At Protest, Workers Accuse Nail Salon of Dirty Dealing

Through Sunday morning’s crisp fall air, the shouts of the protesters could be heard from blocks away over the buzz of Lincoln Center traffic.

Here they were again, organizers from Justice Will Be Served! and its affiliated organizations, the veterans of gritty skirmishes with the owners of restaurants such as Saigon Grill, Ollie’s, and Flor de Mayo, waving florescent multi-lingual posters and demanding fair wages and decent working conditions. This time, the target was not a restaurant, but 167 Nail Plaza, a nail salon on the Upper West Side.

“This is the first time in the history of New York City that nail salon workers are standing up,” said Nancy Eng of Justice Will Be Served! “We’re going to start here at Nail Plaza.”

During the demonstration, nail salon workers, labor activists, and city and state politicians accused the store of prohibiting employees from wearing gloves and masks, not paying for overtime, and overworking employees—up to 70 hours a week.

“I worked here in Nail Plaza five to six days a week, 10 hours a day for 17 years with no lunch breaks and no breaks at all. When I asked for a break I was fired the next day,” said former Nail Plaza employee Susan Kim, who has filed a lawsuit against Nail Plaza. “For them it is all about making money, they don’t care about the workers’ health.”

Eng said that when one of the employees of Nail Plaza quit, her boss poured scalding water on herself and claimed that the employee had assaulted her. The result was a restraining order against the employee that prevented her from attending Sunday’s protest.

Prolonged exposure to the chemicals found in many nail salon products can lead to bronchitis, neurological problems, asthma, and other defects, according to Dr. George Friedman-Jimenez, Director of Bellevue Hospital’s Occupations and Environmental Medicine Clinic, whose department has been dealing with nail salon cases for over a decade. “These are all preventable problems,” Jimenez said.

City Council member Gale Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side, called for legislation to combat the problem, including an intensive study of the health effects of nail products.

“What we’ve seen in the Saigon Grill case is after we generated so much publicity about it, workers are speaking up,” said Lindsay Schubiner, BC ’07 and a volunteer for JWBS!

Similarly, JWBS! hopes that focusing on changing the policies of one nail salon will cause other nail salon workers to speak up, building a wave of resistance such as the one that developed after the Saigon Grill protests.

Inside Nail Plaza, which will officially transfer ownership in October, the atmosphere was decidedly calmer than outside at the picket line.

It is unclear whether the activists’ strategy will be as successful as it was in the restaurant industry, where allegations of worker mistreatment were more severe.

“We’re all happy here. We love everything. Nobody liked Susan. She’s not a nice woman,” said one employee, who refused to give her name, as the salon’s new owner straightened and combed her hair. Two customers appeared unfazed by the chanting outside as they read the Sunday paper, their feet soaking in hot water baths.

Several signs in support of the salon had been posted on the inside of the window, ostensibly written by happy employees. “We all need to work here and get some money to care for our families,” stated one. “Our store is very nice and very clean,” read another.

Eng said that workers often refuse to speak negatively about their jobs, especially in front of their bosses, for fear of being fired or, in some cases, reported for immigration violation.

Unlike the Saigon Grill protests, this rally did not draw very many Columbia students, despite 500 guests being invited to the protest on Facebook.

“It’s so early in the year, so there’s no very coherent organization,” said Ryan Fukumori, CC ’07, who attended the rally independently of any student organization.

Joseph Meyers can be reached at joseph.meyers@columbiaspectator.com