Bus drivers, company caught in labor battle
Chinatown firm’s owner files suit to defend name
By Jazmine Ulloa, Globe Correspondent | July 5, 2009
A controversy that has captured the attention of the Chinese community is pitting a group of bus drivers against a well-known Hong Kong-born businesswoman.
The 10 drivers say they were forced to work longer hours than the government allows for Sunshine Travel Services and then let go after protesting pay cuts. But Lorraine Tse, owner and founder of the Chinatown company, has denied the allegations, with the labor feud escalating in recent months to dueling news conferences and a lawsuit - all played out in Chinese-language newspapers.
One of the drivers caught up in the dispute, Wen Wei Zhou, says he feels lost.
“We do not know what else to do from here,’’ he said in an interview. “What can we do?’’
Drivers’ pay was reduced from $100 a day to $90 or $95, depending on experience. With the assistance of the Chinese Progressive Association, Wen and eight drivers began waging a campaign against Sunshine Travel in April, by holding a series of demonstrations.
In a letter submitted on their behalf by the Chinese advocacy group to the office of state Attorney General Martha Coakley, drivers contended the company was skirting minimum wage and overtime laws by cutting pay and pushing them to work 12 to 18 hours a day. A round trip to Washington, D.C., for example, would take about 17 hours, including time spent cleaning and repairing the bus, drivers said.
A bus driver can be on the road only for a maximum of 14 hours a shift and must have 10 hours off afterward before driving again, according to American Public Transportation Association standards.
“You always had to stay with the bus,’’ said Zhan T. Huang, who worked for Sunshine bus carriers for two years. “If some thing happens to that bus, it comes out of your pocket.’’
Drivers said they could not use their log books to prove their assertions because supervisors had told them to change their hours to abide by state safety inspections.
“If you want a job, you have to keep doing what they want,’’ Zhou said.
Most of the former drivers are originally from China and had worked for Sunshine for two or three years. They stayed because they needed the job and spoke limited English, making it difficult to get help, they said.
Tse vigorously defends Sunshine Travel, best known for its inexpensive $15 to $17 trips to Mohegan Sun Casino.
“I have worked too long and too hard to keep my reputation here, that is why I have to stand up for me and my company,’’ said Tse, whose office shelves are lined with framed photographs of her with Greater Boston politicians, Chinese political leaders, and Hong Kong movie stars.
“These relationships do not take a day to build,’’ she said, pointing to the photos. “They have taken years.’’
Tse also said Sunshine Travel should not be targeted because it does not directly employ the drivers. Zhou and the other eight drivers were hired by Morning Sun Bus Co., Coach America LLC, and New England Coach Express LLC.
But Tse owns Morning Sun and is a resident agent for Coach America, according to state records.
In the lawsuit, Tse and Sunshine Travel accuse the Chinese Progressive Association of defamation, libel, slander, and infringement of Sunshine’s logo for leaflets the group has passed out, according to the documents.
A Superior Court judge found that the leaflet violated copyright laws, court documents show. The Chinese association has filed a counterclaim, and the case is expected to go to trial after the summer.
Tse’s attorney, Donald Bumiller, said the case was filed to stop the personal attacks against his client. But Cyndi Mark, an attorney from Greater Boston Legal Services representing the association and the bus drivers, said she believes it was only meant to undercut the drivers’ efforts to claim their rights.
Amy Leung, a community organizer with the Chinese Progressive Association, saved ads that she said Tse has bought in Chinese-language newspapers to rally the Chinese small-business community against the association and the workers. The ads refer to the former drivers as “poison-hearted’’ and “red guards,’’ Leung said.
Still, in recent years, more immigrant workers are learning about their rights, said Chau-Ming Lee, executive director for the Asian American Civic Association. No matter the outcome of the case, he said, the drivers will have been exposed to the empowerment process.
And that is a positive step, Lee said.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
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