damian trujillo: hello and welcome once again to "comunidad del valle," we are back after an olympics absence. we are back with another spectacular show on your "comunidad del valle." ♪♪♪ cc by aberdeen captioning www.aberdeen.io 1-800-688-6621 hernán hernández: [speaking foreign language] [speaking foreign language] [speaking foreign language]

damian: gracias, don hernán hernández of los tigres del norte. you know, we are celebrating 25 years of "comunidad del valle" and so we're gonna get some of those vignettes throughout the remainder of the shows for the rest of this year, so thank you to hernán. welcome, we're celebrating on "comunidad del valle" 90 years of the existence of the alum rock union school district in san josé and with me is a powerhouse group of people. we have dr. hilaria bauer, the superintendent; andres quintero, who is a board member here; and also we have corina herrera-loera, who is president of the board. folks, welcome to the show. what a powerful group here. let's see, dr. bauer, you're muted and andres, i think you're muted, but corina, let's begin with you. talk about what this means for the entire city of san josé that we're celebrating these 90 years.

[silence] damian: corina, can you hear me? if not, we'll go to dr. bauer. hilaria bauer: thank you, damian. it's an amazing feat to look back and say it's 90 years of alum rock. i started to work in alum rock in 2001, the fall of 2001. i had a brief stint away for three years and then back as the superintendent and it's truly an honor to see this fantastic district keeps on going, and a lot of the things that alum rock has experienced is just a mirror of what happens in the bigger picture of the silicon valley, so i'm very proud to be able to be part of this 90th anniversary. damian: and this is a full-time job, right, as a board member of-- you need two jobs: your regular job to pay your mortgage but it's also a full-time job to take care of the kids,

take care of the teachers, take care of the administration staff at alum rock. andres quintero: if you wanna do the job right, you gotta invest the time and so, yes, it is. and for us, alum rock, 90 years represent, as i mentioned during the comments at the ceremony, it's a spirit of resilience that is in alum rock. remember, we were born in the middle of a great depression, a financial crisis, and the district went ahead and forged ahead on major projects to undertake the development of this--of our district. damian: let's see--corina, let's see if she's back online. i don't know if you--can you hear me yet, corina? [silence] damian: well, we'll have to fix her audio at a certain point. so, dr. bauer, there have been, you know, like any other school district, a lot of challenges and--but a lot of successes and accomplishments. let's tout those. there are many and many more to come. hilaria: yes, well, you know, it's like any long-living organization, right? we have in the business world the same stories, right, with the ups and downs and i think there's a lot more ups than

downs and i think that what happens when you are down, the system learns, you know, how to reinvent itself. right now, we're in the middle of declining enrolment, a lot of things that happened in our community, but alum rock still stands firm and we are serving the great majority of the elementary students in the east side. innovation has led this past ten years in terms of trying to really reinvent what works in terms of education for the students that are coming through our schools. i think that the 90th anniversary has allowed alum rock re-reflect on the thousands, potentially millions, of leaders and scholars and professionals that have been now part of the silicon valley making, right?

and a lot of that is coming from alum rock. there have been hundreds of stories that people have shared with us about this successful trajectory of our district. damian: and what do you want us to know, andres? i asked you the first question, but go ahead, i know that you want--you have a message that you want to give the community. in our next segment, we'll talk about what's ahead in the next--in this coming school year. andres: i think it's important that, you know, it's always important to look forward but it's important for us to take these moments like the 90th anniversary to look back and look at the accomplishments as well as the contributions that alum rock has made for not just itself but the entire east side. east side union high school district, many people don't know, was born out of alum rock's investment into land. the 30 acres that were purchased right there where james lick is at, and--was the first union high school district,

was purchased by alum rock school district. and so i think it's important to take these moments in history to look back and say, you know, this is a forward-thinking group of people of east san jose, the alum rock school board that went ahead and invested into the future of not just itself but everybody in the east side, including milpitas, that benefited from alum rock's forward thinking and investment into the future. damian: all right, well, happy 90th anniversary. we're talking about the alum rock school district in san josé there on gay avenue in the heart of east side in san josé. we do have a web address in case, you know, they're-- you should have enrolled your child by now but if you haven't, they'd be happy to take any enrollment. that's the alum rock school district right here in san--we'll be back and talk more with the board and the superintendent of the district, so stay with us.

damian: we're celebrating 90 years of the alum rock school distric; well, we celebrated the opening of school this past week, dr. bauer. i know that there's, you know, hiccups here. it's not gonna be perfect because it's not the same type

of first day of class, but how are things going? how is--what's your assessment? hilaria: well, we have a new normal, right? and it's so interesting as we celebrate this historical moment. when we look back, you know, on all the different kinds of things that happened in our community, i think this has never been experienced before to the level that we are looking at right now. and we are really recreating, after this pandemic, what's-- how our community is going to keep on going. i think that looking at the kids and looking at the staffs, one of the things that is part of the new normal is wearing our masks, and that was something that i was worried and i kept thinking, you know, i hope that we are not gonna have a whole lot of challenges with that, but yesterday when i saw the children coming to school with their masks, going into the

playground and, in many cases, in the playground already playing, wearing their masks. that's part of the new normal. and we are very pleased with that. and yes, there have been some hiccups, but i think that the resilience and the perseverance of our district is just gonna take us to the place that we need to be. damian: yeah, and i think one thing, andres, is that--i've always said that this helped bridge that digital divide. i don't know if the students get to keep those chromebooks that they took home. i know that the wifi, the hot spot services are limited, but in a certain way, do you feel the kids are better prepared now because of what they did last term for virtual learning? that they're better prepared now to kind of hit those studies from home? andres: the pandemic forced us all to go ahead and step in and really take on this digital divide. luckily--and not luckily-- you know, i appreciate and i

wanna give full credit to the administration superintendent's forward thinking on really acquiring those one-to-one devices, actually, approximately like a month before we had to go into shutdown and there was contracts that were signed, devices that were acquired, and so we were able to provide a device to every children that needed one in alum rock school district. and with that being said, those devices are still out there and they're able to provide access to our children so that they can continue to learn with the devices at home. damian: that's great, and when you saw some problems that we still have with virtual learning, well, it's what we had last year with virtual learning is that corina--there's an internet service that is weak and so that's why corina, the president of the board, is not able to join us for this but that's--we--i do this in news we have those same issues so we're working through that. let me give you the final word. anything you wanna say about 90 years or whatever message you wanna get across. we will start with you, dr. bauer. hilaria: well, exactly what you just mentioned, right?

we are moving into a new era. obviously, the internet services citywide, we need to rethink, right? it's not gonna be once--one service. it's gonna have to be many different. but remember, alum rock was founded for the agricultural community and those who work in the fields. and now, 90 years later, it's all, you know, it's a completely different reality. now we're talking about virtual learning, we're talking about having devices, so it's a significant change and we're ready for the challenge. damian: wonderful. i know you guys are. andres, anything that you want to add also? andres: you know, alum rock is 90 years strong. we're moving forward, looking for another--looking forward to another 90 years of quality, dignified, comprehensive education and i think that's what sets us apart. while many people are stripping down their education to test--to

teach to the test, alum rock is committed to providing music, sports, a well-rounded education that really makes--those things that make life worth living. that's what we're doing at alum rock. damian: well, it's not an easy task and i know that you all are doing everything you can with the limited resources that the state is providing and local communities as well. but thank you for, you know, educating my kids through their alum rock careers and all the other 12,000 children of this district; gracias. andres: gracias. damian: all right, for more information--the alum rock school district is right here in the heart of east san josé. we'll have that website for you. there it is on your screen. and they are rocking and rolling on the east side. we'll be back and talk more about an announcement by the d.a.'s office here in santa clara county. you don't wanna miss this. stay with us.

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he joins us now here on "comunidad del valle." captain, welcome to the show, we're talking here about your workers exploitation task force. michael whittington: yes, and first off, thank you for inviting me to the show. it's my second time here and it's always an honor to come on the show, so thank you. damian: thank you. thank you for being here. so tell us about the task force and why it was-- it needed to be formed. michael: yeah, about a year ago, our district attorney, jeff rosen, created a lot of criminal justice reforms. and one of the reforms that he created was the establishment of a worker exploitation task force. the reason we created it was because we were starting to see that when companies were willing to defraud either through taxes or defraud through insurance, they were also defrauding their people, meaning they were working them too much and not paying them or they were threatening them when they were hurt. so this reform was to focus on the human toll of fraud investigations. damian: the misconception probably is, "oh, it might happen here, it might happen there."

you're saying that it's more prevalent than we might think. michael: yes, shockingly, it's-- we get referrals daily of different companies that are working their workers more than 40 hours a week and not paying them overtime. paying them in cash so they do not have to pay the taxes or pay the unemployment benefits. we're receiving referrals from many different industries and companies here in santa clara county. damian: and they're doing it because they can get away with it, or so they think, correct? michael: so they think. it all comes down to greed. these companies and these owners are, you know, making extra money by not paying the fair share to the worker, but by doing that, they're actually committing felonies, very serious felonies from tax evasion or insurance fraud or wage theft. and that's what we're investigating. damian: and wherever there is something like that there's always a paper trail which makes it a little easier for you and other investigators, correct, to make sure that they pay the price for what they've done? michael: that is true, and that's why,

when we created this worker exploitation task force, we brought in all these different departments, such as the department of insurance, the department of industrial relations, the office of labor standards and enforcement. we brought in all these different departments who have the paper trail, who can show us where the fraud is occurring so we can put it together and then investigate these owners. damian: yeah, well, it may be not to that extreme but, i mean, even in my work, you know, sometimes folks, employees, might be afraid to say something about something they see. and again, it's not extreme, it's just something minor, but may be afraid to bring it up because they don't wanna be the snitch or they don't wanna be the whistleblower. do you find some reluctance in some of those folks who you deal with? michael: yes, we do receive anonymous tips. we receive information from various sources. some people just don't wanna come forward 'cause they're afraid of losing their job or they have been a victim and have been threatened to be fired in the past. so we get a lot of different referrals. we either get people's information, but we

also get it anonymous. damian: and i know that some of the fear factors that may play a role is a person's immigration status and that's something that you--you'll wipe your hands of. you don't ask or check a complainant's immigration status. michael: well, we don't investigate it. it's, you know, our job is the human toll. if a person is undocumented or in some different level of citizenship, it's not important to us. what's important to us is are you being robbed? are you being exploited? it's in the name: the worker exploitation task force. it has nothing to do with anyone's citizenship level and we just--frankly, that is not something that we're gonna involve ourselves in. or nor are we going to cooperate with any federal agency for that purpose. damian: is that a roadblock sometimes in your investigation of some cases, is that fear factor, and that's why some people may not wanna be a witness or are afraid to speak up?

michael: yes, well, i've seen it quite frequently in some of our investigations where people have that, i guess, roadblock that they're trying to overcome. but again, i can only stress so many times that any investigations that we have filed, that we have evidence that we have already, you know, stopped the bad behavior of a greedy owner, none of the individuals who worked there were ever affected by the immigration level that they had. we do not investigate that. damian: and anonymity, is that high on your list, if a neighbor says that they see something and they think there's something wrong there? michael: yes, people can call. we actually have a phone number. we also have our web page. if an individual wishes to call and provide information anonymously, they can do that. damian: all right, well, it's a new task force. it's the workers exploitation task force by the district attorney's office in santa clara county. we do have a number and a website that we can refer

you to, and you can ask for captain michael whittington and he'll be happy to help you out if it's for you personally or maybe somebody that you know. so there is the general mail box number for the d.a.'s office and the web address for more information. the workers exploitation task force. we'll be back with captain whittington, so stay with us.

damian: we're back here on "comunidad del valle" with captain michael whittington of the d.a.'s office in santa clara county. when we talk about workers' exploitation, captain, it's not just where 15 cents per hour is what the employer is getting back or stealing from the employee. we're talking about a lot of money--these cases. michael: yes, actually, one of our most recent cases, an individual worker was defrauded close to $100,000 and when i tell people, when we look at the human toll of an investigation, imagine what one of our workers can do with that much money, what they could do for their family, for their children, the neighborhood they're living in. so the amount of money that people are being defrauded is

not a dollar here, a dollar there. we're talking about thousands of dollars. it's very important. damian: do you find that in some cases the worker does not know that they're being exploited or is--in most cases they have a pretty good idea? michael: from the interviews that we have done, most of the workers understand they're in some way being cheated. and that's the word that typically comes up: "i'm being cheated." well, if one worker's being cheated, and another worker's being cheated, and they're talking about it, and you are working, let's say, on a government job or you're working more than 40 hours a week and not getting overtime, that's where you wanna call the worker exploitation task force so we can find the proper resources, whether it's through our office, the district attorney's office, or through the department of industrial relations or through our office of labor standards and enforcement. damian: and you're not--we're not just talking about a company with three or four employees; there's some big companies that you've done some law enforcement with.

michael: yes, one of our recent ones that is actually in the news, the atlas private security case. that was hundreds of employees. this is not the mom and pop; this is large-scale companies with many, many employees, and the type of fraud is going on either wholesale or it's a specific group of people. damian: is there backpay that might be coming to some of these victims or is it without the paper trail it's kind of hard to prove? michael: well, the good thing about fraud is there's typically a paper trail so that'll be the first announcement i will state to people thinking about doing fraud: "there is a paper trail, so stop it." but for a lot of the workers who have saved either a previous paycheck or have saved some type of paperwork or saved some paperwork, there is a way that we can kind of help identify how much money is there, and these individuals will be able to hopefully see their restitution later on.

damian: maybe take a snapshot of that-- and make sure that people are aware--or people like you are aware of the work that they're doing. anything else, sir, that you think the public should know about the task force, about protecting their own labor rights? michael: well, this was a program that was created by our district attorney, jeff rosen, to focus on the human toll and that's what people need to understand. we are here that if you're a worker and you feel that you're being exploited by not being paid the proper wage, working over 40 hours in a week or over 8 hours in a day, or you have a group of people that are being exploited, we're here for you. contact us. let us know. damian: all right, captain michael whittington, the investigator with the d.a.'s office here in santa clara county. thank you for the work that you are doing. we are gonna show the information on the screen, but thank you, sir, for the protection of the labor force. michael: thank you so much for having me on. take care, everybody. damian: thank you. we'll see you next time. again, this is the d.a.'s office. it's the worker exploitation task force that they have

established and there is the website and phone number for more information. it's out of the d.a.'s office right here in santa clara county. well, if you'd like to get a hold of us here on the show, you can follow me on twitter, my handle is @newsdamian, and on instagram it's @newsdamiantrujillo. also pick up a copy of "el observador" newspaper and support your bilingual weeklies all across the bay area. well, you know, a few months ago we did lose one of our great heroes in south bay to covid-19. noe montoya was, you know, he played music right next to cesar chavez during a lot of the pilgrimages and with luis valdez and whatnot en el teatro campesino. he was juan diego in some of those plays. we lost him, so we wanna go back and remember one more time noe montoya. we'll see you next week. noe montoya: [speaking foreign language] ♪♪♪

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i'm sara gore, and this is open house. this week we are all about innovative interiors. we're on new york's upper east side to see how one architect got inspired by his central park views. and we explore this former carriage house turned entertainer's dream home. you are not going to want to miss this unique project nestled on an la hillside. plus how this former engineer transformed his delivery truck into an innovative, self-sustaining home. but before all of that, we are with one of the design world's true icons, karim rashid. karim rashid: i really hope you enjoyed coming into my home and exposing my privacy to you. [laughter] [music playing]