Adhikaar’s Newsletter: May-June 2023 (Part 3)
Nail Salon Program: #AllHandsIn for a Just and Equitable Industry
Services
The majority of our members are new immigrants who often find themselves at the intersection of language and cultural barriers. Thus to address these issues, we provide all our training in Nepali and in a culturally competent way. We continued providing Nail Salon on-the-job training for our members to learn and sharpen their beauty skills by practicing and learning from their peers. Through this program, four of our members got recently hired at a nail salon.
In June our 18th batch of members completed the theory portion of their New York State Nail Salon licensing course, housed in Adhikaar and run in partnership with NYCOSH as part of the NY Beauty School. Next, they’ll be learning how to apply the practical application of their learnings before sitting for the State licensing exam.
Advocacy
We pushed through the end of the New York State legislative session for our #AllHandsIn campaign for this legislation session with both in-person and virtual action. After marching in the streets, mobilizing hundreds of workers to Albany, and workers telling their stories to electeds, in front of the press and on social media, we ended the legislative session with a workers' day of action in the State Capitol in May, where Nail Salon workers from across the state came together to demand the lawmakers move the Nail Salon Minimum Standards Council Act out of the Labor Committee. It was also the last mobilization for the 2023 legislative session where our leaders shared boldly about the urgency of this campaign.
The bill is crucial to help raise minimum standards in the nail salon industry. If passed, the bill would give workers a seat at the table alongside government and small business owners to collaborate on new baseline health, safety, and wage standards across the industry.
Organizing
In June, over 30 member leaders from Adhikaar and the New York Healthy Nail Salon Coalition members came together to celebrate, reflect, and debrief on our #AllHandsIn campaign in this legislative session. They celebrated their experience of taking action by rallying, marching, and sharing their stories with elected officials, media outlets, and community allies. It also was a reflective moment for leaders to discuss what they wanted to do differently next year, and what we would need to change in our campaign strategy to ensure success.
Sign up in here to learn more about our #AllHandsIn campaign and find out how you can support in 2024!
Community Safety: Organizational-Wide Initiative to Create a Safe Space
A core component of all of Adhikaar’s programs involves the safety and well-being of our community members. In response to the rise in attacks against Asian American communities in New York, we held conversations with our members and conducted an org-wide survey with at least 50 community members to understand the community needs back in April. Based on this survey, we organized a series of self-defense training and held discussions for at least 60 members over the last 12 months. The training helped members who felt marginalized or vulnerable, gain a sense of empowerment and control over their own safety.
We provided more than 10 case management support services to help members navigate issues spanning from immigration, mental health support, domestic violence and labor trafficking. We also implemented various breathing and meditation techniques across all our programs. In efforts to raise the visibility of issues that affect the Nepali-speaking community, we provided spokesperson trainings to our members to empower them to share their stories by speaking truth to power to remove the barriers of fear in speaking up and motivate their peers.
Adhikaar in the News!
BBC News: “के अमेरिकामा नेपालीको टीपीएस जोगिएला”
The Guardian: “I have not seen one cent’: billions stolen in wage theft from US workers”
The Washington Post: “Service workers say their jobs have only gotten worse since the pandemic”
News12 New Jersey: “Rally held in Trenton in support of Domestic Worker Bill of Rights”
San Jose Spotlight: “Silver Taube: Domestic workers seek dignity and labor rights”
Channel News Asia (Video): “New York nail salon workers demand better work conditions, legal protections”
Channel News Asia: “Long hours, harmful chemicals, poor safety standards: NYC's nail salon workers protest work conditions”
The Chief: “Nail salon workers seek better pay and protections”
Empire State Weekly: Morning news on nail salon workers
To learn more about Adhikaar sign up for our newsletter here, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and Twitter.
Check out our previous newsletters highlighting:
Newsletter 1: Domestic Worker, Adult Literacy, and New Immigrant Navigation program
Newsletter 2. Immigration/TPS, Casework, Healthcare, and Youth program
