Labor group urges banning of ‘abusive’ American dentures-maker

MANILA, Philippines — One of the country’s largest labor groups urged the government on Saturday to blacklist an American dentures-maker for allegedly defrauding his Filipino workers of P50 million in wages.

Former senator Ernesto Herrera, secretary general of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, said American businessman Laurence Kevin Fishman and his products should be banned from the country for his alleged labor abuses.

He said Fishman hastily left the country without notice on Aug. 25 and abandoned his firm, Skytech International Dental Laboratories Inc., leaving his 416 workers with unpaid salaries and separation benefits. The company has its offices in Sta. Mesa, Manila.

“While we welcome foreign investors who build factories here that create badly needed jobs, government should not take lightly any violations of our labor laws and abuses against our workers,” Herrera said in a statement.

He said the government should immediately blacklist Fishman as “an undesirable alien” and compel him to settle his unpaid obligations to his workers.

“For starters, regulators should ban all products of Skytech’s parent firm, Trident Dental Laboratories, from entering the country,” Herrera said.

He also urged the Philippine Dental Association to boycott Trident products.

Before it closed shop, Skytech fabricated artificial teeth and associated parts for dental clinics and other overseas clients, Herrera said.

He said Skytech’s parent company, Trident Labs Inc., based in Hawthorne, California, and doing business as Trident Dental Laboratories with facilities in China and Vietnam, “appears to remain fully operational.”

Trident’s website is still up and running, and Fishman is still there as “CEO/owner,” with his welcome message to prospective clients and customers, Herrera noted.

He said Fishman’s profile on Trident’s website reads: “Laurence was introduced to dentistry through his father, Dr. Fishman, a practicing dentist. At the age of 18, he began working at a 50-man dental laboratory as a driver. Having a natural affinity for lab work, he started to learn the inner workings of a dental lab with an ‘over the shoulder’ technique; watching technicians fabricate cases.”
It added: “In 1988, he began to formulate ideas to improve logistics and efficiencies, which motivated him to open Trident Dental Laboratories at the age of 24.”

The Department of Labor and Employment is already trying to help the displaced Skytech workers. –Philip Tubeza, Philippine Daily Inquirer