B&H forced Hispanic workers to use separate bathroom: feds

[jake blackstone]

I officially call those people dickheads and the people refusing contraceptives dickheads* as well and I absolutely do not have to be sensitive to someone else's beliefs if they actively trample on someone else's rights as a human being.

I don't care what you believe, what you think or what you feel. I care what you DO. If you do ill I don't care about which book gave you an excuse to do it.


* Over here dickhead really isn't a strong term.

OK, those are YOUR beliefs and you clearly don't care about what someone else might believe. How do you feel about "right to life" and "women's reproductive rights"? Who's the dickhead now?

 

[Ben Scott]

I feel no man has the right to tell a woman what she can and can't do with her body. Not sure what that has to do with anything.

If your beliefs stop you being able to fulfil the function of your job then don't do that job.

 

[jake blackstone]

I feel no man has the right to tell a woman what she can and can't do with her body. Not sure what that has to do with anything.

If your beliefs stop you being able to fulfil the function of your job then don't do that job.

I probably should have asked you about your feeling about Brexit.
Anyway, it has everything to do with being able to see and appreciate other people points of view. Luckily, in US and, I'm sure, in GB there is still a society where plurality of beliefs and opinions are respected and observed. Clearly not by all, but still by a healthy majority...

 

[Ben Scott]

You've missed the point somewhat. I'm fine with a plurality of beliefs and enjoy a healthy conversation/debate as much as the next person and am a firm believer in 'Do whatever you want and believe whatever you want as long as everything is consensual and nobody gets hurt.'

But when people DO get hurt that takes precedence over people's beliefs. Tangible actual things are more important and in need of protection than intangible 'I thinkies' things.

Someone's right to an opinion is valid and sacrosanct. The opinion itself may well be invalid, and complete and utter bullshit. I may have to respect your right to an opinion but i don't have to respect your opinion itself at all.

If we all thought like that women still wouldn't have the vote and there would still be separate washrooms for.. oh wait...

 

[jake blackstone]

You've missed the point somewhat. I'm fine with a plurality of beliefs and enjoy a healthy conversation/debate as much as the next person and am a firm believer in 'Do whatever you want and believe whatever you want as long as everything is consensual and nobody gets hurt.'

But when people DO get hurt that takes precedence over people's beliefs. Tangible actual things are more important and in need of protection than intangible 'I thinkies' things.

Someone's right to an opinion is valid and sacrosanct. The opinion itself may well be invalid, and complete and utter bullshit. I may have to respect your right to an opinion but i don't have to respect your opinion itself at all.

If we all thought like that women still wouldn't have the vote and there would still be separate washrooms for.. oh wait...

I think you're missing my original point and that may be my fault in not expressing myself more clearly. What I'm saying is all you have to go is a single article, that only presents a one-sided story, while neglecting even to mention any religious connotation. B&H owners are extremely orthodox in their beliefs and that aspect should have been made known, because in this atmosphere of "safe spaces" it's fine to talk about the abuse, but the same media is too afraid to even mention underlying religious aspects of the story. As I said, let's stop with all this name calling and boycotts until all facts are present ...

 

[Brian Pascale]

This has been going on for sometime and the evidence is mounting. I buy a ton of stuff from them because it is very convenient, but now I'll have to stop.

I think you're missing my original point and that may be my fault in not expressing myself more clearly. What I'm saying is all you have to go is a single article, that only presents a one-sided story, while neglecting even to mention any religious connotation. B&H owners are extremely orthodox in their beliefs and that aspect should have been made known, because in this atmosphere of "safe spaces" it's fine to talk about the abuse, but the same media is too afraid to even mention underlying religious aspects of the story. As I said, let's stop with all this name calling and boycotts until all facts are present ...

 

[Mark George]

Rodrigo - thanks for posting.

 

[Josh Wilkinson]

I think everyone is forgetting these are accusations from disgruntled employees as well. Some of this may or may not be true or blown out of proportion. There are also religious reasons (right or wrong) at play.

They maybe all true, I have no idea. But boycotting a company based on nothing but accusions is silly at best.

 

[Ben Scott]

Everything you said is completely reasonable although if only 10% of what is being alleged is true then there is still a huge problem. However, people cited religious reasons to justify why people of colour could be put in chains and sold and there is an underlying accusation that there is a sense of the (to use a Christian idiom) 'don't throw pearls before swine' attitude here.

Comes a point where you just have to take responsibility for your own business decisions, especially if they contravene the labour laws you agreed to abide by when you went into business and hired your first employee.

Best thing they could do is make a big 'we didn't know' apology, fire Dave in HR and promise to fix it immediately.

 

[Sabyasachi Patra]

I think everyone is forgetting these are accusations from disgruntled employees as well. Some of this may or may not be true or blown out of proportion. There are also religious reasons (right or wrong) at play.

They maybe all true, I have no idea. But boycotting a company based on nothing but accusions is silly at best.

The complaint is being investigated by relevant US authorities and they will do a free and fair probe and justice will prevail. So no point in us jumping the gun and boycotting right now as we are hearing one side of the story. If anyone has any proof please send it to the authorities.

 

[Henry Posner]

B&H Photo & Electronics treats it minority warehouse workers unfairly — including forcing its Hispanic warehouse employees to use a separate “unsanitary” bathroom — according to a US Labor Department lawsuit filed Thursday.
http://nypost.com/2016/02/25/bh-forced-hispanic-workers-to-use-separate-bathroom-feds/
From now on I think I will stop buying at B&H and go to Adorama.

Your URL links to a year-old article from the NY Post, not widely regarded as NYC's most objective daily newspaper, but that may be tangential. The article is a collection of accusations and allegations but very little by way of fact. There were never (and are not now) separate and/or unsanitary restrooms. That is a falsehood. There were never problems with asbestos, fibreglass, etc. No one was ever deprived of access to drinking water. In fact our coffee vending machines are free. The shifts and breaks are scheduled in accordance with federal, state and local regulations. The campaign leading up to the union vote was supervised by the NLRB. There was no abuse or retaliation.

On one occasion workers were not allowed to leave the warehouse for more than 30 minutes during a fire that was filling the building with smoke

That's a lie. There was a fire near, not in, our warehouse. There was no smoke and no danger to our employees. In fact the NYFD specifically asked us NOT to evacuate our facility. There was no need to do so. The number of evacuated employees would have made the NYFD's job more difficult and impeded their being able to deal with the situation effectively. We didn't evacuate because we were told not to do so.

BTW since this thread has begun wandering off-topic a bit I want to add, this has NOTHING to do with religion.

--
Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video

 

[Cameron K]

Your URL links to a year-old article from the NY Post, not widely regarded as NYC's most objective daily newspaper, but that may be tangential. The article is a collection of accusations and allegations but very little by way of fact. There were never (and are not now) separate and/or unsanitary restrooms. That is a falsehood. There were never problems with asbestos, fibreglass, etc. No one was ever deprived of access to drinking water. In fact our coffee vending machines are free. The shifts and breaks are scheduled in accordance with federal, state and local regulations. The campaign leading up to the union vote was supervised by the NLRB. There was no abuse or retaliation.

On one occasion workers were not allowed to leave the warehouse for more than 30 minutes during a fire that was filling the building with smoke

That's a lie. There was a fire near, not in, our warehouse. There was no smoke and no danger to our employees. In fact the NYFD specifically asked us NOT to evacuate our facility. There was no need to do so. The number of evacuated employees would have made the NYFD's job more difficult and impeded their being able to deal with the situation effectively. We didn't evacuate because we were told not to do so.

BTW since this thread has begun wandering off-topic a bit I want to add, this has NOTHING to do with religion.

--
Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video

Glad for the clarification. This whole story had the stink of fake news from the start.

 

[Ben Scott]

Your URL links to a year-old article from the NY Post, not widely regarded as NYC's most objective daily newspaper, but that may be tangential. The article is a collection of accusations and allegations but very little by way of fact. There were never (and are not now) separate and/or unsanitary restrooms. That is a falsehood. There were never problems with asbestos, fibreglass, etc. No one was ever deprived of access to drinking water. In fact our coffee vending machines are free. The shifts and breaks are scheduled in accordance with federal, state and local regulations. The campaign leading up to the union vote was supervised by the NLRB. There was no abuse or retaliation.

On one occasion workers were not allowed to leave the warehouse for more than 30 minutes during a fire that was filling the building with smoke

That's a lie. There was a fire near, not in, our warehouse. There was no smoke and no danger to our employees. In fact the NYFD specifically asked us NOT to evacuate our facility. There was no need to do so. The number of evacuated employees would have made the NYFD's job more difficult and impeded their being able to deal with the situation effectively. We didn't evacuate because we were told not to do so.

BTW since this thread has begun wandering off-topic a bit I want to add, this has NOTHING to do with religion.

--
Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video

Thanks for chiming in Henry. Hopefully everything will get cleared up and your reputation comes through unscathed and your workforce's concerns are answered.

 

[Jon Dishler]

I am so glad that B&H posted a response. I was suspicious of the source, NY Post, and there is a reason why in this country it is innocent until proven guilty. I am a loyal B&H customer, and will continue to be.

 

[Hrvoje Simic]

Glad for the clarification. This whole story had the stink of fake news from the start.

Why am I not surprised.

Age of Idiocy.

 

[jake blackstone]

Innocent until proven otherwise... What a concept...

 

[Adolfo CV]

The NY Post is not the only source. Plenty of info if you search.

I do hope that B&H takes this seriously and as a major player in this industry, they treat their employees fairly and denounce any form of discrimination. I'm all for supporting great products and great customer service; but I am unwilling to turn a blind eye to mistreatment of any human being, no matter their race or beliefs.

https://www.law360.com/articles/37768/b-h-photo-pays-4-3m-to-settle-discrimination-suit

https://petapixel.com/2016/02/27/bh-slapped-with-discrimination-lawsuit-by-the-us-gvrmnt/

http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/29/us/bh-photo-lawsuit/

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...-store-b-h-sued-for-segregated-bathrooms.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/27/...-discrimination-of-hispanic-workers.html?_r=0

https://www.wsj.com/articles/lawsuit-accuses-b-h-of-discrimination-1456450749

 

[C. Burkhart]

I remember B&H back in the days when it was on 17th St. At the time everyone on the floor was almost exclusively from one religous and social background. So to spin this whole thing in another way, I was actually surprised and happy to see it's staff become much more diversified and representative of the NYC population and find the greater number of hispanic and minority workers on the sales floor at the present address to be atypical in a positive way. The same can be said for Adorama. I think the orthodox community has opened up considerably in the last years and I think that is a great thing.

 

[jake blackstone]

The NY Post is not the only source. Plenty of info if you search.

I do hope that B&H takes this seriously and as a major player in this industry, they treat their employees fairly and denounce any form of discrimination. I'm all for supporting great products and great customer service; but I am unwilling to turn a blind eye to mistreatment of any human being, no matter their race or beliefs.

https://www.law360.com/articles/37768/b-h-photo-pays-4-3m-to-settle-discrimination-suit

https://petapixel.com/2016/02/27/bh-slapped-with-discrimination-lawsuit-by-the-us-gvrmnt/

http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/29/us/bh-photo-lawsuit/

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...-store-b-h-sued-for-segregated-bathrooms.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/27/...-discrimination-of-hispanic-workers.html?_r=0

https://www.wsj.com/articles/lawsuit-accuses-b-h-of-discrimination-1456450749

I don't have a horse in this race, but it pains me to see an old and some already settled cases gets dredged up again.
The very first article you're mentioning is from 2007, which already had been adjudicated and settled. The new allegations are from the case, that was brought up over a year ago. As it was already pointed out, the company is being investigated by the government agencies and determination will be made based on the facts. Any large company, like Wallmart, Microsoft, Amazon, Google etc. usually gets sued for some kind of mistreatment.

http://www.salon.com/2014/02/23/wor...t_history_of_ruthlessly_intimidating_workers/
http://www.businessinsider.com/brutal-conditions-in-amazons-warehouses-2013-8
http://www.slate.com/articles/techn...ers_i_worked_at_microsoft_and_google_and.html
https://www.wired.com/2014/11/investigation-reveals-silicon-valleys-abuse-immigrant-tech-workers/
http://www.alternet.org/labor/ugly-walmart-truth-some-managers-treat-workers-dirt
https://qz.com/695763/a-web-of-terr...-accused-of-hundreds-of-acts-of-worker-abuse/

And the list is endless. Does that justify a possible bad behavior because others do it? Of coarse not. But let's not lose the perspective. Everyone deserves a benefit of a doubt and a chance to make things right...

 

[Adolfo CV]

I brought up other sources of other instances in which practices at B&H were questioned. I did this to point out that the Post is not the only source.

You are correct that instances like this have happened at many corporations, and doubly correct that this behavior is reprehensible at every instance.

In the end I hope companies raise their standards of the quality of life they give to their employees and are aware that we as consumers of their products will make them accountable. This goes for any company anywhere in the world.