지난 월요일에 산타클라라 카운티의 미팅 및 발표가 있을때 밖에서는 미용실 종사자들이 시위가 있었다는 짧은 소식을 같이 접했습니다.


"도대체 언제 오픈할 수 있는지 날짜를 알려달라."

- 미용실이 월마트보다 깨끗하다.
- 렌트비는 계속 내고 있다.
- 사람들은 다른 지역의 미용실을 방문한다.

시위를 이해할 수 있네요.



https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/06/29/santa-clara-county-hair-salon-owners-stylists-call-for-reopening-date/

Santa Clara County hair salon owners, stylists call for reopening date

Two dozen salon owners and stylists protested outside of the Santa Clara Public Health Department building

Salon owners and stylists in Santa Clara County are demanding that the county public health department tell them when they will be allowed to reopen their hair salons.

Two dozen salon owners and stylists protested outside of the Santa Clara Public Health Department building in San Jose on Monday afternoon, chanting, “End the wait! Give us a date!”

Unlike at other reopening protests, all of the protesters were wearing face masks and staying several feet apart from each other. The social distancing measures are key to their argument for reopening: The salon owners and stylists say that their businesses are safer than many that have already reopened, and that they’re willing to do whatever’s necessary to keep their workplaces safe and sanitary. They just want to get back to work.

“This is the new norm. Things will not go back to where they were,” said Erica Martin, a stylist at W’s Salon in San Jose. “And it is time that you let us prove to you that we can operate safely. Let us go back into our work environments and show you that we can follow the new guidelines, and that we will follow the new guidelines.”

Salons in Santa Clara County have been shuttered since March 16, when the county closed all “non-essential services” in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. In recent weeks, nearby counties — including Contra Costa and San Mateo — have allowed salons to reopen, but Santa Clara has set no date for when its salons will be allowed to resume business.

The salon owners and stylists protesting Monday are hoping that the date will be included as part of the county’s new health order, to be released later this week.

So far, Santa Clara County has reopened in-store shopping and takeout and outdoor dining, but not hair or nail salons. It’s a divide that the protesters look at with skepticism, arguing that their salons are already “cleaner than a Walmart.” They attribute that cleanliness to the client safety, disinfection and sanitation training required as part of the 1,600 hours of training necessary to become a licensed cosmetologist in the state of California.

If they reopen, the owners say, they’re also prepared to require stylists and customers to wear masks, check temperatures at the door and only serve one customer at a time. To demonstrate, one protester wearing an eye shield atop her face mask brought along a salon chair and sample reopening provisions: gloves, cleaning spray and a thermometer.

They also referenced a highly publicized case in Missouri, where opponents of reopening sounded the alarm after two hairstylists tested positive for COVID-19 after potentially exposing 140 clients. Ultimately, no new infections were linked to the salon.

“We are such a safe industry,” said Mary Hill, who owns Fabu Salon in Campbell. “It’s very confusing to us why we’re being singled out. It’s upside down because we’re really one of the cleaner industries.”

Without being able to reopen, the protesters say that their customers are crossing county lines to get their hair cut, and salons are struggling to stay afloat after months without business.

“My clients will only be loyal to me for so long, especially when they can go 20 minutes away to get their hair done,” said Martin.

She was able to get a loan from the Paycheck Protection Program, but she’s still dipping into her savings because she’s worried that the loan won’t be forgivable. If Santa Clara County doesn’t reopen soon, she says, she may have to follow her customers to San Mateo.

“I’ve been at my salon for over 15 years; I’ve been very loyal to the owner and I would not want to have to do that,” Martin said. “But if he can’t keep the doors open in the long run, he can’t even pay the lease to continue servicing, then I will have to seek that option.”

For now, even though salons’ doors are closed, they still have to pay the rent.
Laure Chicoine, owner of the Nirvana Aveda Concept Salon in Los Gatos, has had to reschedule months of appointments. She told protest attendees she’s had to furlough her employees in order to make rent, which her landlord hasn’t reduced.

But, she said, she isn’t charging rent to the stylists that rent space at her location. The other protesters cheered.

One called out: “You pulled through. How about the county pulling through now!”

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