Postby dognose » Wed Jul 16, 2014 3:52 am
ARROWHEAD JEWELRY COMPANY
New York and San Rafael, California
Sudden Jewelry Plant Shutdown Leaves Tenderloin Workers Jobless
by Jeannie Look with Chanthanom Ounkeo and Sophath Pak
When a San Rafael jewelry manufacturer shut its doors and went bankrupt in early January, 250 employees–mostly South-east Asians and many from the Tenderloin – were left without jobs or even their final paychecks.
No prior notice was given to employees of Arrowhead Jewelry company, and workers were later told that in order to get their last checks, they would have to file forms with the bankruptcy court and wait.
"I will never forget the scene when they told us suddenly that today was our last day," says Chanthy Nhonlhachit, a Lao refugee who reckons she's owed $1800. "People cried at their desk or laughed out of embarrassment."
An Arrowhead employee for four years, Nhonthachit said she felt "a little bitter that we all lost so much money on our last paycheck. Somebody must have known earlier this was going to happen."
According to Arrowhead spokesperson Steve Ekstedt, the New York-based company "basically did not have enough sales to meet expenses."
The 10-year-old company manufactured 15k gold and silver jewelry at its San Rafael factory. At least 60 percent of its employees were South-east Asian refugees, according to Ekstedt. Many had little job experience and language skills and adapted easily to the assembly line work.
"Most of my department were Laotian, like me, so there was never any language problem," said Nhonthachit. "I think most refugees thought they were pretty lucky to be working there."
"The company always encouraged me to make a career at Arrowhead," added Nhonthachit, who became pearl department supervisor.
Eddy Street resident Cheng Kong Ching started work at Arrowhead seven years ago, a week after arriving in San Francisco from a Thai refugee camp.
Although Cheng was a merchant in his native country of Cambodia, he said he enjoyed the work at Arrowhead.
On the wall of his small Tenderloin apartment, he proudly displayed a certificate of appreciation presented by the company for his first five years of service.
Cheng said that the company began laying off workers a few months ago, but the closure was unexpected.
Nhonthachit was on vacation when the company closed. "I didn't know it was going to happen," she said.
Her manager drove her home when she tried to go to work after her vacation. He also helped her fill out a form to file with the bankruptcy court in New York where the company's main office is located.
Ekftedt admits that "at the very beginning (none of the employees) knew what was happening. " Company officials told workers the day of the closure not to come back to work, but it wasn't until a week later that the company sent letters officially informing employees that their medical and life insurance benefits would be terminated.
Ail employees were eventually sent forms to file with bankruptcy court for back wages and accrued vacation pay.
Bill Krider, manager of the Nathan apartments on Eddy Street, said several people came to him for help in figuring out what to do with the forms. Krider told the Times he was concerned that many refugees, not understanding they needed to fill out the forms in order to recover back pay, would ignore them. "It's kind of a burden for someone who doesn't speak English," Krider said.
Nhonthachit, a 37-year old mother of four, is worried what to do next. Arrowhead was her first employer and a good one, she said.
Nhonthachit is currently receiving unemployment payments, but said, "I don't know what to do. It's not easy getting a job."
Khamking Khoundavong, an Arrowhead employee for over five years, moved from the Tenderloin to Richmond to be nearer to work. He says things are hard for the refugees who lost their jobs.
"We are trying to find any work we can get. Some are working in restaurants again, like they did when they first arrived in America. It's very depressing, " he said. "We all thought Arrowhead would be good training –jewelry work suits most of us. Unfortunately, there's just no work around like that, and all the years we were there are lost time now."
Cheng also finds it hard to not go to work. "I worked a long time," he said. "I want to work, I don't want to slay home."
Source: The Tenderloin Times - March 1987
Trev.