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Assi in Labor Pains

Meanwhile, Assi management has denied the charges, calling them “nonsense.”

This may mark the first time a Koreatown employer has been found to have violated the civil rights of its Latino workers in a class-action case, said Danny Park, executive director of KIWA, a community-based organization in Los Angeles. A group of about 60 workers filed the discrimination charges with the EEOC in January.

The federal agency, charged with interpreting and enforcing employment discrimination laws, is expected to schedule a conciliation meeting with Assi management to address these violations.

The EEOC is not allowed to confirm or deny the charges it handles, said Jennifer Kaplan, public affairs specialist for the Washington, D.C.-based agency. But generally in cases where the agency finds evidence of discrimination, she said the EEOC tries to get the employer to voluntarily resolve the violations by such actions as changing its practices and also sometimes paying compensatory damages. If a voluntary resolution fails, then the EEOC, a five-member commission, may vote to sue the employer, said Kaplan.

The EEOC findings follow on the heels of another heated Assi controversy involving 56 supermarket workers who were placed on non-disciplinary leave of absence Aug. 1 over discrepancies in their Social Security records.

Assi Office Manager Vincent Ju told KoreAm that management took the action after receiving a notice from the Social Security Administration (SSA) that these workers’ names and/or Social Security numbers did not match the SSA’s records. He said employers could face stiff penalties if they knowingly hire undocumented workers. The workers are eligible to return to work as soon as they correct the discrepancy, he noted.

But the workers, mostly Latinos and some Koreans who are represented by KIWA and the Immigrant Workers Union (IWU), accuse Assi of suspending them to get rid of employees who have supported unionizing efforts at the market. They said that the letter the SSA sent to Assi was only meant to properly credit Social Security accounts.

In response to the suspension, workers have picketed in front of Assi, at 3525 W. 8th St., for over a month, asking customers to shop elsewhere. But Ju disputed the workers’ accusations and the federal charges against Assi. He accused KIWA of trying to divide the Korean and Latino communities, when this is strictly an employer and employee issue.

Since workers began unionizing efforts at Assi last year, tensions have run high between management and employees. A March 9 election to establish a union ended in a stalemate, with votes challenged by both sides. The National Labor Relations Board is investigating the challenged votes.