Kathy Pham was just 18 years old when she came to San Rafael, California from Vietnam in 1989. To make a living, she entered the industry that many first- and second-generation Vietnamese women in California sought out: nail salons.
Nail work doesn’t pay well, and comes with many problems such as long work hours, exposure to toxic chemicals, and some rude customers, but Kathy still sticks with it.
Kathy, a single mother, works 7 days a week to support herself and her 3 children.
`I can’t do anything now,` she said.
Vietnamese nail technicians protested to reopen nail salons in Westminster, California on June 8.
Kathy has been unemployed for more than 5 months, and since the CARES Act expired on July 25, her unemployment benefits have dropped to only $100/week, barely enough to live on.
Nail salon closures and lost income are especially difficult for women like Kathy, who are the `backbone` of the nail industry.
The nail industry is especially important to the livelihoods of the Vietnamese community in California, where 39% of Vietnamese immigrants in the US live, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
`The economic burden of the shutdown order falls largely on women and people of color,` congressman Ash Kalra wrote in a letter to state Governor Gavin Newsom on August 28.
Ms. Karla called on the state of California to reopen nail salons safely and review the state’s current regulations, which require nail salons to only operate indoors in counties with low nCoV infection rates.
Salon owners and employees say outdoor nail salons require conditions that most establishments cannot meet.
The above regulations apply to other personal care services such as hair removal, as well as fitness centers, restaurants, and places of worship.
Nail industry campaigners say this is unfair, claiming nail technicians are some of the most hygienically trained workers in the service sector.
`We demand a safe opening indoors. We demand an immediate opening,` said Tam Nguyen, co-founder of Nailing It for America, the group that organized the protest in June.
Nail salons are not included in the state’s reopening plan, even though hair salons are licensed to operate.
`It’s very confusing and heartbreaking,` Tam Nguyen said, especially after the nail community came together to donate more than 1.2 million personal protective equipment to medical workers in April.
Vietnamese nail technicians also felt frustrated when Governor Newsom gave unsubstantiated information that the first case of community transmission of Covid-19 in California occurred in a nail salon.
`It’s heartbreaking for an industry when he makes a statement like that without providing any clear data, without any clear scientific evidence. It shakes customer confidence,` Tam Nguyen said.
Staff measure the body temperature of customers at Captivate Nail & Spa in Fullerton, California, on June 19.
Much of California is under the strictest restrictions, including Orange, Santa Clara and Los Angeles counties, home to the state’s three largest Vietnamese communities, forcing most nail salons to close.
Kathy is among the 91% of nail technicians who have applied for unemployment benefits during the pandemic, according to the UCLA and CHNSC survey.
Kathy hopes she can earn an income again soon, but the risks still weigh heavily: `I’m scared to go back to work. I want money to pay bills, rent, food, everything. I want
Winnie Kao, general counsel at the nonprofit Asia Law Caucus, said health and safety remain major concerns for nail salon workers.
75% of nail technicians had their income reduced to less than $600/week before Covid-19, lower than the unemployment wage under the expired CARES Act.
Kathy fears that the service industry in which she trained all her skills will never fully recover.
`This industry will never be the same,` Kathy said, adding that she doesn’t know what else she’ll do for a living.