PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jalen Montes, Union Member from Workers United on Labor Issues in Industrial Laundry Services
1:32:55
ยท
5 min
Jalen Montes, a union member from Workers United, testified in favor of Resolution 598 regarding city healthcare institutions contracting with laundry companies that respect workers' rights. He shared his experiences working at FDR Services, an industrial laundry company, highlighting various labor violations and unfair practices.
- FDR Services has refused to negotiate a fair labor contract for 7 years and workers lack good health insurance.
- The company has fired workers for exercising their rights, violated health and safety regulations, and terminated employees who couldn't work due to COVID-19.
- Montes called for FDR to sign the same labor contract with benefits that other industrial laundries have agreed to with the union.
Jalen Montes
1:32:55
My name is Jalen Montes.
1:32:57
I'm a member of the union and CHAP Stewart of the Unions of Workers United.
1:33:02
Thank you for the opportunity to speak in the favor of this important resolution for all of us.
1:33:09
Okay.
1:33:12
Service in New York.
1:33:15
Okay.
1:33:17
Okay.
1:33:17
I'm working in the industrial laundry at the services locate located in Houston, New York.
1:33:33
Okay.
1:33:34
We are washing clothing for many hospitals and also senior citizen centers located in the New York City area.
1:33:56
Okay.
1:33:57
This company in the last 7 years have refused to negotiate a fair labor contract for all of us, and we have been without a good health insurance for the last years.
Carmen N. De La Rosa
1:34:13
Okay.
Jalen Montes
1:34:20
Okay.
1:34:21
During the last 7 years, we have been victims, or we have suffered a lot of abuse done by the company FDR to us.
1:34:49
Okay.
1:34:51
There are some samples of these abuse.
1:34:54
They fire many of our workmates only for the fact that they were trying to exercise their rights about this abuse.
1:35:02
It tends to the union and tends to the National Labor Relations Board.
1:35:06
Right?
1:35:07
They were able to come back to their work, and they also pay for the stolen salaries, money that was stolen from their when they were working there.
1:35:16
So they recovered this to the National Labor Relations Board.
1:35:19
Mhmm.
1:35:20
Okay.
1:35:28
Okay.
1:35:29
This company was fined by OSHA because of bail health violations and also violations of safety to all the workers in the company.
1:35:50
Okay.
1:35:52
Okay.
1:36:01
This company was a cynic that they fire some of their workers, some of their employees, only for the factor that during the COVID 19 pandemic, they couldn't come to work.
1:36:14
Right?
1:36:15
Only because they were sick with COVID 19, and they still fire them.
1:36:19
Tends to the u to tends to the labor union and tends to the office of what attorney general Leticia James, these workers were allowed to come back to work, and they also recover their stolen salary, the money they have stole from them when they were working in these places.
1:37:00
We, the workers, we surrender a document petition to FDR.
1:37:06
The only intention of this document was for them to sign the same labor contract, include including the same benefits, the good health insurance that they have with the union, and the other other places, people who were working in other laundries, industrial laundries, has signed.
1:37:25
And they were able to use, right, this insurance because of this.
1:37:29
And FDR never gave us a respond about this.
1:37:32
They never they never gave us any response.
1:37:45
Okay.
1:37:47
Okay.
1:37:47
Is the moment to let FDR know that they cannot continue doing whatever they want or whatever they are pleased with their own employings.
1:37:56
This is not fair.
Jumaane Williams
1:37:59
Okay.
Jalen Montes
1:38:12
Okay.
1:38:13
And the name of all my workmates that work with me, I wanted to say thank you to our councilwoman Carmen De La Rosa and not only to her, but also to all the members of the NYC council committee for all your support and to give us the opportunity to be here to testify in the day you're today.
1:38:33
Thank you very much to all of you.