[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 57 (Thursday, April 10, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E579]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             DOCUMENTARY ON PLIGHT OF NYC ``GHOST WORKERS''

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                         HON. ANTHONY D. WEINER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 10, 2008

  Mr. WEINER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the extraordinary work 
of several journalists with the Queens Courier, a weekly newspaper in 
New York City, who wrote a four-part series on day laborers titled 
``Ghost Workers.''
  Courier staff writers Peter Davis, Noah Rosenberg, and Christina 
Santucci, with the help of Damian Ghigliotty and Joe Hirsch, documented 
for 3 months the histories, labor, challenges, and lives of this 
invisible population. Their excellent reporting gave us a necessary 
glimpse into the lives of these hard-working men and women and the 
hardships they face as day laborers.
  Through their work these journalists remind us all of the essential 
role that the local press play in telling the stories often missed in 
the commotion of cable television and the 24-hour news cycle.
  The four-part series by the Queens Courier provided readers with an 
accurate, relevant, and illuminating window into this important but 
underground workforce. The series showcased their hopes for a brighter 
future and the obstacles they encounter, including oftentimes dangerous 
working conditions. The series noted that a 2003 study found that 63 
percent of day workers surveyed said that their bosses did not give 
them protective clothing or equipment and 12 percent said that they had 
been injured on a job site at least once in the past year.
  It is the stories that they tell which should remind us all of the 
``facts on the ground''--the stories to inform and inspire our policy 
and legislative work. The stories that journalists like Davis, 
Rosenberg, Santucci, and their colleagues tell illuminate the very best 
what journalism can be: informational and inspiring. It can change the 
world by making seen the invisible, teaching the unknown, and 
challenging the conventional wisdom.
  We all should thank The Queens Courier, their editors, and reporters 
Davis, Rosenberg, Santucci, Ghigliotty, and Hirsch for their incredible 
work.

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