[LSDailyNews] Beluga business proprietor builds Union in effort to help Eurasian migrants

[Los Santos Daily News]

NEWS • Local News

Written by Yunisa DELGADO-FLORES • June 4th, 2022 - 08:59AM

Beluga business proprietor builds Union in effort to help Eurasian migrants

 

Local business leader Fyodor Zharkov, owner of Beluga and Ushero, aims to help Eurasian migrants by launching a union to offer job-security.

 

 

Ushero, a staple of the Rockford fashion district; a business beneath the EIWU network - Yunisa Delgado Flores, June 4th 2022.

 

 

Each and every year, thousands of immigrants enter Los Santos County. Those who immigrate to the US, and those who move to San Andreas, find the process hard, confusing and stressful. Many migrants who immigrate initially struggle with English, and many are seen as easy targets for exploitation through underpaying and overworking employers.

 

Migrants may also find themselves struggling to settle, where a lack of a community may make those who recently migrated feel isolated and alone.

 

There are many organizations in Los Santos County to assist recent migrants both in fostering a sense of community as well as offering employment, housing, legal and translation services. The Suey Sing Association, for instance, offers a wide range of assistance to those hailing from Asia, including financial support, translation services, and offering affordable housing in a notoriously expensive market.

 

Fyodor Zharkov, the proprietor of both the Vespucci restaurant Beluga and the Rockford-based fashion brand Ushero, decided to launch the Eurasian Independent Workers Union (EIWU) to assist those coming into the country from the Eurasia region. He agreed to an interview with the Daily News' Yunisa Delgado-Flores.

 

“I've worked with Russians, Georgians, Armenians, Lithuanians, I know how comfortable they are when they're dealing with someone speaking their language, having a similar mindset and culture. That's why my Union is mostly targeting the Eurasian workers, because we've came to that belief that they're capable of working together in a fantastic harmony.”

 

Fyodor Zharkov, like many of those who find themselves in Los Santos, found struggle. Initially a violinist from back in Saint Petersburg, Russia, he made little performing in the many bars and restaurants across Los Santos. However, due to the small pay earned in music, he shifted his career into working in Beluga.

 

“It has a different owner back in times, I accepted to be a waiter there, taking care of the kitchen sometimes. Even tending the bar when it was needed. I started at the same restaurant I own now.”, Zharkov shared in an interview with the Daily’s Yunisa Delgado Flores.

 

“As a usual worker, who has nothing to lose, except for an ill daughter back home, and a wife who's working three jobs to keep her safe. I worked for years, hard works. Some days I was just basically sleeping at my car, but It didn't take too long for me to get myself a place, and slowly building up my own life. I kept sending money back home, every week.”

 

Beluga, 'the Russian heart of Vespucci'. The EUWI founder's start. - Yunisa Delgado Flores, June 4th 2022.

 

Los Santos County is the home for a large amount of migrants hailing from the Eurasian region; the space around the debated border between Europe and Asian. These countries often include, but aren’t limited to, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Georgia and Afghanistan.

 

As of right now, according to the EIWU website, acts as a middle-man between businesses and Eurasian employers.  It provides American and Eurasian-migrants with a job-seeking service that allows them to find safe and steady employment.

 

Immigrants, undocumented or otherwise, often face issues in employment such as suppressed and late wages, cruel and unsafe working conditions, and work-place discrimination. Many migrants who immigrate through temporary work visas often find themselves indebted by predatory recruitment fees, and then subject to cruel and exploitative policies once within the US, according to a report on the relationship between recruitment agencies and human trafficking by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

 

In the report, it reported that “In the United States, there were reports of temporary migrant workers who had to accept whatever living and working conditions were offered to them for fear that loss of employment would result in undocumented status and possible deportation. In addition, millions of undocumented foreign workers are estimated to work in the United States, many of whom incur significant debt in order to pay smugglers or coverrecruitment fees”

 

The EIWU and its founder. Fyodor Zharkov, claims to prevent this. The union works by consulting local businesses about the need for employees, and linking them with their network of jobseekers. He noted how some employers use their status to coerce migrants to commit criminal acts and get involved in organized crime. “If you don't have any plan or direction, you'll end probably somewhere wrong, somewhere you'd regret. I've had a lot of friends who later got involved in criminal activities and regretted it later.

 

“If you wanna build a house, you wanna make sure you'll build it strong against any flood.”

 

According to Mr. Zharkov, the union, over the past few months of its operations, it currently has garnered employment for around 100 people. The union also provides a basic medical insurance for its members, with plans to expand it further.

 

 

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Edited June 5, 2022 by Los Santos Daily News