About 170 employees of Hudson PC, one of the largest immigration law firms in this country, petitioned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a union election to join the UE. Hudson PC (also doing business as the North America Immigration Law Group) is an immigration law firm that specializes in employment-based immigration visas. Hudson is a co-employer with HIPR, a staffing firm that is also contracted to handle HR and IT-related matters.

The workers ghost-write petitions for visas on behalf of large clients like corporations and universities, functioning as paralegals under the direction of attorneys. The workers face many issues such as:

• Low pay. The workers at Hudson are paid 20 to 30% less than the national average for paralegals.

• Exploitation. Workers are under constant threat of being returned to working in person during the pandemic. Management created “work from home” incentive programs which allowed workers to keep their work-from-home status so long as they took projects, effectively forcing workers to work overtime on a regular basis just to stay safe. These programs resulted in a 40% increase in productivity at the expense of the welfare of the employee.

• Abuse. Management at Hudson and HIPR treat their workforce as expendable. Many workers have been fired, unfairly disciplined without due process, had their deadlines accelerated as a form of retaliation, have been threatened with nonsense lawsuits, and even had their disability accommodations temporarily taken away as a form of retaliation.

• Outsourcing to the Gig Economy. Management increasingly relies on contract writers who are paid a flat rate to complete a writing project but are not paid benefits or a regular wage. As workers leave the company, they are not replaced, and more and more contractors are being hired to meet demands. Employees are responsible for editing these projects - they are often ridden with errors, written incorrectly, or often never turned in resulting in missed deadlines. Management is using the threat of outsourcing their jobs to contract writers to depress wages, benefits and creating job precarity.

On August 10, 2021, UE filed a petition with the NLRB for a union election at Hudson/HIPR. Unfortunately, instead of recognizing the union and engaging in a dialogue with their employees over these concerns, the firm has fired, disciplined or otherwise retaliated against union supporters and restricted worker’s ability to communicate with each other about workplace issues and show solidarity and support for the union. In response, the union has filed a number of Unfair Labor Practices with the NLRB. These charges are currently under investigation.

The workers are fighting back. They are calling on the community to put pressure on the owners while they take on the fight within the workplace to make their voices heard. We would greatly appreciate your support in calling on the owners of Hudson/HIPR to rehire the workers it has fired during this organizing drive, rescind disciplines issued against union supporters, abide by labor law and strongly consider simply recognizing the union instead of using the NLRB process to delay negotiations over the critical issues facing employees.

Contact information for the owners:


Victoria Claire Chen, owner of Hudson PC and North America Immigration Law Group

cchen@hudsonpc.com
(888) 666-0969

Winston “Scott” Shay, owner of HIPR

winston.shay@hipr.com
(206) 590-2520