PHOTOS & VIDEO: Over two dozen Hispanic laborers protested in front of the Oorah Headquarters on Swathmore Avenue today demanding to be paid for work they’ve done for the Boyzone camp upstate NY. Nineteen workers claim they worked for
several weeks at Oora’sh Boyzone camp in the Catskills and are owed $60,000 in total, and about $3,000 each. The spokesman for the workers – Director of field mobilization from New Labor – Lou Kimmel tells TLS, they have tried speaking to Oorah about it, but to no avail.
Oorah says, the men were not their workers and never anticipated such a protest.
“None of the people here today were our employees”, Yehuda Meth, Spokesman for Oorah tells TLS on camera at the Headquarters. “They are guys who were either picked up on Clifton Avenue, more than likely, and perhaps some of them are employees of Fairmont LLC in Brooklyn, a sub-contractor that we had some work with”, Meth says. “We use a lot of contractors and sub-contractors to things like roofs, tile work and masonry, and this particular contractor or sub-contractor was doing exactly that type of work”. “We don’t ask them what kind of employees they have or if they’re legal”, Meth said.
Meth says, the company did approximately $150,000 of work for Oorah, and a payment plan was worked out, which caused some type of dispute. A dispute that triggered the company to go to the Department of Labor, who then paid a visit to the organization’s upstate facility.
The Department of Labor looked into the matter, and “gave us a clean bill of health”, says Meth.
“We thought it was the end of it, and then we find 30 guys standing in front of our building today, none of which ever worked for us, none of which were ever on our camp grounds”, Meth said. Their “protest” says Meth, can be “nothing further from the truth”.
The protest was a relatively quiet one, but Police were called to remove the protesters from Oorah’s property shortly after it began.
The protest continued outside Oorah’s front entrance.
Now you know the definition of a community agitator- people who pay people to protest for their own personal gain.
looks like Fairmont LLC is up to their dirty tricks again.
Did they have a permit for this?
Someone did the same thing to my company in Toms River. He called one of these community agitators and i wake up to defend myself against safety in the workplace. Not one of the guys from the protest ever stepped foot in my factory.
A bunch of liars. The people in the protest are from Lakewood. Why would they be working in upstate??? Classic Community agitation
Was Hirby there?
do they even know what the signs they are holding mean?!?!!?
ask them!
Always two sides to every story, why would these people waste their time if there was no problem? can someone present the facts here as to what is taking place , if they are in fact not being paid for service they provided thats just outright theft, if thats not the case then tthey need to explain why they would be protesting and if someone is up to dirty tricks they need to come clean
Quote” “We don’t ask them what kind of employees they have or if they’re legal”, Meth said.”
Thats a huge problem ,anyone who hires illegals should be prosecuted
Who is fairmont LLC? is it misheluunee?
To “my voice;” you ask “why would these people waste their time if there was no problem?” I’m not familiar with this Lou Kimmel or “New Labor” but it’s pretty clear how such a scam would go: Agitator picks up some laborers from Clifton Ave, tells them they’ll each get paid $10+/hr to stand there and protest and instructs them that if anyone asks , you say such and such. At the end of the day (or days) the laborers go home with easy cash in hand for their day’s “work” while the agitator continues to pressure the company by making it face bad PR, legal action (that will cost the co money to defend), etc and thereby force the company to settle with a payout and cut its losses. Agitator walks away with $30,000 or whatever settlement minus the $3,000 he had to pay the protestors, and starts looking for a new victim.
It seems like they were looking for a little more than “FEIVISH”
its your own FAULTS….!!!!! you get what you didn,t pay for…..
to 11: that is the way it works but the actual story here is that oorah hired fairmont llc and they had a disagreement as to the pay schedule so fairmont hires this agitator to place pressure on oorah and they hire thirty mexicans from clifton to make a scene. oorah will not capitulate to terror.
Pay them what they are owed. That’s disgusting to take advantage of people like that. People try and do the right thing and make an honest living, then they get ripped off. That’s why so many more people are robbing others.. you try and do this honestly and look where it gets you.
to Metzapeh Leyeshua says
that really sounds far fetched , sounds more like to me these workers were scammed out of money owed to them .It looks like someone thought thatif these were illegals they would not say anything fearing reprisal ,I could be wrong because there is no proof one way or another here but my gut feeling is they were “used” and now are only trying to get what is owed them.
looks like ooooo-rah is back to thier old shinanegans once again . cant they stay out of the media for a change?
OR ….. maybe they were cheated !
Meth is great! Go Yankees!
This is bologna, not even the kosher kind. There are two sides to every story, but I can’t believe this one. They were hired for a job alright. That job was to make a stink in front of headquarters. For which I am sure they were compensated.
Don’t be so guillable.
I love when Meth says, “Nor do we have any intention of hiring them.”
Three frejoles: Seventeen pesos
Two enchiladas: Five pesos
One greencard: Priceless!
WOW
Don’t be so guillable.
that goes two ways , will be interesting to see who is being honest here. I think that from what has been divulged here all the facts have not been presented .It would not be the first time that workers were scammed out of what was owed to them.
oorah has in the past been involved in some very questionable things, which leads me to believe they are not being upfront here with this latest incident
This is baloney at it’s best! These people are known to get an hourly wage paid at the end of the day. If they didn’t get paid one day they would not have returned to work the next day. They definitely would not have continued working a whole summer!! You expect me to believe that all these people were so stupid?! And that Oorah,an organization which has a reputation to upkeep would jeopardize it for $60,000??? Whatever this Fairmont LLc is up to is disgusting but after all business is done “differently” in Brooklyn!
Ralph Hatt for Chief!
I was at the protest today, I can assure you the man in this interview was not telling the truth, most of the Hispanic protesters did indeed work for the camp for three weeks, the problem is because the workers were contracted the company does not owe them the money directly. The fight is now being taken to the contracting firm but I must say I believe the camp owes a moral obligation to help the workers, who worked at that camp for three weeks of hard labor, recover their money.
Feel free to email me with any questions or outrage at my opinion, I will attempt to respond promptly. This is not the first occurring of wage theft in Lakewood. The workers who may not have documentation have no legal recourse and either can accept the loss of $3,000 each or do what we did today and resort to as some comments put it “Classic Community agitation”. Maybe a little civil unrest is just what this situation calls for, it worked for Dr.King.
On a side note no one at this protest was payed for attending, there weren’t even snacks.
Is this the Lakewoods Boys Choir?
These guys should be protesting outside Fairmont’s offices
Ship these guys off campus and off………..
i saw them mobilizing at a church on madison at 10:15 was wondering what they where up to….now i know. just wondering why it started there does fairmont perhaps have a office there?
In respondse to no.11. Why would a day laborer protest a company for a few clamy coins. these guys need local companies to hire them. Why protest someone who could give them work in the future?
Yes steve is a community organizor but he has integrety. Something is fishy at ooorahh
The people protesting admitted to The Asbury Park Press that they were *not* Oorah employees! That they worked for a contractor (that Oorah used) who was now withholding their wages. This story can’t be any more clear than that! So other than addressing “anonymous” folks who lack the courage of their convictions, I’d be delighted to debate the merits of this “protest” with anyone here… or anywhere else. The bottom line was a contractor set this up and now he may find that, in so doing, he’s opened up his own can of worms.
#28 “Protester” — Please tell us your name and email address.
To your point: If you were not an Oorah employee, and you had no direct relationship with Oorah, then there is no way that we would know what wages you were promised nor whether or not you received them. Your fight is with the man who hired you; your wages are his responsibility. I am shocked and dismayed that this fact eludes you.
Mr. Meth,
Can you tell us where we can find, or how you know their admission to the APP?
It would help sway public opinion in Oorah’s favor.
To #36 — The APP interviewed me this afternoon and told me precisely that. You’ll just have to take my word for the time being… But I would imagine their article (tomorrow morning?) will reflect that information, so sit tight for 8 hours. Or, better yet, get some sleep.
You might re-read what #28 wrote, as well. Assuming he is legit, this “protestor” is saying that he did NOT work for Oorah; he worked for a contractor.
Try this: You hire a painter to paint your house. He sends three men. You pay your contractor and several months later there’s a knock on your door. The three men say they were never paid.
Or perhaps your contractor did a sub-standard job. You withold payment and he sues you (or you sue him). Regardless, the matter is between you and the contractor. His relationship with his employees has nothing to do with you. Get it?
in halacha these workers have all the right to collect from oorah,as long as they have suficient proof that is .
my friends this story is just the tip of the iceberg. just wait to see the real fire works
Wat Time Does The App Reach Store And At Which Location Can I Find It The Earliest?
this time it was just signs. Next time it will be a bit different. I hoping we recieve payment before than
same old story contractor dosent want to pay his workers and sends his workers to the customer
why does this have anything to do oorah? they were hired by fairmont so fairmont has to pay them end of story !
Mr. Meth – your video statement implied that a payment schedule with the contractor was worked out after the completion of the work, which is somewhat odd. Absent more detail, I would expect that the contractor lacks the working capital to pay the workers in advance of collecting from your organization. It would be natural for him to make excuses to the workers that he can’t pay them yet because your organization is delaying in paying him, although from the worker’s standpoint that would normally be his problem, not yours. But even if we were to put all the fault on the contractor for failure to pin down the payment terms in advance, or alternatively failure to maintain enough working capital to front the wages, from the worker’s standpoint your organization was the beneficiary of their labor and you should do what is necessary to get them paid. Did I get it right?
Where can I get ahold of these protesters? My previous employer closed up shop owing a whole lot of money to a whole lot of people – and there seems to be no resolution in sight. Maybe a little public humiliation might be in order…
To jj (# 38) – I am so impressed with your halachic prowess! The problem is, you are wrong! Oorah does not owe a dime to the workers, Fairmount does. End of case.
Take it to the Judge.
To Protester says:
Well folks here is the other side of the story sure sounds like they were cheated out of wages owed them . looks like a shell game with one group pointing fingers at the other as to who owes them their wages . for those who have a problem with protestors ~~ Protest in this country as long as its non violent is an accepted form of expression
for those who are not aware of this if the general contractor defaults on paying sub contractors they legally can go after the party that hired the General contractor for those lost wages !!
Jeff (#44) – Please contact me offline.
But for the record:
Who Oorah’s contractors employ, and when and how they are paid, is legally between the contractor and his employees. His employees should file a class-action suit against him for non-payment and/or take their legitimate complaints to the Dept. of Labor.
>from the worker’s standpoint your organization was the beneficiary of their labor<
Emotionally, I can see how they would feel that way
This happens on a daily basis every day. People working and not getting paid, Just because they are illegal does not mean they do not deserve to get paid, Something needs to be done about this, Steve B is a great man, doing many great things for the community. He is a man of integrity and honesty. These people did not get paid to protest, how does that sound???? If I work I definately WANT TO GET PAID !!!!!!
1. NO ONE was paid to protest. Even though some heartless people might find this hard to believe, there are people who think of others and fight for justice.
2. I am very glad I am getting an education to lead me away from the ignorance I have witnessed in some comments. Whoever you are, at some point in your life you will endure some form of injustice and I hope you encounter people who are compassionate, unlike yourself.
3. For those with geniune, kind and caring comments, New Labor is an awesome organization that truely cares for the well being of the community. People VOLUNTEER their time to contribute to a good cause.
4. My favorite quote is: “Liberty and Justice for ALL”!
why do you think you are not getting the real truth over here!!!!! please go and make up lies-thats what people who have nothing better to with their lives do all day and thats where the rumors start
#52 -someone might take you seriously if you perfected the use of the English language… #51 was right on the money….. your clearly the uneducated person who is making up lies and that does not have a life… don’t bother responding I’m not visiting this page again 🙂
I WAS THERE AT ONE POINT THEY WERE HOLDING THE HEBREW SIGNS UPSIDE DOWN