure on wages.
On the other hand, having a broken immigration system that is a bureaucratic nightmare to navigate probably eats up a lot of time business could be spending doing other things that would make them more money.
I think their motives probably lie somewhere inbetween those two points.
catclub
@CONGRATULATIONS!:
Next thing you’ll be in favor of abortion. Then cats and dogs living together…
SiubhanDuinne
Curiously, I’m reading this thread while my feet are soaking in preparation for a pedicure at my favorite nail salon. I’ve been coming here for about eight years. Getting my nails done professionally falls somewhere between necessary maintenance and luxurious self-indulgence. This salon is family-owned (all the technicians have worked here for at least a decade; they are all part of the same extended family), the place is spacious, well-lit, and well-ventilated, and I have no qualms about spending money here for professionals to do something I can’t do nearly as well myself. But then this isn’t NYC. Good on Cuomo for taking quick action to improve conditions for those manicurists.
Tommy
@schrodinger’s cat:
Of course you can. See my comment to WB. I have more than a few Tom James, handmade suits. The rest Brooks Brothers. But now I work for myself, out of my house, I’ve only worn those to funerals or weddings in the last ten years or so.
But although I guess I could work in the nude, I try to wear something “nice” every day. I still iron my outfits. I find wearing something comfortable and that I think is appealing, make me feel better about myself. I might even say smarter.
Why I still shave every day like I am going to work, when going to work is the room up the stairs from my bedroom and down a short hallway.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Omnes Omnibus: Well, that goes rather without saying. I’ve (with no minor embarrassment) mentioned that I patronize a local nail salon. It was described by a commentor that it was “the antithesis of the places in the article.” I believe that to be true. The couple who own it both work in the salon, and seem quite well-liked by their long term staff. Two of the staff I know well enough to know where they live are in neighborhoods I would never have afforded in my 20s. And the owners live in a neighborhood where the median house prices are more than I’d be willing to pay without a few acres and a barn in the blue grass.
All of which is by way of saying there are spotless salons where the owners, and the clientele, treat the staff well. And pedicures are incredibly relaxing. Plus they are very much fun when the people adjacent to you are a male and female couple and the man gets his toes painted.
@schrodinger’s cat: One of the great things about the place I go is that I get no comment that I don’t want my cuticles cut beyond “your cuticles look great!” They always trim the external hangnails.
aimai
Reading up the thread I think (and I take full responsibility) that there is some misconception about what hand/foot care is really like or all about for people (both men and women) and how it is handled institutionally. I did not mean to be dismissive of it as a fad or as inappropriate just because it isn’t something I would do/have done.
There is nothing wrong with people wanting to take care of their hands and feet. Especially people who work with their hands, or whose feet are in bad shape. In other countries (france, I understand) a lot of foot care that is neglected here is handled by podiatrists. This is a matter of health and physical well being and, as you get older or have elder care in your future, you will find that taking an elderly person to the podiatrist takes up a lot of your time.
However the use of harsh chemicals and dangerous toxins is a bug of our hand/foot care system not a feature of it. Letting the chemical and beauty industry get away without regulation is like allowing children to take up model airplane building without regard to the probability that sniffing glue in a closed room will destroy them.
Just because the experience is pleasurable for the customer, and perhaps also physically important for the customer, doesn’t mean that the worker’s right to safe work conditions can be disregarded. And to the extent that its a luxury good or a form of luxury spending (that is: not physically or medically necessary) nail care falls under the same heading as buying cheap consumer goods that you know for a fact were made in a dangerous factory where the workers lives are at risk. So once you do know the issue you have to become an informed consumer and spend your disposable income in places where you know the workers are not being abused.
Mike J
@Big ole hound:
Why? Are you implying that the industry couldn’t exist without stealing from workers, or do you think that anything you don’t enjoy is unimportant?
Tommy
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): I am sure some people want a cheap this or that. I will admit I often do. But I will not let somebody cut skin off my fingernails. Shave my face when I go to my barber. Do things like this to my body and I think to myself, “hey where is the cheapest place I can go?”
pamelabrown53
@SiubhanDuinne:
Interesting you should use the word “prevention”. I get pedicures to prevent ingrown toenails. So for me it’s not a luxury. My salon is a 1 woman show, Chinese American, been going to her for over 12 years.
RaflW
“New York State has a long history of confronting wage theft and unfair labor practices head on”
…when forced to by long-form investigative journalism, the Governor did not add.
Kudos to the NY Times. I get mad at it occasionally, but I still believe in my $8.95 weekly investment in the Sunday paper + digital access. Small price to pay for some semblance of a press in these dire times of failing media.
patrick II
Murray, and more specifically in this case the Reason article linked to by @Helmut Monotreme, seem to ignore the fact that the “free market” creates the unacceptable conditions government regulation attempt to solve in the first place. In the “free market” there were 47 million uninsured Americans a few years ago, leading to approximately 45,000 unnecessary deaths a year, countless bankruptcies and misery. The “free market”, ie; an unregulated business environment, created the miserable circumstance of the manicurists live in now.
“Free market” is in quotes because there can be no large market without a government legal framework to exist in, but to republicans “free market” just means the legal framework is entirely written to the advantage of business.
SiubhanDuinne
@pamelabrown53:
I’m not sure where I used the word “prevention,” but you make a good point. Ingrown toenails, from what I understand, are no fun at all.
schrodinger's cat
@scav: No where have I said that cute cannot also be comfortable. That’s what I try to go for in my day to day outfits.
There are however some special occasions which demand outfits like a silk saree or a strapless or a halter-top dress, where comfort takes a back seat. You need to pin the saree, it can be heavy. For an off-should dress you need to wear a strapless bra. Other wise you are going to look like a sloppy mess. Fortunately for me, such occasions are few and far between.
Villago Delenda Est
@gene108: Yes. You need to pay your protection money, or you’ll get burned.
Tommy
@pamelabrown53: I hear ingrown toenails are fairly common. Never had one myself, but I can only assume very painful. Doing things to prevent a larger problem seems to be a pretty basic and smart thing to do.
Example, I played golf and tennis since I was like in the crib. Until my 20s. Divison I scholarship for both. I am now 45. For most of that time I didn’t take care of my back. A couple times a year my back would act up and I couldn’t stand up. In a fetal position unable to move.
I started to do a little yoga. Not yoga really, just stretching daily. Not had any back issues for almost a decade. Simple stuff …..
schrodinger's cat
Has anyone been watching Wolf Hall? The men of that era, especially the noble men look like preening peacocks. They are dressed more fancifully than most women on the show.
pamelabrown53
@pamelabrown53:
Okay (red faced, here). Don’t know how morphed necessary maintenance into prevention but ingrown toenails are nasty and expensive when a trip to the podiatrist is involved. Plus, I get the added advantage of my feet looking nice. Great in FL. where I wear sandals most of the year.
Regarding the exploited manicurists: it’s great that these workers are finally getting some needed attention and redress. I’ve been hearing about these abuses for years.
schrodinger's cat
Has anyone been watching Wolf Hall? The men of that era, especially the noble men look like preening peacocks. They are dressed more fancifully than most women on the show.
ETA: For example, look at Henry in comparison to Jane Seymour or even Ann Boleyn.
Villago Delenda Est
@Tommy: I’ve had them, and some are genetically inclined to have their toenails ingrow.
Tommy
@pamelabrown53:
Did I misspeak or say something wrong?
pamelabrown53
@Tommy:
My partner of 20 years also was a golf and tennis enthusiast in her younger years, still plays golf. Anyway, it makes sense to learn yoga as a way to circumvent painful bouts that require doctors visits, pain meds and being incapacitated.
scav
@Tommy: It’s all a question of how you define your problem. The “cheapest place possible” could very well be the optimizing function you’re going with, but what are the other constraints on the solutions you’ll accept? Well, you’ve probably already ruled out “getting it done where I personally am likely to be harmed by the procedure” but why not rule out “getting it done where the workers are likely to be harmed by the procedure” and even maybe “where workers are probably not earning anything near a living wage or are otherwise exploited” as well? Defining the constraints upon the solutions you’ll accept hasn’t really changed your optimizing goal (“cheapest available”) but does alter the overall solution set and the final decision.
The same basic basic decision setup could be used to understand the whole dressing issue. So long as the solution set is constrained by “basic level of not looking slovenly” is a part of the problem definition, choosing between optimizing for fashion or comfort just chooses different acceptable socks and etcetera to put on in the morning. Practically speaking here are always constraints on the optimizing function.
Tommy
@pamelabrown53: I used to go to docs a lot for my back. They just wanted to give me pills. I did not want them because I have an addictive personality.
It is 12-15 minutes each morning. I stretch. My back never hurts.
Elizabelle
Aside from issues particular to manicure salons, I am thrilled to see issue of wage theft rise to national prominence.
It’s pervasive, and it is destroying our country.
NY Times article today (haven’t read yet); As Middle Class Fades, So Does Use of Term on Campaign Trail.
By Amy Chozick, reporter who covers the Hillary campaign and whom I have not liked much so far, but let’s see ….
Should be THE issue for 2016, and Democrats are solidly better positioned on it, even those who suck up to Wall Street.
Frankensteinbeck
@CONGRATULATIONS!:
Not just truth, but wisdom.
Elizabelle
@schrodinger’s cat: Lotta Wolf Hall fans here.
Yes re the preening peacocks. Can you imagine how heavy all those clothes were, for men and women? And how the furs might have still been alive with who knows what?
Liked how dark the night and interiors were. Could imagine the cold. (It was obvious they’d filmed in good weather; were any of the winter scenes outdoors? I think not. Just cold dark rooms with characters sitting near a fire.)
WereBear
I’ve nothing against hand and foot care. I just don’t get the thrill from it others do. Which is fine. It’s a personal preference and it should be safe for both the customer and the client.
I mentioned the comfort scenario because I’m tall, with long arms and legs, and long ago a model in NYC told me I should get my sweaters in the boy’s or men’s department because the proportions would work better for me. And she was right.
I also discovered that it was a whole new world… of comfort.
I’ve yet to experience a scratchy men’s sweater. Their back-of-the-neck tags don’t feel like someone sewed a razor blade in there. Their cutfs don’t bind, their underarm seams don’t bunch up in your armpit, the neck doesn’t feel like I’m wearing a grater.
In all ways, large and small, men’s clothes are made of more comfortable materials and are better tailored and in general, better quality, at the same price point, as women’s. Obviously, I don’t buy everything in the men’s department. But their leisure pants are long enough and their boxers are marvelous summer sleeping shorts and sometimes the only way I can get the sleeves long enough are to buy one of their shirts.
And I tell you, ladies — we should demand the same standards.
ellennellee
i too have witnessed this accelerating push to be fully manicured, to look more “professional.” i resent it as much as i resent the pressure to be thin and grey-free, and tho i succumbed for a while, sporadically, i finally took the stand that it’s really not an entirely healthy thing to do. your nails need to breathe in order to perform their detox function; not as bad as a goldfinger hit, but you’re doing yourself no favors saturating them with lacquer.
which brings up the toxin factor, in addition to the fashionista factor. nail polish and remover are toxic enough; just painting my own nails when i did gave me a headache, so think about exposing yourself to those fumes all day long, especially if your day is 10-12 hours long, day in day out. then consider inhaling those gawdawful fumes for the acrylic nails and the glues used for application. the first time i entered a salon that offered those, i had to leave before i even got to the desk, the stench was so gagging. and to stay in that all day, day after day? the investigation’s revelations were utterly predictable.
it’s hard, but boycotting establishments and companies that exploit their workers is the only way we can hope to turn these things around. which starts with committing to rejecting products and services that cause people harm at any point along the way, from manufacture to application and use. and yes, that would ultimately mean we’d have to give up a great number of luxury items (i’m typing on one right now, a 5 yr old mac that i know will eventually bite the dust, and then what?). but then – think about it – that is precisely what we’re going to have to do as a species if we have a prayer of preserving the planet’s potential to support us.
we don’t have to give up manicures altogether in this scenario. i just found a woman with her own small salon who is willing to give me a cut rate for a weekly manicure and monthly pedi, without polish. every time i’ve asked elsewhere, they were always intent on charging the same amount, which seemed stupid on so many levels. when i told her my reasons included reducing her exposure to the toxins, she had trouble refusing.
who knows? could start a new trend. next off, makeup!! (already gave up hair coloring, and i never got so many compliments on my hair before it went all grey!)
;-)
Elizabelle
RE pedicures: I get maybe 3 a year, tops, and do my own otherwise, Have not had a professional manicure for ages, because I wear the polish off my nails too fast. (Do them myself.)
Always enjoy the pedicure, because it’s a relaxing luxury (with fashion magazines) and they might catch some minor issues that might send one to a podiatrist otherwise.
Did enjoy a few extra peddies the year I had a broken arm.
Pedicures and manicures are even more important to older folks, who might not be able to handle the grooming otherwise. It’s pampering and looks nice.
I am glad NY (and soon other) states will more closely regulate working conditions.
gogol's wife
@schrodinger’s cat:
We’re all squeeing about it on Betty’s thread below.
schrodinger's cat
@gogol’s wife: I have to yet watch the last episode.
Germy Shoemangler
I saw an ad for a job in Vermont. Digital Media Manager. It’s for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. Here’s a portion of the employee requirements:
Paul in KY
@Elizabelle: When the Archbishop of Canterbury went to anoint Henry IV at his coronation, he discovered his hair was swarming with lice.
Paul in KY
@WereBear: Shhh!!!! Ixnay onay hthay lothescay!
pseudonymous in nc
The speed of the response is good, but perhaps not surprising.
Slavery nail salons are literally a point of contact for both the NYT’s reader demographic (rich people) and Cuomo’s voter demographic (rich people). And so Something Must Be Done.
This isn’t to denigrate the excellent and dogged background reporting, or the way that the NYT ran the story — with Korean, Chinese and Spanish translations — but it taps into a social and cultural context where political action is necessitated because it’s a sector where richer people have been enjoying a service on the cheap through exploitation.
Brachiator
@srv:
I don’t know. Where do you usually go?
Knowbody
We do all know that this is in effect a massive immigration raid, and thanks to Cuomo and Obama, these abused women are going to even worse conditions in the deportation machine, yes?
And you all are happy about this?!?!
Fuck the lot of you.
Gravenstone
@Knowbody: So you’re affirmatively pro-slavery. Got it. Now kindly find a fire and leap into the heart of it, screaming in agony as you’re consumed, you useless fucking waste of protoplasm.
Knowbody
@Gravenstone: not all the workers are slaves. But a lot of them are undocumented. They will suffer and be rounded up into deportation facilities and the people who own the salons will what, have to pay a fine?
Boy that will reform the industry.