Madison Square Garden still hasn’t committed to paying its workers for duration of coronavirus crisis

March 21, 2020: Pay 'Em! -- Food vendors and cleaning staff are growing frustrated and scared as James Dolan's Madison Square Garden hasn't come up with compensation plan. (New York Daily News) 

https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/ny-new-york-daily-news-back-pages-2020-20200107-pfryepf2vrgktclslha3txzsdu-photogallery.html 

Madison Square Garden still hasn’t committed to paying its workers for duration of coronavirus crisis


By STEFAN BONDY
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
MAR 20, 2020

With the coronavirus crisis creating pervasive anxiety in the workforce, Madison Square Garden still hasn’t committed to pay concession workers for the remainder of the shutdown, the Daily News has learned.

The union had been negotiating with MSG as recently as Friday but MSG has only pledged to continue making healthcare contributions to workers who are eligible for the company’s plan, a source said. MSG has also vowed to pay workers until March 29, and only certain workers until April 5.

After that, there’s no commitment from MSG for at least the concessions and cleaning staff, according to multiple sources. The Knicks are the NBA’s most valuable team with an estimated worth of $4.6 billion, according to Forbes.

The Knicks’ final home game was scheduled for April 14 and the Rangers’ was April 4, although they had a chance of making the NHL playoffs.

Joseph Gambino, son of top Mafia boss Carlo and one-time Garment District powerbroker, dead at age 84

By LARRY MCSHANE
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
MAR 19, 2020

Joseph Gambino in 1992.(Tom Monaster / New York Daily News)


Philanthropic mobster Joseph Gambino, the son of mighty “Boss of All Bosses” Carlo Gambino and one-time partner in a multimillion-dollar Mafia monopoly in the Garment District, reportedly died at the age of 84, according to the website GanglandNews.com.

Joseph Gambino famously teamed with his older brother Thomas to oversee a corrupt system where mob-controlled trucking businesses were assigned for decades to specific zones in the busy Manhattan business district. Without any competitive bidding, the mob truckers pocketed tens of millions of dollars by simply imposing a 7% mob tax on all Gambino-trucked items.

Thomas Gambino was the head of the scam, while Joseph served as his principal operating officer, authorities said. Both took a 1992 plea bargain deal where they agreed to quit their lucrative jobs in the trucking industry and pay a $12 million fine — with both avoiding jail time as part of the agreement.

Authorities estimated the brothers grossed roughly $70 million and pocketed $22 million in profits.

The deal also required the siblings to sell off a large portion of their trucks, effectively ending the crime family’s control of the Garment District since the 1950s. Asked how he was feeling after entering his plea, Joseph Gambino replied, ''I’m a lot happier.''

It wasn’t his only profitable venture in the clothes business. Back in 1991, it was revealed that celebrity fashion designer Bob Mackie, to help pay off a loan provided by the Gambino brothers four years earlier, provided Joseph Gambino’s wife Arlene with a new wardrobe and created dresses for a number of relatives before a family wedding.

The siblings were the sons of Carlo Gambino, the powerful head of the crime family that still bears his name despite decades of internal difficulties. Carlo Gambino, who died of natural causes at age 74 in 1976, rose to the boss’ seat after the infamous 1957 assassination of Albert Anastasia in a barber’s chair at the Park Sheraton Hotel.

The elder Gambino turned the reins over to his brother-in-law Paul Castellano, who was infamously gunned down just before Christmas 1985 in a hit orchestrated by new family boss John “Dapper Don” Gotti.



(Charles Hoff/New York Daily News)
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True 'Goodfellas': A look back at the long history of the Mafia and NYC

Both Joseph and Thomas kept a much lower profile after their guilty pleas as the Gambino crime family fell on hard times during the 1990s and into the new millennium.

But brothers Thomas and Joseph shared a softer side: In 1991, the pair donated more than $1 million toward the creation of a state-of-the-art children’s cancer center on Long Island. The brothers also gave generously to another cancer foundation, according to their lawyers.

Try universal basic income now, NYC: Andrew Yang says coronavirus makes the city an ideal testing ground for a bold idea

By ANDREW YANG
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
MAR 20, 2020 | 7:15 AM

Money for the masses.(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The novel coronavirus that’s reached pandemic proportions has already seen more than 13,000 U.S. cases, close to 4,000 of them here in New York. Neighboring New Jersey is seeing one of the highest death tolls, with one family hit particularly hard. And in an attempt to curb the spread of the disease despite a late start, social distancing has become the catchphrase most Americans are living by.

All of us staying at home is particularly problematic to those of our neighbors who work in the service industry. In previous times of crisis, New Yorkers have banded together to keep a sense of community together and to help small businesses.

After Hurricane Sandy, communities helped small businesses rebuild. In the wake of 9/11, New Yorkers, refusing to give in to the fear that the terrorists tried to spread, made it a point to go out and live their lives. With everyone trying to avoid spreading the coronavirus, local businesses will be hit a lot harder than they’ve ever been hit before.

On the average waiter’s or hotel employee’s salary, it’s impossible to have a two to three-month safety net saved up, so many workers are out of a job and quickly running out of money.

I’m glad to see the federal and state governments taking steps to ensure that there is some assistance. However, too much of the focus has been on helping businesses, with no-interest loans or interest rates being lowered to help corporations’ bottom lines.

Instead, we’ve got to focus on doing the one thing that we know will help people hit the hardest economically by this crisis: Send them a check of at least $1,000 each month so that they can continue to live. So they can keep their families healthy and safe. So they can make sure their kids’ lives and learning are disrupted as little as possible.

I’m glad this idea has risen to the top of the list in Washington, with even the Trump administration agreeing to the wisdom of direct cash payments. This idea isn’t partisan. The list of supporters includes Sen. Tom Cotton (R), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D), Sen. Mitt Romney (R), and New York’s own Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D).

Such an infusion would inject nearly $13 billion per month into the state of New York. Not by moving money into the accounts of banks, but by moving it into the accounts of our friends, our neighbors and ourselves

This isn’t a time for fighting, and it isn’t a time for half-measures. It isn’t a time to focus on bailing out the banks, or the airlines, or hedge funds. It’s time we bail out the American people. Too many of them are wondering where their next rent payment is coming from. Or whether they’ll have money to feed their kids.

I’ve been in touch with those who are calling for a universal basic income in this time of crisis, and I’ve been trying to convince them that it shouldn’t stop once we’re clear. I’m going to continue to reach out to them and anyone who will listen. I’m going to fight so that the leaders of each city, each state, and even the federal government propose basic incomes to help all Americans navigate this new world we’re living in. And I’m going to continue to publicly call on all of our leaders — from Mayor de Blasio all the way to President Trump — to come together and deliver money, no strings attached, directly to the people.

In the meantime, my organization, Humanity Forward, is proud to team up with the Collective Action Fund, Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners and One Fair Wage to today announce the delivery of over $1 million dollars (in $1,000 increments) to working families in New York and across the country in the coming weeks.

Once America sees what money in our hands can do, I can’t imagine we’ll turn back.

Yang, a businessman, is founder of Humanity Forward and a former Democratic candidate for president.

Andrew Yang's non-profit to spend $1 million to help jobless families

Businessman Andrew Yang, shown at a Des Moines, Iowa, forum in January, said his non-profit will spend $1 million to help families affected by the spread of the coronavirus. File Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI | License Photo

March 20 (UPI) -- Andrew Yang, through his new non-profit, will spend $1million to assist working families impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, the former Democratic presidential candidate said Friday.

Humanity Forward, an organization the wealthy tech entrepreneur formed after dropping out of the presidential race, is teaming with the Collective Education Fund and Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners, to locate families in need as businesses around the country close up shop because of the virus.

The move is an offshoot of his universal basic income theory which Yang campaigned on. He plans to start giving about 500 families in the Bronx $1,000 per month starting this month. The non-profit will also raise money for the project through its Humanity Forward Coronavirus Relief Fund.

"It seemed much more important to put money into people's hands because people are struggling and wondering how they are going to be able to pay their bills," Yang said. "So rather than doing basic income trial, we deiced to get money into people's hands immediately and it seemed like the most effective way to do it."

In a New York Daily News op-ed Friday, Yang said current bailout talk has centered around businesses and industries and not workers.
https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/03/try-universal-basic-income-now-nyc.html

"I'm glad to see the federal and state governments taking steps to ensure that there is some assistance," Yang said. "However, too much of the focus has been on helping businesses, with no-interest loans or interest rates being lowered to help corporations' bottom lines.

"Instead, we've got to focus on doing the one thing that we know will help people hit the hardest economically by this crisis," he said.

Authorities investigate worker's death in a Kentucky grain bin

A COMPLETELY PREVENTABLE INCIDENT IF OSHA APPLIED ON THE FARM

Adolfo Garcia, 44, died in a grain bin accident in Kentucky on Tuesday. Photo courtesy of Pixabay

EVANSVILLE, Ind., March 20 (UPI) -- Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a farmworker in a Kentucky grain bin this week.

Adolfo Garcia, 44, died in a grain bin accident at United Livestock Commodities Inc. on Tuesday. He is at least the seventh person to die in a grain bin accident in the United States this year.

Garcia had entered the bin "in an attempt to dislodge a portion of grain that was stuck," according to the Graves County Sheriff's Office, which responded to the call. "A witness and co-worker reported that as that portion of grain dislodged, a large amount of grain collapsed on the victim."

The bin, which was large enough to hold about 80,000 bushels, was partially filled with corn.

Several local fire departments and rescue groups -- along with neighboring farmers in tractors and semi-trucks -- worked for nearly four hours to free Garcia from the bin. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

An autopsy was conducted Tuesday, but the results have not been released, Graves County Coroner Brad Jones said.

Garcia is survived by a wife and five children. His community has set up a benefit account at a local bank to help his family, according to the sheriff's office.

His family planned a private service, according to his obituary.

Dozens of farmers and farmworkers die in grain bins every year. Accidents happen most often on farms with few employees that are not required to follow Occupational Safety and Health Administration safety regulations.

It is unclear if OSHA will investigate the accident.

IT IS NOT AN ACCIDENT IN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

IT IS CALLED A PREVENTABLE INCIDENT
Read More

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80-year-old man dies in North Dakota grain bin accident

Funeral set for S.D. man killed in year's fifth fatal grain bin accident

TRUMP COVID-19 HAND WASHING SONG FOR SMALL HANDS

US Farmers fear coronavirus will curb migrant workforce, lead to produce shortages

With U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services interviews suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic, farmers will be unable to bring in any new migrant workers. Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Agriculture


EVANSVILLE, Ind., March 20 (UPI) -- Fresh fruits and vegetables could be in short supply this year because the coronavirus pandemic is making it more difficult for farmers to bring in migrant workers from other countries.

As of Thursday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had suspended all in-person interviews until further notice to protect its staff from the rapidly spreading disease.

The decision means no new migrant workers can obtain visas. With spring planting season about to begin in many states, farmers fear they won't have enough labor to plant and later harvest their crops.

"This is a problem," said Jason Resnick, the vice president and general counsel of Western Growers, an association that represents family farmers in Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico.

"There will be less fresh produce on store shelves because of this -- there is no doubt about it," Resnick said. "Farmers are not going to be able to produce all of their crops for lack of labor."

On Friday, however, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the media at a coronovirus update press conference that the United States will do all it can to ensure that foreign migrant workers can return for the harvest season. He did not elaborate.

Currently, only foreign workers who came to the United States last year under the migrant farm worker program (H2-A) may return, Resnick said. On an average year, returning migrant workers comprise between 40 and 50 percent of America's 250,000 annual migrant farmworkers, the majority of whom are from Mexico, Guatemala or other Latin American countries.

"At this point, we'll be lucky to get half the workers we need," Resnick said.

On Thursday, the U.S. Agriculture and Labor departments announced they had identified nearly 20,000 migrant workers currently in the United States whose contracts are about to expire and "could be available" to work for a different farm.

"At this point, we just don't know how many workers we're going to get," said Zippy Duvall, the president of the American Farm Bureau Federation. "If it's a low number, we could really face some problems. It has the potential to have a serious effect on the food supply this fall."

The impact will be on fruits and vegetables -- produce such as tomatoes, peppers, berries and melons -- that have to be tended and picked by hand.

"Basically, all the things that you would grow in your garden," Duvall said.

Commodity crops -- like wheat, corn and potatoes -- can be planted and harvested using tractors and other machinery.

"We are not a highly mechanized industry," said Brian Garwood, the owner of Garwood Orchards, a fruit farm in northern Indiana . "We are still dependent on labor. And it is tough work. We can't get Americans to do these jobs. If I don't get migrant workers, we won't be able to do anything. I'll go out of business."

On Thursday, Garwood said he still was on track to receive his normal returning workforce this spring.

"My first visas are set to arrive April 1," Garwood said. "I don't really need them until April 19, but I'm going to ask for them as soon as possible. I don't want to risk not getting them here and not getting a crop planted."

Nearly 70 percent of the vegetables and about 45 percent of the fruit consumed in the United States is grown domestically, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"We take food for granted," Duvall said. "The fact is, we can do without just about everything we have -- except for food and water. And we have to plan for food production."

NOT SO IN CANADA THOUGH

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/03/as-canada-virus-cases-pass-1000-asylum.html

CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY

U.S. to Iran: Coronavirus won't save you from sanctions

ON PERSIAN/FARSI/KURDISH NEW YEARS NORWUZ

WASHINGTON/DUBAI (Reuters) - The United States sent Iran a blunt message this week: the spread of the coronavirus will not save it from U.S. sanctions that are choking off its oil revenues and isolating its economy.

Iran is the Middle Eastern nation worst hit by coronavirus, with its death toll climbing to 1,284 and one person dying from it every 10 minutes and 50 becoming infected every hour, the health ministry said.

The United States, which argues that its “maximum pressure” campaign to curb Iran’s nuclear, missile and regional activities does not stop the flow of humanitarian goods, imposed new sanctions this week.

The Trump administration blacklisted five companies based in the United Arab Emirates, three in mainland China, three in Hong Kong and one in South Africa for trade in Iran’s petrochemicals.

RELATED COVERAGE

Rouhani urges Americans to call on U.S. to lift sanctions as Iran fights coronavirus: state media

“Washington’s increased pressure against Iran is a crime against humanity,” an Iranian official told Reuters. “All the world should help each other to overcome this disease.”

Some analysts suggested the Trump administration should do more to speed the flow of humanitarian goods into Iran, though they saw little evidence to suggest this was in the offing.

“Our policy of maximum pressure on the regime continues,” Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative for Iranian Affairs, told reporters. “U.S. sanctions are not preventing aid from getting to Iran.”

On Monday, China called on the United States to give Iran sanctions relief for humanitarian reasons but U.S. officials, foreign diplomats and analysts saw no signs of this.

“While Iran is an epicenter of this virus outbreak and facing true economic catastrophe ... there will be no relief on sanctions,” said Elizabeth Rosenberg of the Center for a New American Security think tank.

Hook said Washington sent a diplomatic note to Tehran offering help with coronavirus “and it was quickly rejected.”

He also blamed Iran’s leadership for its coronavirus woes, saying that Iran “spends billions on terrorism and foreign wars” and that if it spent one tenth of this “on a better health care system, the Iranian people would have been much better off.”

In what might be a gesture to Washington, Tehran released U.S. citizen Michael White from its custody though he must stay in Iran.

Suzanne Maloney of the Brookings Institution think tank said Iran allowing White or other detained U.S. citizens to fly home might appeal to President Donald Trump.


“I still don’t believe this administration wants to provide a lot of leeway to the Iranian authorities but that doesn’t mean they can’t or shouldn’t be looking for every opportunity to” get medical supplies into Iran, she said.

The outbreak in Iran was likely to spread as Iranians travel for the Nowruz new year’s celebration, she added, saying this could hurt U.S. security partners across the region.

“Iran is Italy, only on steroids,” Maloney said, alluding to the outbreak in Italy, whose coronavirus death toll on Thursday overtook that of China, where the virus emerged.

Mark Dubowitz, an Iran hawk with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies policy group, said Washington could send medical goods to Iran via private groups but should not ease sanctions.

“At the very time Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias in Iraq are killing Americans and Brits and others, this would be exactly the wrong time to be providing any kind of economic relief to the regime,” he said, referring to last week’s attack on a military camp in Iraq that killed one British and two U.S. personnel..

FILE PHOTO: Members of firefighters wear protective face masks, amid fear of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), as they disinfect the streets, ahead of the Iranian New Year Nowruz, March 20, in Tehran, Iran March 18, 2020. Picture taken March 18, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS

“We should be sending medical supplies directly to Iranians through non-governmental organizations and bypass the regime.”

Iranians appeared to have mixed feelings about whether Washington was making its outbreak worse.

“America’s sanctions are preventing Iran from getting necessary medicine and equipment to fight against this virus. They have to lift it,” said dentist Arash Hosseini, 52, in Tehran.

But Twitter user @fnikjoo, suggested sanctions relief would just provide “Money to support more terrorists in the region and beyond.”

Less than 60% in U.S. trust government's medical advice, study showsThe United States showed the least amount of government trust among citizens of the six nations polled. 


U.S. Vice President Mike Pence gives an update on the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic in a briefing at the White House on Wednesday. Photo Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

March 20 (UPI) -- Before the coronavirus pandemic took hold worldwide, less than 60 percent of Americans said they trust in the medical information and advice they receive from the government, a new study showed Friday.

Gallup said it asked the question to citizens of six countries as part of its Wellcome Global Monitor study. The data was compiled for the year 2018, well before the COVID-19 outbreak began, but the pollster said it indicates trends that are highly relevant to the pandemic now.

The study found 59 percent of Americans said they have "a lot" or "some" of health advice from the federal government. Thirty-six percent said they have "not much" or no trust at all.

The United States showed the least amount of government trust among citizens of the six nations polled. The most trust was found in Germany (83 percent), followed by Britain (81 percent), Spain (77 percent), France (70 percent) and Italy (63 percent).

Italy, however, showed the most distrust among citizens. Thirty-six percent of Italians said they have not much or no trust in health advice from their government. More than 3,400 people in Italy have died so far from the coronavirus, the most of any nation. Twenty-nine percent of Americans said they have little or no trust in government advice.

"While the vast majority of residents in these countries do have faith in their government's medical and health advice, the strikingly large minorities of residents in countries such as Italy and the United States may be less likely to adopt crucial government advice to stop the spread of COVID-19, particularly when it is voluntary rather than compulsory," Gallup wrote.

In the United States, trust in the government was highest among Americans between the ages of 15 and 29, and was lowest among those 50 and older.

By contrast, more than 90 percent of citizens in all six countries said they place "a lot" or "some" trust in the advice when it comes from medical workers, like doctors and nurses.

As Canada virus cases pass 1,000, asylum seekers to be turned back; jobless claims soar

In relief for Canada's agriculture sector, temporary foreign workers to be allowed in

OTTAWA/TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada will turn back asylum seekers who walk over the U.S.-Canada border, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday, as economic damage from the coronavirus outbreak intensified and a ban on non-essential travel across the world’s longest undefended border was set to come into effect.

More than 500,000 applications for Canadian unemployment benefits were made so far this week, versus just under 27,000 in the same week last year, Trudeau said. The monthly number of unemployment insurance claims last year averaged 239,000.

“This is of course an unprecedented situation and it is putting a lot of pressure on our system, but we’re on it,” he told reporters outside his house, where he has been in isolation since his wife tested positive for the virus last week.

Air Canada (AC.TO), the country’s largest carrier, said on Friday it will temporarily lay off more than 5,100 employees.

The jobless claims indicate an unemployment rate over the next two months “probably the likes of which we have not seen in the post-war era,” said Bank of Montreal Chief Economist Douglas Porter.

The Bank of Canada on Friday said it would take additional measures to help ensure financial markets continue operating smoothly “given the rapidly evolving uncertainty”.

Canada’s tally of reported cases of the COVID-19 respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus has surpassed 1,000, along with 12 deaths.

It closed its borders to most foreign nationals and agreed with the United States this week to close their shared border. A notice from the U.S. Homeland Security Department (DHS) said restrictions will begin at 11:59 p.m. EDT Friday and last until April 20.

Trudeau said the measure to return asylum seekers who walk into Canada outside official border stations was a temporary one to protect the health of Canadians during the coronavirus outbreak.

Thousands have illegally crossed the Canada-U.S. border to file refugee claims in recent years, spurred by tougher U.S. immigration policies under President Donald Trump’s administration.

The Canadian Council for Refugees said it was “shocked” at the decision to turn back migrants.

As the border deadline approached, traffic was already snarled on some crossings early on Friday owing to stepped-up screening measures by the Canada Border Service Agency.

In a relief for Canada’s agriculture sector, temporary foreign workers are exempt from the restrictions.

Trudeau’s government has pledged C$27 billion ($18.6 billion) in support, which could blow out the fiscal deficit and lead to higher government borrowing by nearly 40%, according to Reuters calculations.

Additional reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal, Moira Warburton in Toronto and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Jason Neely, Andrea Ricci, Marguerita Choy and Cynthia Osterman

In relief for Canada's agriculture sector, temporary foreign workers to be allowed in


OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada will allow temporary foreign workers with valid visas to enter the country, officials said on Friday, offering possible salvation to the agriculture industry even as Ottawa moves to limit the spread of a coronavirus outbreak.

Canada’s labor-strapped farms rely heavily on nearly 60,000 temporary foreign workers to help plant and harvest crops like fruit and vegetables. They also account for about 3% of meat and seafood processors’ labor force.

Ottawa this week said it would close its borders to all foreign nationals, except U.S. citizens, prompting industry concerns about the potential damage to this year’s harvest.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters that “valid work and student visas to come to Canada will be respected... and that includes temporary foreign workers.”

Those individuals, like all persons entering Canada from abroad, will be required to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival, she added.

Many of the workers come to Canada via the Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program. It allows farmers to hire workers from Mexico or certain Caribbean countries for a maximum of eight months, provided they can offer workers a minimum of 240 hours of work within a period of six weeks or less.

Farm groups said a lack of workers would challenge Canada’s agriculture supply chain.

In a notice sent on Wednesday, the groups sent a document to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet outlining suggested ways to get workers from countries whose borders or airports are shut to Canada, including the use of chartered flights, said sources with direct knowledge of the file.

The proposal laid out how farmers could maintain operational health and safety and ensure workers, who often live in close-quarters on farms, could self-isolate for 14-days upon arrival, the sources said.

A senior government official told Reuters on Thursday all options were on the table and discussions with provincial counterparts were ongoing.