The gradual dwindling of the garment industry over the past few years has forced many Chinese workers – mostly women – to seek work at nail salons. This shift, however, has brought an increase in the number of complaints about employers at nail salons exploiting their employees. The Chinese Staff Workers’ Association and other organizations have been aggressively assisting nail salon employees to fight for their rights and urge those who were mistreated to unite against unjust employers.

Last month, the Chinese Staff Workers’ Association was informed that Korean couple owners of a nail salon in midtown Manhattan did not pay their employees the legal minimum wage or compensate them for overtime work. When several employees protested, the Korean owners fired them. Outraged, the labor organizations held protests outside the nail salon. On November 15, union leaders and Susan Kim and Jenny Hong, two employees who lost their jobs at a nail salon, held a press conference at the office of the Chinese Staff and Workers’ Association to make public the unhealthy working conditions at the salon.

Ling-Sie Eng, spokesperson for Justice Will Be Served – a movement sponsored by the Chinese Staff and Workers’ Association, the 318 Union, and other organizations – said that nail salon employees faced many problems at work.

Using the examples of Kim and Hong, Eng explained that employees at the nail salon often had to work overtime without the legal compensation. When there were too many customers, the employees needed to work through lunchtime without a break. Some employees also did not get paid minimum wage. As well, the employers grouped employees across ethnic lines to stop them from organizing.

In March of last year, Kim asked her boss to let her have time for lunch, angering her boss who subsequently fired her. Hong, who supported Kim, also then faced vindication and got terminated. Hong showed reporters her hand scars, which resulted from handling chemicals for many years.

According to Wing Lam, director of Chinese Staff and Workers’ Association, nail salon employees are predominantly women who work long hours without proper overtime compensation. It is not unusual for them to work continuously without a break or lunch. Worst of all, because nail salons use a large amount of chemicals, employees spend years of inhaling toxic chemicals, severely weakening their health. Many suffer from skin, eye, and respiratory diseases. It is well known in the industry that a woman who wants to have children or is pregnant will refuse to work at a nail salon, for fear that the toxic environment could negatively affect her ability to have children or, if pregnant, unborn child.

The Chinese Staff and Workers’ Association have come to the aid of these exploited employees, said Lam, and urged the city government to inspect the working conditions at these nail salons. “It is important if they are in compliance with health and safety requirements, or if it is necessary to set up of a series of safety guidelines to protect the health of the employees,” Lam said, adding that many employers also refuse to let their employees to wear protective masks to cover the nose and mouth. He urged all employees, who faced these problems at work, to contact the Chinese Staff and Workers’ Association at (212) 334-2333.