Congratulations to Micropower's teachers--both of English (ESL) and those in professional training--on their successful unionization vote over the weekend! Press release from New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) included below:
Teachers at Career School in Chelsea Vote Decisively for Union Representation
New York, NY – September 14, 2013 – Management response to Hurricane Sandy was the galvanizing moment for many teachers at the Manhattan branch of Micropower Career Institute. Despite a fierce union busting effort by the owners of this family-run proprietary school (Sam Hiranandey, President and Lalit Chabria, Vice-President), teachers made their desire for unionization clear as a strong majority voted for union representation in an election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board.
The West 25th branch of Micropower markets ESL programs especially for students seeking visas for studying in the States, and offers Dental Assistant, Medical Assistant, and Computer Networking certificate programs. Tuition – which can run over $13,000 for some programs – isn’t cheap, but Micropower pays most of its teachers $15 to $18 per hour without any benefits, even for those who work full time (or more) hours.
The owners’ profit margin became especially galling to many teachers after Hurricane Sandy when, despite not returning student’s tuition monies for the seven days the branch was closed, Micropower management refused to pay teachers for those days when school was not in session. A letter to management signed by about a third of the faculty which read in part, “…since most of New York’s educational institutions have acknowledged the efforts of their teachers by compensating them for lost wages, we the ESL faculty, appeal to the administration to acknowledge our contributions by compensating us for lost wages during the hurricane” was ignored and shortly thereafter teachers contacted organizers at New York State United Teachers for help with starting a union drive.
Management retained the notorious anti-worker law firm of Jackson Lewis and aside from the typical barrage of letters sent to workers, management also made them sit through near daily group and one-on-one meetings, often directing teachers to leave their students with writing assignments during the two to three-hour-long meetings they were forced to attend. The Union filed close to half a dozen charges against management during the campaign for alleged violations of the National Labor Relations Act including illegal surveillance of employees, retaliation for union activity, and illegal transference of work. Despite all the pressure, workers voted 21-12 in favor of union representation. Now they will turn their focus to preparing for negotiations.
Contact:
Daniel Esakoff or Julie Berman
New York State United Teachers
organize@nysutmail.org
Phone: 212-989-3470 Fax: 212-989-8154
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