Malden Vol. 28, No. 28 -FREEHave a Safe & Happy Summer! ADVOCATE www.advocatenews.net Published Every Friday Malden celebrates the Fourth 617-387-2200 Friday, July 12 , 2019 MaldenCORE rallies for racial equity in city schools By Barbara Taormina W ith calls for change and chants of “Say it loud, say OFF & RUNNING: A group of toddlers competing in a race during Malden’s Fourth of July festivities at Coytemore Lea Park. See pages 12-15 for photo highlights. (Advocate Photos by Katy Rogers) 99 Supermarket cited for wage violations it clear, we need black teachers here,” students, teachers and community supporters rallied in downtown Malden this week, calling for racial equity in Malden public schools. Led by the Malden Community Organizing for Racial Equity (MaldenCORE), the group marched through downtown with stops at Malden High, Mayor Gary Christenson’s Office and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, where speakers voiced grievances and listed demands to address systemic racism responsible for differential treatment of teachers and students of color. Among those demands are measurable goals toward hiring and retaining teachers and staff of color. According to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 715, or 89 percent, of Malden’s fulltime teachers are white, while 34 of the district’s educators, or 4 percent, are black. Enrollment figures from 2018 show 29 percent of the district’s students are white while close to 20 percent are black. Both teachers and students said that gap left blacks and other students of color without critical role models and advocates. They cited studies that have found that black students who have had black teachers in school are more likely to graduThe 99 Asian Supermarket recently received five citations for violating wage and hour laws. (Photo Courtesy of yelp.com) By Barbara Taormina T he 99 Asian Supermarket at 60 Broadway, and its president, Xi Ping Xia, agreed to pay $73,686 in restitution and penalties for state wage and hour violations. Attorney General Maura Healey’s Office announced the settlement in the case, which involved five citations for failing to make timely payment of wages, failure to issue a suitable paystub, failure to keep true and accurate records, failure to pay the state’s minimum wage and retaliation. The Fair Labor Division of the AG’s Office launched an investigation into the 99 Supermarket, one of the Boston area’s largest Asian supermarkets, after receiving a series of complaints from the Chinese Progressive Association, a grassroots advocacy group for the Chinese community. Investigators found that the supermarket had engaged in payroll fraud by keeping separate payroll records for wages that were paid by check and wages paid by cash. The supermarket also issued incomplete paystubs and failed to keep any records for some of its workers. According to the AG’s Office, some cashiers-in-training were paid a flat rate of $25 for a full day’s work, which is far below the state minimum wage. The investigation also showed that the 99 Supermarket had not been paying the required wages for work on Sundays and holidays. Investigators also determined that the supermarket’s manager had retaliated against an employee who had complained about wage violations. As a result of complaints filed by workers and the AG’s Office’s investigation, 99 Supermarket agreed to pay its employees restitution for the premium Sunday and holiday pay and minimum wage violations. ate and continue on to college. “We do not look like our teachers and our teachers do not look like us and they do not look like the population of During this week’s rally for racial equity in city schools, MaldenCORE demanded the district hire more teachers and staff of color. Malden,” said one former Malden student. Biruke Tsige, who graduated from Malden High last month, said that among the 50 teachers she had while in Malden schools, one was Asian, another Puerto Rican and none were black. Tsige said she wants to RALLY | SEE PAGE 17 $3.39 $2.45 GALLON GALLON We accept: MasterCard * Visa * & Discover Price Subject to Change without notice 100 Gal. Min. 24 Hr. Service 781-286-2602
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