Most of these comments are more appropriately addressed to the person who wrote this letter, rather than the garment workers whose names were just added onto the letter.
Why do I suspect that these workers did not write this letter?
I recently appeared on TV and came out in the newspapers warning workers not be taken advantage of by any unscrupulous person(s) who are trying to make a quick profit by charging former garment workers money to fill out an “application” for them. This person or persons are charging $20 per application and also trying to get the workers to pay them 30% percent of the amount they might receive. What service are these person(s) providing, nothing other than they happen to be able to read and write English. You will recall that the recent newspaper ads soliciting the applications said that they could be submitted in Chinese.
The Open Letter was supposedly written by the following five workers:
1-Ma Hui
2-Lui Weiyong
3- Zhao, Yunje
4-Chen Quixiang
5- Feng, Xiaoquig
A review of the almost 500 individual applications, that the Garment Workers Trust Fund (“Trust Fund”) has received in the past two months, shows that the first three workers (numbered 1-3 above) have never submitted any application to the Trust Fund. On the same day that the “Open Letter” appeared in your paper, July 15th, worker #1, Ms. Hui, dropped off a handwritten “application” to my office for the first time.
As for workers 4 & 5 they previously submitted their “applications” in English and on what appear to be forms created by someone on their behalf. So there are clearly some questions as to who and for what purpose this letter was written.
Perhaps one reason for the letter is that workers are now aware that they may not receive any money, contrary to any misrepresentations or promises by the letter writer. Perhaps the letter writer is being asked to refund the workers’ money and he/she needs this letter to continue to persuade the workers that they were not cheated and they still have a chance of getting money based on his/her “efforts”.
I guess we will not know the entire truth as long as this person hides behind the shadow of workers’ names, instead of his/her own name.
However, since I am taking the opportunity to respond, I do want to correct any misinformation about the purpose of the Trust Fund and how it is being operated.
First, I do not make the decisions on which of the applications for assistance will be funded, by myself. There are three people with that responsibility and both of the other two persons reside off island, so they are not subject to any local influences or biases.
The decisions that have already been made, such as the one to substantially fund the off island referral of a gravely ill former garment worker, were made by the concurrence of all three trustees. That decision was made, not because the agency bringing the matter to my attention was the Philippine Consulate, but because there was verification of the serious medical condition of that worker. The decision would have been the same if a similar request had been made by a responsible agency, such as CHC, on behalf of a Chinese worker. Furthermore, the Consulate gave its guarantee that the funds would be properly spent and that they would account to the Trust Fund in writing for the expenditure of the funds. As for the implication (no name is given in the Open Letter) that there is a Chinese worker who is in a similar situation, we have reviewed our records and find no such request for assistance from anyone else.
Second, every three months the expenditure of the Trust Fund money is reported to Judge Munson and those expenditures are reviewed by those who are still involved in the case. If no objections are raised by any of the parties to the lawsuit, and the Judge finds them to be in order, they are approved. We do not make any secret expenditures of the Trust Fund.
Third, the trustees, who were also the former members of the Garment Oversight Board (GOB), have repeatedly exercised any flexibility they were given under the Settlement Agreement in favor of prolonging the existence of the Distribution Fund in order to get as much of the funds into the hands Settlement Class Members (SCMs). Judge Munson has also been very accommodating in that regard and granted several GOB requests to add garment workers that were left off the original list of SCMs and to allow the GOB additional time in order that workers could cash checks which were returned to us because workers were having problems cashing checks in banks in their home countries.
I wish to make one crucial point very clear that the writer of the Open Letter does not seem to understand, only garment workers who were SCMs were entitled to any funds from the Distribution Fund.
When the GOB suggested and Judge Munson approved the creation of this Trust Fund it was for a charitable purpose. Namely, to assist other garment workers who were NOT previously entitled to any portion of the Distribution Fund, by allowing them to receive some charitable assistance from the Trust Fund. However, the Trust Fund is clearly not intended to compensate any garment workers for anymore prior unpaid wages. That ended when the GOB’s term expired and the Distribution Fund became the Trust Fund.
Finally, the Open Letter author seems to assume that because we control these funds that somehow the trustees have a personal interest in how they are spent. That is just not true. If the guidelines that the trustees are relying on, as to how to disburse the funds, were changed, we would comply.
If the real writer of this letter would like to discuss this further, I suggest you reveal your identity. Then, we can look into all the issues associated with this matter very thoroughly.
TIMOTHY H. BELLAS
Law Offices of Timothy
H. Bellas LLC
