The New York Times published a story on October 22 about Latinos who work for fellow Latinos and find themselves being treated unfairly and shabbily. “For Latinos, familiar faces may not be friendly bosses,” the article’s headline read.
The article may be about Latinos, but the gist of the story also strikes a sensitive chord within the Filipino-American community. Far too often, we hear of Filipinos taking advantage of their fellow Filipinos. As recently as May this year, a wealthy Filipino couple was found guilty of forcing a Filipina to work for them as their maid and paying her only $200 a month for almost 20 years.
For many Filipinos, working for fellow Filipinos is a preferred option. For others, it is because of familiarity with the same culture and language. For some, though, especially the undocumented, it is their only option. That is why it comes as a shock for low-salaried workers – such as domestics and restaurant workers – that their compatriots would take advantage of them.
Last issue, we took to task the newly elected officers of the three major Filipino American organizations – the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), the Philippine Independence Day Council Inc. (PIDCI) and the Philippine American Friendship Committee (PAFCOM) – and challenged them “to advance the interests of the financially struggling Filipinos” and “act as the champions of the downtrodden members of the community that they profess to serve.”
This is an opportunity for the new leaderships of these organizations to prove that they are true to their words. For starters, they can come up with programs meant to find out the real score within the Filipino community.
Are Filipino nannies, baby-sitters, cooks, cleaners, restaurant workers paid justly by their Filipino employers? Are they provided with health care? Do they get paid for overtime work? These are some questions that need to be answered.
Leaders of these three organizations may be shocked by what they might find out, but that’s the way to start an action: gather the facts.
The truth may hurt, but it’s the truth nonetheless, and something must be done to correct the situation.
