Lunch program guests welcome entertainment

Joselino Chocoj visited the lunch program
Joselino Chocoj visited the lunch program
Francisco Balan also provided songs
Francisco Balan also provided songs
Workers enjoy lunch, conversation, and entertainment

CoFiA and our guests enjoyed entertainment presented by Joselino Chocoj, a singer/songwriter who we first got to know when he was director of “Grupo Folklorico de Tikal”, a group of workers who learned to present traditional Guatemalan dances. Now he is singing his own songs, describing the immigrant experience and his own strong faith. One Monday songs were also presented by Francisco Balan, a long-time friend of CoFiA. We remember him coming to a CoFIA meeting on his bicycle to pick up a donated guitar, and peddling happily away.

It has been a busy winter season for the lunch program, with as many as 65 guests and 10-12 volunteers who come faithfully every week to prepare and serve a hot lunch.  Programs have been organized by staff and volunteers and have provided important information on immigration, health, consular IDs, and more

The lunch program for 2015-2016 ends on April 4, as the weather warms and (we hope) most of the guests will find jobs.

Sally Pillay to Speak

On Saturday, April 2, 2016, Our friend, Sally Pillay, Director of First Friends of NJ & NY, will speak on the growth of immigrant detention and possible alternatives to detention at a dinner to benefit the Northern New Jersey Sanctuary Coalition.  First Friends is an organization that assists immigrant detainees in the New Jersey and New York areas, and helps to educate the public about the realities of such detention.  The Northern New Jersey Sanctuary Coalition helps people who have been granted asylum get established in their new home.

The dinner is free. Tax-deductible donations will be solicited.
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FREEHOLDERS LOWER PHONE RATES FOR INMATES

county jail

On Wednesday, February 24, 2016, the Bergen County Freeholders rejected renewal of a contract with Global Tel*Link Corporation to provide Inmate Telephone Services at the Bergen County Jail.  The Freeholders chose instead to join the state contract for calling service in the jail.

The state contract provides domestic calls for 4.384 cents with no fees or commissions.  Last year the State of New Jersey’s Department of Corrections eliminated a 41 percent commission from their phone contract, and reduced prison and jail phone rates to the 4.384 rate per minute, one of the lowest in the nation.

Bergen County Jail has a capacity of 195 detainees in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  The previous exorbitant rates charged by Global Tel*Link made it almost impossible for the detainees to stay in touch with families and legal services.  This change will make a great difference for them.

Still to be resolved, however, is the issue of the cost of international calls, which under the Global Tel*Link contract were as high as $19.80 per minute.  Advocates for detainees are urging the county to negotiate fair rates for these calls.

 

(Adapted from an article in BERGEN DISPATCH, by Paul NIchols, Wednesday, February 24, 2016.)

 

 

Homeless Shelter Bill clears Assembly Panel

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A few of the lunch program guests have been homeless this winter

This winter CoFiA has been concerned about a group of workers who have been homeless.  Although the Bergen County shelter in Hackensack will allow them to stay there in the worst weather, they are only admitted to the “sit up” section and must leave by early morning.  To date we know of no one who has chosen this option.  “Don’t worry about us,” they tell Angelica.  But we do worry.

So we are pleased that a bill to increase the availability of shelter recently was passed by an Assembly committee. The following account was published in the Bergen Dispatch on March 4, 2016.

Bill to Help Shelter Homeless During Extreme Cold, Heat Clears Assembly Panel

Legislation Assemblymen Bruce Land and Bob Andrzejczak sponsored to identify and assist people in need of shelter during severe weather events was advanced by an Assembly committee on Thursday.
“No one in New Jersey should have exposure to the elements be his or her cause of death. The mere notion of that is just unacceptable,” said Land (D-Cape May/Atlantic/Cumberland). “This legislation has the potential to save thousands of lives in New Jersey and help some of our most vulnerable residents as they try to get back on their feet.”

The bill (A-815) would require county emergency management coordinators to establish Code Blue programs to shelter homeless individuals during snow emergencies, excessive cold or heat or other weather-related conditions. The legislation is part of an effort by Assembly Democrats to help the 2.8 million adults and 800,000 children living in poverty in New Jersey.

Under the bill, an emergency management coordinator would declare a Code Blue alert within 24 hours prior to the onset of a severe weather event. Upon the declaration of an alert, law enforcement agencies within the county would identify and locate individuals who may require assistance and arrange transportation to an appropriate shelter. Provided the event does not continue or worsen, the alert would end at 8 a.m. the following day.

“For individuals without a home, extreme weather can be life-threatening,” said Andrzejczak (D-Cape May/Atlantic/Cumberland). “There’s simply no excuse for a resident of New Jersey to suffer outside during a severe weather event when every county has the means to provide people with temporary shelter.”

The legislation is modeled after the Code Blue program implemented in Cumberland County to provide the homeless with shelter during the winter. The sponsors noted that the bill would create uniform standards for the 14 counties that already have such programs in place and introduce a Code Blue program in the remaining seven counties.

The measure was advanced by the Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee.

CoFiA receives grant from Leonia Community Chest

Agency Night at the Community Chest
Agency Night at the Community Chest
Receiving the Leonia Community Chest grant 2016
Receiving the Leonia Community Chest grant 2016

For many years, the Leonia Community Chest has awarded a grant to CoFiA. This year, 2016, Ellie Spiegel made a presentation on our behalf, and past-president Carolyn Sobering received the donation.

Grants such as these provide significant support for our efforts, and we are very grateful to the Community Chest and the citizens of Leonia and the area for their ongoing belief in what we are doing.

Pay Stub Disclosure Act

We have learned from our friends at Interfaith Worker Justice that U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) has proposed the Pay Stub Disclosure Act (HR 4376), a law that would mandate that all workers receive documentation of their pay. IWJ is asking worker advocates to call their local Representatives and ask them to co-sponsor this legislation. In our area the call should be made to the office of Congressman Bill Pascrell at 1-202-225-5751 or 201-935-2248 (local). His office is happy to receive the recommendation.
Too often, wage theft occurs when workers’ pay is illegally whittled down by undercounting the hours they worked, paying illegal wage rates or taking unauthorized deductions. Requiring that employers document the payments with pay stubs would make a major difference in capturing stolen wages.
Wage theft in America costs countless workers billions of dollars every year. Just this week we learned of a worker who was injured on the job and went to his employer to give information for a workers comp claim. The worker was perfectly happy with his employer and only wanted to cooperate in a way that would guarantee that he would be able to return to work when he was well.
While there, however, we learned that although he was registered as working a regular 8 hour, 5 day a week shift, he in fact worked much more than 8 hours, often 6 or 7 days, and never received overtime pay. He was usually paid in cash but the employer was suggesting he could pay him with a check for half the week’s wages, and in cash for the balance, while he was disabled.
The worker had no complaints about this. He just wanted to be sure the job would be there for him when he was well.
Many other workers receive far less positive treatment. A study by Dr. Hung-en Sung of workers in Palisades Park that  160 day laborers surveyed reported 728 separate incidences of wage theft, resulting in $238,112 in back wages owed;  and very few were able to recoup their losses. Our wage theft committee assists a number of people trying to file claims or otherwise negotiate, but these time-and-labor intensive negotiations often do not result in positive outcomes.

A simple two-minute call to Rep. Pascrell’s office will lend a helping hand in this difficult struggle.

Workers Available

WORKERS AVAILABLE

March is a good time to take stock of indoor projects that you need to work on. CoFiA can help you locate skilled workers to help at this time, before the weather makes it possible for outdoor work to be done. Many of the workers have taken advantage of free Occupational Safety and Health training offered by CoFiA. Skills learned in this training make the jobs safer for worker and employer alike

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OSHA GRADUATION
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MASONS ARE AVAILABLE IN WARM WEATHER

We can recommend skilled painters, sheet rockers, masons, tile layers, and people who can do small construction jobs. We also know people who are available for general work. Need something moved from one floor to another? A basement or attic cleaned out? Floors or walls washed or refinished? Just let us know.

If you expect to have some outside projects done when the weather warms up, this is a good time to put in a request. Window washing, lawn clean up, driveway or sidewalk repair—plan ahead! Remember that we need a few days notice in order to find the right worker for your job.

Go to our Worker’s Link page on this web site for a list of Frequently Asked Questions. You can also fill out the form on that page describing your job and send it to us at info@communityoffriendsinaction.org. Please give a full description of the work, your name and address, telephone number(s) (numbers that you answer!), and email address.

Questions? Call us at 201-833-1737 or 201-598-2253.

New teachers, students in English class

Teacher Betty De Marco works with the student beginners
Teacher Betty De Marco works with the student beginners

CoFiA’s ESL class has welcomed two new experienced teachers, Hector and Effie Giraldo, and new groups of student and adult beginners. Our intermediate and advanced classes continue as well–all crammed together in the conference room at the Palisades Park Library. Noisy, a little chaotic, but fun!

Teacher Betty and CoFiA Vice-Chair Roni in the advanced class
Teacher Betty and CoFiA Vice-Chair Roni in the advanced class
Effie Giraldo with a group of adult beginners
Effie Giraldo with a group of adult beginners
Hector Giraldo has joined the teaching staff
Hector Giraldo has joined the teaching staff
Teacher Norm works with Francisco in the intermediate class
Teacher Norm works with Francisco in the intermediate class

Carol Brush, RN, spoke to workers

Carol Brush, RN, spoke to workers
Carol Brush, RN, spoke to workers

Monday, February 22, 2016, was a busy day at the CoFiA lunch program. In addition to presentations on alcoholism and homelessness, the lunch guests were addressed by Carol Brush, RN, on important issues relating to healthy living in the U.S. Ms. Brush is a Health Educator affiliated with Hackensack Hospital and also provides services to the Palisades Park Health Department. She brought with her reflective badges that can be attached to bicycles or clothing and help to prevent accidents on the streets after dark. These were very popular and she promised to come back in the future with more.

Many thanks to Carol, and to Paula Murphy of the Palisades Park Health Department who put us in touch with her.

CoFiA provides Social Services

The Community of Friends in Action offers a wide range of assistance to the workers in our area. Our Social Services coordinator, Angelica Martinez, lives in Palisades Park and knows many members of the community well. Through her CoFiA learns of the  difficulties they have trying to succeed in this country,  where they often experience difficulties in employment, finances, housing, health and other issues.

A wage theft collection celebration
A wage theft collection celebration

One of the ways we help is to track down employers who much too often cheat the workers by not paying what they agreed to.  Sometimes this is through ignorance–homeowners may feel that payment well below the minimum wage is acceptable because the workers are not part of an organized group. But too often wage theft is deliberate, and the employer will take every avenue possible to avoid making the payment. Our wage theft committee members have become experts in carrying out detailed investigations; unfortunately not many of these result in collections.

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warm clothes are collected in the winter

The whole community responds enthusiastically to our annual appeal for donations of warm winter clothes. In cooperation with the Leonia Public Library and the Rotary Club of the Palisades a box is placed at the library and is filled on a regular basis with good, clean, and sturdy winter clothing. This winter we have also needed clothing for women and children in response to the influx of families fleeing extreme poverty and violence in their home countries.

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Angelica visits with the guests at lunch

Angelica gets to know the lunch guests, providing a friendly ear to hear their problems and their successes. She often learns that they are experiencing very sad issues. In some cases CoFiA can help; in others just the opportunity to be in a warm and accepting environment, where people are willing to listen without judgment, makes a real difference.

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Sometimes there is a jacket that fits perfectly!

Even though life can be very hard, most of our friends are cheerful and always grateful for whatever help is available, such a warm jacket that fits. The workers also help each other a lot. Not everything is a downer!

If you would like to lend a hand, just let us know.  Send an email to info@communityoffriendsinaction.org, or drop in on a Monday lunch at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Palisades Park, between 11:30 and 1:30.  Be SURE to feed the meter!