12379: Dozens protest claim that Vodou used in union vote (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Fri, Jun. 21, 2002

Dozens protest claim that Vodou used in union vote
BY TERE FIGUERAS
tfigueras@herald.com

Clad in ponchos and chanting their displeasure, more than 100 people marched
Thursday to a Miami Shores nursing home where a recent union drive was
stained by allegations of Vodou use.

The center of controversy: the Mount Sinai-St. Francis Nursing and
Rehabilitation Center, where most of the workers are of Haitian descent.
After workers voted to unionize, the home filed a complaint alleging a
pro-union faction used Vodou to scare workers into joining.

''I feel like it's discrimination. Just because I am Haitian doesn't mean I
do Vodou,'' said nursing assistant Nelta Molina, who walked in the rain to
the facility at 201 NE 112th St.

The gathering -- which included speeches by local clergy, activists and
elected officials -- also focused on the detention of than 240
asylum-seeking Haitians held in South Florida since the Immigration and
Naturalization Service changed its policy in December to discourage an
exodus from the island.

''There are people who have committed crimes who are allowed on parole
before their hearings,'' said state Sen. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, who joined
other elected leaders -- including the mayors of North Miami and North Miami
Beach -- at the rally preceding the march.

Before the policy change, Haitians could remain free while they sought
asylum. The shift in policy also means Haitian asylum-seekers face expedited
asylum proceedings, which critics charge ensures detainees can't receive
adequate legal counsel.

Meek also joined union supporters outside the grounds of Mount Sinai-St.
Francis.

The furor over alleged Vodou influence began after workers voted 49-37 in
February to join the Service Employees International Union.

Administrators filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board,
saying a faction had used Vodou tactics -- such as scattering pennies and
displaying half-filled glasses of water -- to spook employees into voting
pro-union. They argued the symbols -- as well as reports of a woman dancing
with black prayer beads -- threatened believers of the African-derived
religion that has followers in Haiti and other countries.

An NLRB hearing officer rejected the argument in May. The nursing home is
appealing that decision.

Bruce Rubin, a spokesman for the nursing home, denied any retaliation
attempts and said union leaders have unfairly labeled the dust-up as an
issue of stereotyping.

''This is not about Vodou. This is about creating a climate that is free of
fear and intimidation,'' he said



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