8 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 30, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM Employees at a Long Island City bakery were told they had to provide legal work papers or face layoff s. 5/4/17 5/4/17 5/4/17 5/4/17 SPRING INTO SAVINGS! Encore Premium Photo via Twitter/Brandworkers VARILUX PROGRESSIVE LENSES $169 (No-Line Bifocals) w/metal frame.Select frames with clear plastic no-line lenses +/- 4 sph, 2 cyl. Not valid with any other offers, sales, vision plan packages. Must present prior to purchase. Offer valid at location only. Some restrictions apply see store for details. Offer ends 5/4/17 QC Mobile library returns to Hunters Point Th e new 5 1/2-story library at Hunters Point in Long Island City is scheduled to open this summer but residents don’t want to wait that long to check out books. Queens Library announced that a mobile library will return to Hunters Point on April 9 at Gantry Plaza State Park. Library card holders will be able to pick up books, DVDs, pickups requested online and the bus will off er free wi-fi . Th ose who don’t have a Queens Library card will also be able to sign up for one. “Th e services our libraries off er should be available and accessible to everyone,” said Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer. “Aft er constituents voiced concern to my offi ce regarding a lack of mobile library service at Hunters Point, I asked the Queens Library to restore the Hunters Point mobile library for our community. ” Located at Center Boulevard and 48th Avenue, the new library was slated to be completed this winter but the date was pushed back. It will be the fi rst neighborhood branch built in Queens in more than 20 years. Meanwhile, the mobile library will be open from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. until the new building opens up, Van Bramer said. Angela Matua Hate graffi ti left on Astoria pol’s offi ce again For the third time in one month, a man has targeted the district offi ce of state Senator Michael Gianaris in Astoria by writing an anti-Obama and homophobic slur of the side of the building. Gianaris found the words “Obama f—-t” scrawled on his building’s facade at 31-19 Newtown Ave. the weekend of March 25-26; Councilman Costa Constantinides, whose offi ce is next door, found the same words written in marker the week before. Th e NYPD released footage of the suspect last week and are describing him as a left -handed white or light-skinned Hispanic man between 30 and 40 years old. Th e NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is reviewing the investigation, the senator said. Th e 114th Precinct will increase patrols around the building. Anyone with information is encouraged to report it by calling Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS. Angela Matua Long Island City bakery backs off on undocumented worker fi ring threat BY ANGELA MATUA [email protected]/@AngelaMatua A Long Island City bakery that told its workers they had to produce papers or be fi red in 10 days said it was granted an extension by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to prove that its employees are legally allowed to continue work. Employees at Tom Cat Bakery in Long Island City received a letter from the bakery on March 15 stating that DHS conducted an audit demanding updated I-9 documentation from 31 of its employees. Th e employees, some of whom have worked at the bakery for more than a decade, held a rally to protest the abrupt announcement. Th e rally was held in conjunction with Brandworkers, a local nonprofit that advocates for food production workers. Brandworkers announced on March 29 that Tom Cat Bakery has “pledged to do everything possible under the law to stand with its veteran employees.” Th e company also received an extension from DHS to produce up-to-date I-9 papers. Originally, Tom Cat Bakery told employees that they would be fi red by March 28 without severance pay if they could not produce papers within 10 business days. An I-9 audit forces employers to provide documentation to prove that employees can work in the country legally. If they refuse to provide this proof, companies can be hit with large fi nes or be visited by Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) to remove undocumented workers. “We risked a lot to come to this country in order to make a better life for our kids,” said Librada Antigua, another Tom Cat employee and Brandworkers member. “Th e Trump administration may want us to disappear, but we’re not leaving our children for anything. Our unity is our strength, and our commitment is to victory.” A number of elected offi cials including City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, Senator Jose Peralta and Councilman Mark Levine said they pledged to stand with employees and attributed the latest audit to President Trump’s immigration policies. In a previous interview with Th e Village Voice, James Rath, the vice president and general manager of Tom Cat Bakery said that were was “nothing to report” and that the company was “in the middle of a standard HSI Homeland Security Investigation documentation audit.” Tom Cat Bakery is the oldest artisanal bakery in New York City and its clients include Citarella, Darden Restaurants and the Grand Hyatt. It is a subsidiary of Yamazaki Baking Company and one of the world’s largest bread-baking corporations. It is not clear what will happen if Tom Cat Bakery fails to produce updated I-9 forms to DHS by April 21. Gabriel Morales, spokesperson for Brandworkers, said that the bakery has agreed to look at sponsorship if the option is viable for certain employees. But that route may not be available to everyone. Brandworkers has set up a GoFundMe account to “help employees meet essential expenses, like rent and food.” Th ey are asking for $77,500, which would cover about one month of expenses, or $2,500, for each worker.
QC03302017
To see the actual publication please follow the link above