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May 26, 2006     Barnstable Patriot
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May 26, 2006
 
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Addressing the rights of temporary workers Forum offers broad look at employees' issues By Kathleen Szmit Manwaring kmanwaring@barnstablepatriot.com KATHLEEN SZMIT MANWARING PHOTO TALKING IT THROUGH - Carl Loria (L), Paul Young, and Anita Maietta discuss the rights of temporary foreign workers,moderated by Ray Gottwald, during a forum sponsored by the Barnstable County Human Rights Commission May 18. With summer nearly upon us, and the issue of tempo- rary foreign workers heating up talk across the political spectrum , a forum regard- ing international workers coming to Cape Cod seemed apropos. , Such wasthe thinkingofthe j Barnstable County Human Rights Commission and its ¦ allies when they sponsored i a Foreign Workers' Resource | Forum on May 18. Held at the offices of the Community Action Com- mittee of Cape Cod and the Islands in Hyannis,the forum addressed problems and so- lutions, as well as the rights of foreign workers, many of whom will be arriving on the Cape this week. Welcoming participants to the event , Jacqueline Fields, the commission's vice chair, said that the forum was in- spired by "the great and na- tional debate that we are all involved in. There ismuch for us to learn today," she said. "We can all benefit from what we learn." The Rev. Wesley Williams, pastor of the Orleans United Methodist Church , told a brief story about a foreign worker whowasasked to work overtimewithout appropriate compensation. "What should be done about redressing these violations?" he asked. "There are people who do understand and are willing to do the right thing. It takes all of us to address the root problems." The first panel discussion of theforum,titled "Multifaceted Problems Require Multifacet- ed Solutions," discussed the need the Cape has for foreign workers and how to address problemsthat arisewhilethey are employed here. Issues of particular impor- tance were those of health care, housing, fair treatment and fair wages. "We're not talking about immigrants here ," said Neva Flaherty of U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt's office. "We're talking about temporary workers." Participants were told how Cape employers must apply for workers on H2B visas, a costly and time-consuming effort. The group was also told of employers who hired foreign workers only to treat them poorly upon their arrival inthe U.S."Theseworkers are, to someextent,captives ofthe businessesthat brought them here,"said Flaherty."They are not likely to complain for fear of losing their jobs." Carl Loria of the Depart- ment of Labor and Anita Maietta, assistant attorney general, explained the rights of temporary workers during the second forum, making note of the various visas with which foreign nationals enter the country. Many employees arrive in CONTINUED ON PAGE A:11 PAUL GAUVIN PHOTO Newcomer Michele Kennedy toasts with the subjects of her painting after opening shop at one of the artist's shanties at Hyannis's Bismore Park on Sunday.She is from New York and Osterville and paints a la gouache, a method using opaquewatercolors mixedwith a preparation of gum, This is her first year at the shanty,and she likens the boardwalk area to Nantucket scenes. Flowers donated by the Rotary Club of Hyannis dressed up the seven shanties. A Toast __ Buddy, can you spare $23 billion? WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD By David Augustinho www.ciwib.org Over the few years that I havebeen writingacolumnfor the Patriot , I have described a number of programs and projects that the Workforce Investment Board isinvolved in.Fromyouth programs,like Connecting Activities, to our 55+ campaign that I have mentioned recently, we are engaged in a wide variety of activities. One of the ways that many of these activities come to- gether is through the budget process.Iamspecificallyrefer- ring to the State and Federal budgets, both of which are currently in de- velopment. So I thought that this would be a great time to talk about how we have to fol- fc.* ^^—.- low the progress of budget deliberations, and try to in- fluence the budget process, on behalf of the programs that provide support to the residents of our region. Just as a quick outline , the budget process in Mas- sachusetts begins when the governor submits his budget recommendationsinJanuary. Next the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives develops and presents a budget to their branch which is debated , amended , and when final- ized sent to the Senate for concurrence.The Senatethen develops and presents their version of the budget to their members. When all of this is finished the House and Senate each appoint a conference com- mittee, consisting of three members each including a member of the minorityparty. The conference committee then recommends a final document to the House for acceptance. After the House accepts the conference com- mittee report it goes to the Senate for adoption. When both branches accept the budget it then goes to the governor for final signature. The governor can veto parts of the budget that he does not agree with, and then the legislaturecansustain or over- ride the vetoes. As you can tell, this is a process with many impact points,eachofwhichcanmake or break an effort seeking funding. When I worked in the House Ways and Means Commit- tee we would be inundated with I requests for in- ,., ,, ,.. ,,ir formation and assistance be- ginning in January (right after the governor's budget would come out) until the finalHouse version emerged; sometimes that was in June! Right now the House has passed their budget and the Senate is debating their ver- sion. I expect that they will be finished by the end of this week.Weare followingthe fol- lowing items in the Senate: An increase in funding for the operation of One Stop Career Centers.Career Oppor- tunities in Hyannis, Orleans and Falmouth are the Cape's One Stops. We are seeking an increase in State funding for the Centers from $3.75 mil- lion to $6 Million. The House budget provides $4 million, the Senate budget $5 million and an amendment seeks the CONTINUED ON PAGE A:9 Need the right mortgage for your home in Hyannis, Osterville, Barnstable Village, or Nantucket? Just call me. • Land anil Construction Financing .: W ft Rj ' t j M>ur Mortgage spcLEiliM j Gall Hayes ;.; r 508-771-3403 m * * *¦¦ as* r** fit HSm jt'la * mWm%mmmvmWM Jpp*.— Vmm*-^?^^ Kj ^ mtmM mWWLmW &mM 9K*' ¦ Caper! 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