SACRAMENTO — Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco), chair of the California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, released the following statement May 28 to address concerns from stakeholders in the nail salon industry:
“Immigrant-owned small businesses are critical to keeping California’s economy thriving and enriches the cultural diversity in the communities in which they operate. Nail salons are no exception. With a predominantly Asian immigrant women workforce, nearly 70% of which are of Vietnamese descent, this industry is an important entry point for immigrants and refugees into the workforce.
“The recent disclosure that community spread of COVID-19 started at a nail salon resulted in fear and anxiety among nail salon owners and workers who were concerned about the potential impact this would have on their livelihoods as well as on their personal safety as anti-Asian hate incidents have persisted.
“After working closely with Garden Grove City Councilmember Diedre Thu-Ha Nguyen as well as leadership from the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, our caucus sent a letter to Gov. Newsom to uplift the concerns of the nail salon industry and request a partnership with his administration on issuing guidelines to safely re-open nail salons.
“During a meeting last week with the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, we asked the governor to convene relevant administration officials and nail salon industry leaders to discuss health and safety standards. We thank Gov. Newsom for agreeing to engage with us on this issue and for being a champion for immigrants and small businesses.”