Ethnic Karens demand translatorWednesday, November 25, 2009
By Ann Rodgers, Pittsburgh
GazetteBishop David Zubik talks yesterday with one of the Karen Burmese refugees protesting across the street from Catholic Charities after the opening of the Susan Zubic Welcome Center at the facility. The refugees were assembled to draw attention to what some are calling a failure to help them properly resettle in the Pittsburgh area.
Refugees from Myanmar picketed the opening of a new welcome center for clients of Catholic Charities at its Downtown office yesterday.
Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh, who dedicated the Susan Zubik Welcome Center in honor of his late mother, went out to meet the protesters, who spoke little or no English. Counting children, they included more than 30 ethnic Karens, who carried handwritten signs such as, "We demand a professional translator who speaks our language."
The protest was organized by Three Rivers Coalition for Justice, a group with ties to organized labor that helps workers with problems such as evictions. It printed a leaflet claiming that Catholic Charities had assigned the Karens a Burmese translator who did not speak the Karen dialect and who treated them with contempt.
It claimed that a Karen refugee facing eviction had given $500 to a Catholic Charities caseworker to pay his rent, but eviction notices kept coming. It also said that refugees are placed in low-paying, dangerous jobs.
Bishop Zubik said he tried to invite the protesters in for food. "But they didn't speak English."
He was approached by a union organizer who asked to meet with him, he said. Bishop Zubik said he told the man he was willing to meet right then or any time yesterday, but the leader told him that was impossible.
"I said it had to be today or else wait until Dec. 7. I gave him my office number. As of yet they haven't called," he said.
"I can stand up tall for Catholic Charities. There is no way they would knowingly be part of any of this, not only by the law of the country but by the law of the gospel."
Susan Rauscher, executive director of Catholic Charities of Pittsburgh, said she knew of most of the complaints, some of which are tied to a labor dispute at a metal fabrication plant in Rankin. But she said it was the first she had heard of an employee allegedly accepting rent money. Protocol is to help clients make payments themselves, she said.
Chad Rink, an Ironworkers organizer with Three Rivers Coalition for Justice, said he had heard the Karen refugee testify at an eviction hearing about the missing money. It was also at a court hearing, he said, that a Burmese translator for Catholic Charities "told me that Karen people are nothing but lazy."
Ms. Rauscher said that there are only 20 Karen translators nationwide, and that Catholic Charities investigated reports that their translator was prejudiced against Karens. Those who worked closely with her saw no sign of it, she said.
But the core of the dispute involves 14 Burmese workers at W&K Steel in Rankin. The Three Rivers Coalition for Justice says they are paid less than other workers, and that they all work in dangerous conditions.
Two W&K employees, one of them Burmese, went on strike in September, and Ironworkers Local 3 is supporting their action. According to the Coalition for Justice, there are 35 employees total. Ed Wilhelm, owner of W&K, did not return phone calls.
Ms. Rauscher said Catholic Charities didn't place any clients there, but that two got jobs on their own initiative. After the labor complaints, a social worker asked them if their workplace was safe and if they wanted to find new jobs.
"They said they liked their jobs and wanted to stay," she said.
Catholic Charities also sent an investigator to the site. No obvious safety violations were evident and the company produced a letter from its insurance company saying that it appeared to satisfy federal safety standards. Catholic Charities found no evidence of two-tier pay, and noted that the company paid for family health and vision insurance and provided English and math classes for the refugees.
"I'm not sure what's going on with W&K Steel and the Ironworkers. ... But from our perspective, we didn't see that this employer was exploiting the refugee workers," she said.
Mr. Rink said he believes the workers lied to Catholic Charities about work conditions.
"They are afraid for their jobs," he said.
Ms. Rausher said all refugees struggle to make ends meet, especially when they arrive without western job skills. The government provides a one-time grant of $425 to set them up in an apartment. Most of the money Catholic Charities spends on refugees is from donors, she said.
Ms. Rauscher said she had invited a union representative to spend a day at Catholic Charities, learning about its work with refugees. "We haven't got a response to that invitation," she said.
Mr. Rink said it would waste his time. "For me to spend the day down there would defeat the purpose. I'm in court fighting for refugees, and I see first hand what the issues are," he said.
Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh, who dedicated the Susan Zubik Welcome Center in honor of his late mother, went out to meet the protesters, who spoke little or no English. Counting children, they included more than 30 ethnic Karens, who carried handwritten signs such as, "We demand a professional translator who speaks our language."
The protest was organized by Three Rivers Coalition for Justice, a group with ties to organized labor that helps workers with problems such as evictions. It printed a leaflet claiming that Catholic Charities had assigned the Karens a Burmese translator who did not speak the Karen dialect and who treated them with contempt.
It claimed that a Karen refugee facing eviction had given $500 to a Catholic Charities caseworker to pay his rent, but eviction notices kept coming. It also said that refugees are placed in low-paying, dangerous jobs.
Bishop Zubik said he tried to invite the protesters in for food. "But they didn't speak English."
He was approached by a union organizer who asked to meet with him, he said. Bishop Zubik said he told the man he was willing to meet right then or any time yesterday, but the leader told him that was impossible.
"I said it had to be today or else wait until Dec. 7. I gave him my office number. As of yet they haven't called," he said.
"I can stand up tall for Catholic Charities. There is no way they would knowingly be part of any of this, not only by the law of the country but by the law of the gospel."
Susan Rauscher, executive director of Catholic Charities of Pittsburgh, said she knew of most of the complaints, some of which are tied to a labor dispute at a metal fabrication plant in Rankin. But she said it was the first she had heard of an employee allegedly accepting rent money. Protocol is to help clients make payments themselves, she said.
Chad Rink, an Ironworkers organizer with Three Rivers Coalition for Justice, said he had heard the Karen refugee testify at an eviction hearing about the missing money. It was also at a court hearing, he said, that a Burmese translator for Catholic Charities "told me that Karen people are nothing but lazy."
Ms. Rauscher said that there are only 20 Karen translators nationwide, and that Catholic Charities investigated reports that their translator was prejudiced against Karens. Those who worked closely with her saw no sign of it, she said.
But the core of the dispute involves 14 Burmese workers at W&K Steel in Rankin. The Three Rivers Coalition for Justice says they are paid less than other workers, and that they all work in dangerous conditions.
Two W&K employees, one of them Burmese, went on strike in September, and Ironworkers Local 3 is supporting their action. According to the Coalition for Justice, there are 35 employees total. Ed Wilhelm, owner of W&K, did not return phone calls.
Ms. Rauscher said Catholic Charities didn't place any clients there, but that two got jobs on their own initiative. After the labor complaints, a social worker asked them if their workplace was safe and if they wanted to find new jobs.
"They said they liked their jobs and wanted to stay," she said.
Catholic Charities also sent an investigator to the site. No obvious safety violations were evident and the company produced a letter from its insurance company saying that it appeared to satisfy federal safety standards. Catholic Charities found no evidence of two-tier pay, and noted that the company paid for family health and vision insurance and provided English and math classes for the refugees.
"I'm not sure what's going on with W&K Steel and the Ironworkers. ... But from our perspective, we didn't see that this employer was exploiting the refugee workers," she said.
Mr. Rink said he believes the workers lied to Catholic Charities about work conditions.
"They are afraid for their jobs," he said.
Ms. Rausher said all refugees struggle to make ends meet, especially when they arrive without western job skills. The government provides a one-time grant of $425 to set them up in an apartment. Most of the money Catholic Charities spends on refugees is from donors, she said.
Ms. Rauscher said she had invited a union representative to spend a day at Catholic Charities, learning about its work with refugees. "We haven't got a response to that invitation," she said.
Mr. Rink said it would waste his time. "For me to spend the day down there would defeat the purpose. I'm in court fighting for refugees, and I see first hand what the issues are," he said.
Ann Rodgers can be reached at arodgers@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1416.
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