Carmel Foster, the political pawn of Phil Ting, L. Gonzalez and the … · 29-06-2020 · Carmel Foster, the political pawn of Phil Ting, L. Gonzalez and the AB5 bill Jennifer Oliver

Carmel Foster, the politicalpawn of Phil Ting, L. Gonzalezand the AB5 billJennifer Oliver OConnell Jun 24, 2020

WASHINGTON: For Carmel Foster, her story isn’t just abouthaving an affair with married California legislator Phil Ting (D).Between 2017 and 2019, Foster felt she was becoming the victimof political puppetry. That her story was being used to promoteAB5 Gig Worker laws. That her relationship with Ting was beingmanipulated for other purposes.

Assemblyman Phil Ting’s purposes with Foster included rallyingher support for the Assembly Bill 2314: “Private Home DomesticWorker” legislation.

Ting, however, was not alone in his duplicity. Others were alsoused to manipulate Foster during a vulnerable time into becoming,as she puts it, California’s “poster child of domestic workers”.

Manipulated by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez and AB5supportive unions

Foster’s testimony for Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez’s AB5was stage-managed through the California Domestic WorkersCoalition (CADWC) under the umbrella of the National DomesticWorkers Alliance (NDWA), and the California Federation of Labor.

Foster says, the goal of AB5 was not to “help the actual worker”,

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but to “ultimately enrich these organizations.”

Related Read: Dubal and AB5: A Woman of Privilege dictatinghow Californians can work

On December 6, 2016, Ting was sworn in for his third term inthe California Assembly

After his re-election, Ting rose to the challenge of six committees,including Business and Professions, Legislative Budget (where heis Vice-Chair), and the Budget Committee, which he chairs. Theseare the very committees that would not only review but have thepower to push forward bills like AB2314, and AB5.

While Ting wrestled with his budget blueprint and postured withhis “Bowtie Caucus”, Foster was living in a homeless shelter. It isironic that as Ting’s paramour bounced in and out ofhomelessness, he chose to champion AB932, which would give


San Francisco flexibility to build homeless shelters and transitionalhousing for homeless residents.

Assemblymen’s “Bowtie Caucus”. Phillip Chen (R-55), whose image Ting used on theWYP dating site is to the left. Photo: CA-19 Assembly Website

“The funny part is, when I was in a homeless shelter that’sthe only time Phil did not contact me,” she said. “I was therefor maybe 2-3 months, maybe less. I didn’t come to Americato be in a homeless shelter. This is what the courts, thisjudge [the Family Law divorce judge Christine Carringer]wanted for me. I said, you know what? I’d rather go cleantoilets.” – Carmel Foster

Carmel Foster – willing to work to evade homelessness


Foster discovered the Handy app in early 2017. Handy was a newplatform where users could book cleaning services and handymanwork. She decided to become an independent contractor.

“So, I got onto the Handy app and started gaining clients,cleaning houses—this is when he started contacting meagain.”

While Foster enjoyed the flexibility Handy offered, she did not carefor the way the rating system dictated a sliding scale in her wages.That scale being dependent upon whether someone rated herwork high or low. She also didn’t like the fact that she could nottake her good reviews and ratings with her when she wished towork on other platforms, like Thumbtack and Uber.

It wasn’t long before she had already put the platforms aside andstarted focusing on other ways to market herself.

Carmel Foster becomes a spokesperson for the NationalDomestic Workers Alliance (NDWA)

Even though she had only worked for Handy for a short time, shewould end up testifying about her experience at an April 2019Labor Committee hearing in support of Asm. Gonzalez’s AB5.Foster says her testimony was scripted and crafted by the NDWA,and the fact that the testimony was printed on the organization’sletterhead appears to support this.


Read more at: California’s AB5 destroys women, minoritiesGonzalez claims to champion


There is also an email to Foster from Rocio Avila, Policy DirectorNDWA about said testimony. Note her intention to “approve”Foster’s testimony:

Before this, however, circumstances would maneuver Foster intowork for a private client, and lead to a resulting wage-theft claim.

Foster offered a position with the Constantino-Roelandts

In 2016, the Democratic National Committee contacted Foster outof the blue to work as a temporary field organizer on HillaryClinton’s presidential campaign. Then in May of 2017, Fosterreceived an email from Maria Constantino-Roelandts, the wife ofCEO, entrepreneur, and philanthropist William Roelandts.

In less than a year, Foster had received another serendipitous


offer seemingly from out of nowhere. The first being theinvitation to work on the Clinton campaign. The second to work forthe Roelandts.

Now retired, William Roelandts had built an 8,000-square-foothome in the Silicon Valley. Having been diagnosed withParkinson’s disease, Roelandts needed a caregiver and anassistant. Constantino-Roelandts also required a house cleanerand a cook.

“He sits on a board—many, many boards,” Foster said. “His


wife is Mexican, she is 20 years younger. When they hiredme, they owned a couple of foundations. The type offoundations they own, it’s mainly for Mexican children,Mexican girls, and runaways. The one that I know for sure iscalled Heritage Home. So, I go there, my job was to clean,cook, take him to doctor’s appointments, accompany themas an administrator to events, make dinners.”

Because of the Roelandts’ high profile, Foster had additionalduties of airport trips, managing the landscaping staff, and as acook for political guests.

Foster was at first happy to have a roof over her head and to bemaking a steady salary. However, she came to find irregularities inwhat was expected of her. She said she was required to work 13-hour days, and that Constantino-Roelandts would ask for her tochange focus or to be available after her work hours.

“I cried so much working there, I experienced so much.Working long hours, dealing with them calling me at all hoursof the night,” she said. “I wanted to leave, but I wasconcerned about what would happen to Mr. Roelandts.”

Meanwhile, Ting collected awards for Climate Champion from TheUtility Reform Network, and the Legislator of the Year from theCalifornia Federation of Teachers.


Foster says that Ting lent a sympathetic ear during her time with


the Roelandts, but did nothing to help alleviate her dilemma.

“He would always ask me questions that kind of forced me toanswer. I didn’t see this as a problem,” she said. “There’ssome form of bond, some form of closeness, whatever heasks me I always would tell him. So, he knew maybe morethan what he should have known. He knew about what mychallenges was with Maria, he knew about the abuse thatwas going on, he knew all that.”

Foster decided to do a Google search and happened upon theCalifornia Domestic Workers Coalition (CADWC). She filled out thecontact form requesting assistance with her situation.

California Domestic Workers’ Coalition: Astroturf instead ofgrassroots

CADWC is part of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA).Co-founded in 2007 by Ai-jen Poo, NDWA is an advocacyorganization for domestic workers, caregivers, and eldercareworkers.

While the organization appears “grassroots” to the untrained eye,according to Influence Watch, NDWA has heavy labor union ties:

“NDWA is funded by left-wing foundations and labor unions,including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU),the AFL-CIO, and the American Federation of State, County,and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).”

Influence Watch also says,

“NDWA has been associated with the so-called ‘Alt-Labor’https://www.commdiginews.com/politics-2/carmel-foster-t…ical-pawn-of-phil-ting-l-gonzalez-and-the-ab5-bill-130336/ 6/29/20, 11:02 AM

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movement, a network of informal organizing entities knownas “worker centers” which support the labor union agendaand have been identified by national labor unions as a path toreverse long-term declines in workforce unionization.”

So there appears to be a connection between what InfluenceWatch states are the goals of NDWA, and the intended goal ofAB5, which Asm. Gonzalez revealed from her personal Twitteraccount:


At the time, Foster was grasping for a lifeline, and CADWCappeared to be that. She soon received a reply from her onlineinquiry.

“A lady replied back: ‘I’m from California Domestic Worker’sCoalition and we’re going to help you! This is exactly what wedo! You have rights, you’re a domestic worker,’ ” Foster said.“ ‘We’re going to meet with our attorney tomorrow, we’regoing to get on this immediately.’ ”

Foster met with Sarah Leadem, then Director of RightsEnforcement and Education for CADWC, and Scott Hochberg thenof Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto. A workers’ rightsattorney, Hochberg was two years out of law school, fresh from


Harvard where he was awarded a Skadden Fellow so he couldpursue a career in worker’s rights.

According to Leadem’s Linked in profile, she cut her teeth first asan organizing intern, then, as an organizer and unionrepresentative from 2012-2015 for AFSCME Local 3299 in the BayArea.


Foster posited that Leadem and Hochberg told her she had a validwage-theft claim.

“They said, you were paid $5 an hour based on the pay stubsand the proof I gave them. They said I was basicallyexploited, and that the other people at Maria’s wereexploited too.”

They asked Foster for the names of these other people. “I toldthem, No, I won’t give out other people’s personal information!”

Leadem and Hochberg wanted her to take pictures of the


Roelandts’ office and home environment.

“I thought I had just explained!” she said. “This man hadbeen good to me, and I am worried about him, and now youwant me to breach his confidentiality? I’m not willing to dothat.”

Foster expressed that if she took this route, she would not have aplace to live.

Both Leadem and Hochberg stated she should not have to stay ata place where she was under duress; that it was against the lawfor the Roelandts to retaliate if she chose to leave.

Foster’s wage theft claim was filed on September 25, 2017, after itwas determined that she was owed $22,000 in back wages. Whileshe waited for the court proceedings to move forward, she tried tofind new lodgings and work running into obstacles on both fronts.

She lamented over this in an email to Leadem and Hochberg,asking for their assistance:


Foster said that Leadem then offered to put her up at her ownhome in Oakland. Foster was caught between a rock of wanting tohelp William Roelandts’, and a hard place of needing to be stableand free from the stressful environment. She decided to acceptLeadem’s offer.

The Unions Push Back


In an article in the California Globe referencing a past article,political journalist Katy Grimes also covered Foster’s assertionthat she stayed in the home of an employee of CADWC. Ms.Grimes alerted this writer that she received an email fromKimberly Alvarenga, Director at the organization, alleging that thisinformation was not accurate.

However, a text chain between Foster and Leadem showed thatLeadem did indeed make the offer and supplied Foster with herhome address. Foster claims she stayed with Leadem for four daysbetween October 31 and November 3, 2017, and after that period,Leadem arranged for Foster to stay at another location.


While Foster felt grateful for Leadem’s offer of lodging, she wasunaware that part of the price was sharing her story with Mexicandomestic workers.

“While I stayed with Sarah, she would keep taking me to aplace in the Mission District to talk to all these Mexicanillegal people,” Foster said. “She speaks in Spanish, I speakin English, and she would say, this is a lady who works for a


very high profile [client], she’s going to bring a case that isgoing to protect all of you!”

“I was happy to help because I was really worried about thehealth and welfare of other domestic workers,” Foster said.“I wanted to make sure that what happened to me wouldn’thappen to other immigrants. I always felt sad for thesewomen working in private homes.”

Foster’s passion and heart for domestic workers like herself madeher an attractive find to the CADWC’s umbrella organization: TheNational Domestic Worker’s Alliance (NDWA).

In April of 2018, Leadem introduced Foster to Tina Vu Pham,Gig Worker organizer for the national arm.

In Pham’s reply email, she wrote that she planned to arrange a callwith NDWA’s policy director Rocio Avila. Avila, along with CaitlinVega of the California Labor Federation would beinstrumental in using Foster’s story for the purposes ofgetting Asm. Gonzalez’s AB5 into law.


In Ms. Grimes’ California Globe article, she also mentions theCalifornia Labor Federation in relation to Foster’s place of lodging.Steve Smith, Communications Director for California LaborFederation corresponded with Ms. Grimes requesting she issue acorrection.

Ms. Grimes granted his request.

Correction: California Globe was told it was a lobbyist with theCalifornia Labor Federation Carmel Foster stayed with, but it wasactually a director with the California Domestic Workers Coalitionwho allowed Foster to stay with her. “She never stayed at theresidence of a Labor Federation lobbyist,” Steve Smith,Communications Director for CLF emailed. “We had absolutelynothing to do with preparing her for her testimony. Further, theonly time we met her was the morning of the hearing and had nocontact with her at any point after that.”


However, while Vega had no physical contact with Foster beforethe hearing, the below email shows that Vega did have emailcontact with Foster as early as August 11, 2018. Less than 9months before the April 3, 2019 Labor Committee hearing:

When Ms. Grimes forwarded the above information to Mr. Smith,he issued what might be considered a denial, but appeared toobfuscate the fact that Vega did have contact with Foster beforethe Labor Committee hearing. Ms. Grimes contacted this writer forthe above corroborating evidence; at my request, Ms. Grimesforwarded Mr. Smith’s reply to me:

There appears to be a concerted effort on the part of theCalifornia Labor Federation to distance themselves from


Asm. Ting, Foster, and the organization’s involvement inAB5.

When Vega, who sat next to Foster at the April 3 Labor hearingprepared to give her introductory remarks and introduce Foster,Vega said, “My name is Caitlin Vega of the California LaborFederation, proud to be a co-sponsor of this bill”. See timecode1:50:35.

Since Vega is no longer in the employ of the California LaborFederation and the organization looks as though it is trying to getas far from this scandal as possible, does this mean that CaliforniaLabor Federation is no longer proud to support the AB5 law? If so,millions of independent contractors and freelancers would rejoiceover a public renunciation. But we won’t be holding our breaths.

Dual Allegiances Revealed

It was in 2018 when Foster disclosed to Leadem that:

“I was sleeping with Phil Ting. I never knew she knew him. Iwas put right in the Lion’s den to tell you the truth.”


Sarah Leadem talks with keynote speaker Phil Ting at the California Domestic WorkersAlliance Rally Day in San Francisco, March 9, 2018. Photo: Carmel Foster

Foster said she had no idea that Sarah Leadem and Phil Ting kneweach other until she discovered this photo of Leadem introducingTing at a rally in support of SB2314.

It is one thing to enter into a sexual dalliance with one person. It isquite another to find out you’ve become the victim of a disinformation train. In Foster’s mind, it had become an agenda ofsex and political sport. So, she employed her own self-protectivemeasures, like preserving emails and texts. And recording phonecalls.


Part III of this series will reveal more details from thatpreservation.

This is the second article in a three-part investigative series. Readalso Part 1: Did CA Budget Chair Phil Ting use an extramarital affairto craft legislation?

Karen Anderson, Managing Editor, At Home Magazine, andcolumnist contributed to this article.

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Documents

Carmel Foster, the political pawn of Phil Ting, L. Gonzalez and the … · 29-06-2020 · Carmel Foster, the political pawn of Phil Ting, L. Gonzalez and the AB5 bill Jennifer Oliver