Former Bus Drivers Win Unemployment Insurance; CPA Counters Sunshine Travel Lawsuit

from CPA Boston
 
Former Sunshine Travel bus drivers received their first unemployment insurance checks on May 26, after two months without income.   The former employees had filed claims in March, but the case had been under review by the state Department of Unemployment Assistance.
 
The unemployment claims had been disputed by Sunshine Travel, which argued that the drivers had voluntarily left the job "because they are lazy" and didn't want to accept a paycut. Sunshine Travel had at one point denied that the drivers were their employees, claiming instead that they worked for three separate bus companies, some of which are also owned by Sunshine Travel owner Lorraine Tse.
 
The drivers claimed that they had been forced off the job after they opposed the paycut and went to the Chinese Progressive Association (CPA) for advice over a number of worker rights violations, including a required $2,000 deposit as a condition of hire; docking of pay and tips for bus repairs, cleaning, and other company expenses; 12 to 18 hour days; and a requirement that drivers falsify their time logs.
 
How did the confrontation escalate?
CPA began counseling the drivers about their workplace rights in March and helped the workers to draft a letter to Sunshine Travel listing demands for unpaid overtime, improper pay deductions, and compliance with transportation safety regulations.   During that month, CPA worked quietly to help the drivers call for negotiation with the employer and attempt to resolve the matter out of court.
 
CPA and the drivers called for direct negotiations without attorneys, while Sunshine Travel refused to meet without an attorney.
 
Next, an employee from their attorney's office came to a CPA Workers Center meeting under false pretences and using a false name, took photographs of the drivers, disrupted the meeting, and refused to leave the premises until the police were called.   That same day, Sunshine Travel called a press conference at their office.
 
At that point, CPA helped the workers to produce and briefly distribute an angry flyer about their case, file complaints with the Attorney General's office, and call their own press conference.
 
Sunshine Travel's next step was to file a lawsuit against CPA.
 
Who is attacking whom?
Ironically, Sunshine Travel is suing CPA for "defamation," when it is the employer who has put out countless flyers calling CPA "evil and poison-hearted," and "like the Red Guard."  
The same content was posted prominently in Chinatown and in Quincy, and ran as paid advertisements for more than a week in Singtao, World Journal, Sampan, and Boston Chinese News. Flyers were also printed naming and personally attacking individual drivers with unsubstantiated charges.   Sunshine Travel has even launched a petition campaign among Chinatown businesses to denounce CPA.   Most of the Chinese language media has been blatantly one-sided in their coverage.
We had originally hoped that the Sunshine Travel case could be resolved with a minimum of confrontation and without expensive and prolonged legal action.   Due to Sunshine Travel's aggressive actions, this is no longer possible.
On May 8, four worker representatives met in good faith with the owners, but there were no concrete offers on the table.   Instead, the owners warned the drivers not to associate with CPA, and told them that they could eventually be compensated from money that Sunshine Travel hopes to win from suing CPA!
Continue to stand up for workers' rights!
Former bus drivers have retained an attorney to represent them and have continued to call for out-of-court negotiations.
 
Greater Boston Legal Services is defending CPA in the lawsuit filed by Sunshine Travel.   In April, Sunshine Travel failed to win a court injunction to prevent CPA from distributing flyers about the workers' case.   On June 8, CPA filed an answer to the charges, which included counter-claims of defamation against Sunshine Travel.   Last week, CPA also filed a motion asking the court to dismiss the case.
 
Both the workers and CPA, however, are committed to going to court if necessary and fighting for workers to continue to stand up for their rights.  
 
CPA does not pick fights with community businesses.   The Workers Center's goals for this year are to fight for job opportunities for unemployed workers.   Take for instance our campaigns around fighting for green jobs and fighting for local hiring from the W Hotel.   Although our victories in the W Hotel campaign are limited to winning paper applications and a goal of hiring 50% Boston residents, without workers organizing, we would not have even these small successes.   If the Chinatown community were very united, we would have been able to win more from the W Hotel.
 
We hope that the green jobs wave will bring more job opportunities to our community.   Federal stimulus money is being put into creating green jobs, but because these jobs are traditionally difficult for our community to get into, we must organize to win these jobs.   That's why the Chinese Progressive Association is enthusiastically working with workers and small businesses to fight for these opportunities for our community.