|
|
September 2004 NewsletterIN THIS ISSUE
A Word from the Director A Word from the Director Greetings and as we approach the celebrations of the Jewish New Year, I wish
you all a healthy, happy, and sweet New Year.
l'Shanah Tovah u'Mitukah! The work of the ICWJ has been fast paced in the last four months.
Thank you all for your volunteer time and financial support. Without
you, the ICWJ would not be able to accomplish all that it has.
Of course, the work of the ICWJ always needs more support, especially
financially! If you are due to
renew your membership, please go to renew
your membership.
Remember that we are also a fully participating agency with United Way of
Dane County and participate in all their campaigns.
You can download a flyer to remind your co-workers and post in your
newsletters. United
Way flyer Thank you in advance! Remember to mark your calendars for our general membership
meeting on
October 4th from 7:00p.m.-9:00 p.m. at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 605
Spruce Street. This meeting will
highlight the Justice for Janitors Campaign with SEIU Local 1 and how we all can
help. As I mentioned, it has been a busy summer. Here are just a few of the highlights... Summer Intern Campaign for Prosecution for Unpaid
Wages
Grosse, Worker Council Member and staff attorney
with the Economic Justice Institute Victoria Selkowe, and I all met with representatives from the Department of Workforce Development
and Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard regarding the failure to
prosecute unpaid wages in Dane County.
Read more below... Cintas Workers’ Rights Center Workers from the Center have participated in the minimum wage campaign, Cintas campaign, unpaid wage enforcement campaign, and in the day-to-day work of the ICWJ. Read about some big settlements won by the Workers' Rights Center in Spotlight on the Workers' Rights Center! We sponsored
a Workers’ Rights
Training in which 30 low-wage workers attended.
This quarter we highlighted violations of minimum wage and overtime laws.
Workers learned about their rights, as well as ways to volunteer with the
ICWJ. It's been a busy summer and it is shaping up to be a busy Fall. Come to the membership meeting to find out how to plug in or give us a call at 608-255-0376 to find out how you can help! I hope you find this newsletter interesting and informative. We'd love your feedback at staff@workerjustice.org Sarah Shatz Wage Claim Enforcement In the Spring of 2003, the Workers' Rights Center Legal Committee met to discuss how to respond to a disturbing allegation. Unpaid wage claims that were investigated by the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) and referred to the Dane County DA's office were not being prosecuted. The majority of workers who come into the Workers' Rights Center are there because of unpaid wages. When the DWD finds that a worker is owed money this finding is supposed to be enforced by the District Attorney. The Committee quickly arranged a meeting with DA Brian Blanchard to discuss the situation. Juliet Brodie and Vicky Selkowe from the Neighborhood Law Project (NLP) and Sarah Shatz and Jonathan Rosenblum from the ICWJ attended. Blanchard explained his office's limited resources and prioritization of other criminal matters. He wanted claimants to pursue their claims in small claims court or work with non-profits like NLP. He did agree to have an assistant district attorney (ADA) meet with Selkowe to discuss resolving the backlog. There were meetings through the summer to try to set up a system that would prioritize cases for the DA to pursue and other cases that would be referred to other organizations. But in late July the ADA that Selkowe was working with left the office and soon after Blanchard issued a letter saying that his office "lacks the resources to file and prosecute actions for collections of wage complaints," and that they would refer "qualifying claimants" to NLP. In August 2003, advocates from the Workers' Rights Center met with representatives from the DWD to discuss wage claim enforcement. DWD Secretary Roberta Gassman send a letter to Blanchard expressing displeasure with Blanchard's position. In December a story in the Wisconsin State Journal highlighted the lack of enforcement of wage claims by the DA's office. (See link below) Blanchard continued to dig in his heels and plead lack of funds and other priorities. Sarah Shatz made contact with the County Executive's office to discuss possible solutions at the county level. Advocates began researching how other counties were dealing with the same issues. Advocate Carol Bracewell took a lead on keeping the campaign moving and pulling together the information to find a workable solution. In July 2004, the ICWJ Board sent a letter to Blanchard demanding that he commit to prosecuting repeat offenders and cases effecting multiple employees as well as working with the ICWJ to find a solution that would result in claims being enforced. In August 2004, Blanchard failed to receive the Labor endorsement from the SCFL COPE committee because of his stance on wage claim enforcement. This was followed by an article in the Isthmus highlighting the controversy. Soon after Blanchard agreed to meet to discuss the situation. ICWJ volunteers Carol
Bracewell and Lori Corbari, local faith leader Reverend Pat Size, Board Members
Reverend Kelly Crocker and Joan Grosse, Worker Council Member and staff attorney
with the Economic Justice Institute Victoria Selkowe, and Sarah Shatz met with representatives from the Department of Workforce Development
and Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard regarding the failure to
prosecute unpaid wages in Dane County. Coming out of the meeting the group
agreed to the following action items: Responsible: Micabil Diaz Date: ASAP 2. Improve communication with low-wage workers about their case once there has been an investigation at DWD. Bi-lingual information to include information on small claims court, fee waivers, or the DA if it is an appropriate referral. Responsible: Jim Chiolino, Sarah Shatz, Victoria Selkowe-
Co-Draft Letter, Micabil Diaz-translation Date: ASAP 3. Improve communication, outreach, and service to low-wage workers at small claims court. Front-line training with staff at small claims and court commissioners on particular needs of mono-lingual cases. Responsible: Micabil
Diaz and Jim Chiolino Date: Within
the next 3 months 4. Improve communication between the DWD and the D.A. regarding cases that have a criminal or fraudulent aspect. Responsible: Timara
Budack identifies these cases and forwards them to the D.A.’s office.
Date: Current Responsible: Brian
Blanchard will communicate with the DWD regarding the referred cases, so that
the DWD may communicate with the workers regarding options for their cases. Date: Current 5. Improve public awareness and set examples by publicizing meritorious cases. Responsible: D.A.,
ICWJ, DWD Date: When
appropriate 6. Investigate the possibility and advocate for the corporation counsel taking these cases. This is a long-term solution to this problem. Responsible: D.A.
will take the lead on this. ICWJ
will support these efforts. Date: ASAP The ICWJ will continue to work to assure that workers have a viable and accessible method to collect the wages they have earned. As State and County budgets continue to tighten the problems of enforcement will increase. link to article
'I
am a fan of bumperstickers. My friends, and perhaps some of you, know my car is
covered with them. I don't expect them to change the world, but if they make
people think for a moment, that's fine, and I've never been hesitant to share my
opinions. If
I could only have one bumpersticker, I'd have this one: "If you're not
outraged, you're not paying attention." "Paying attention" means
putting forth a little bit of effort to find out what's happening beyond the
network news and the local daily paper. There are a lot of independent
newspapers, magazines, and web sites available, so that if you want to know
what's going on in South America, or South Madison, you can find out if you're
willing to pay attention. So that bumpersticker is for everyone.
I
have another bumpersticker that says "How would Jesus drive?" Would
Jesus be tailgating me like that? Would Jesus be passing me on the right at 10
over? I know not everyone driving is a church-going Christian, so that
bumpersticker isn't for everyone, but if it just encourages one person to drive
like we're neighbors, it's worth the two bucks. There
is one more bumpersticker I saw somewhere that I want for my car... it says.
"The Labor Movement: The folks who brought you the weekend." I like
that one a lot. I know that union folks are an even smaller subset of the
population than Christians who drive like Jesus would, but that bumpersticker
isn't just for union supporters. It's for anyone who has
a job or wants
a job, or is retiring
from a job. Of
all my bumperstickers, I think that one has the greatest potential to make
someone think. The concept of the weekend as 2 days a week we don't go to work,
is a relatively new concept. If you were a laborer during the 1800s or early
1900s, you were probably working 6 or even 7 days a week, not 5, and they were
likely 10 or 12 hours days, not 8. And
it's not just the weekend that has changed for laborers. Many of you have seen
the classic black and white photographs by Lewis Hine of immigrant children,
slaving in textile factories under inhumane conditions, around the turn of the
last century. Today's Child Labor Laws are meant to prevent that tragedy. And
of course we have OSHA laws to protect workers from dangerous equipment. And we
have laws about overtime, or at least we did until last
week.
Workers rights have come a long way because of the tireless efforts of workers
to organize for change. So we have reasons to celebrate Labor Day. As
long as I'm talking historically, I'll tell you a story about the first recorded
public employee walkout. A
man had travelled far from his home, but he felt a call to return to where he
had come from, to organize severely oppressed workers at home. He and his
brother contacted government officials to try to begin negotiations. The demands
at first were simple - some time off to worship for the public employees. The
government negotiators, when they heard the demands, tightened
down
on the workers, upping the piece rate quotas, and demanding that the workers
find their own supplies. Finally, after a series of increasingly disruptive job
actions, the government negotiators gave in to the workers' demands for time
off, virtually chasing the workers off the job sites. A little while later,
however, they had second thoughts and sent out goons to round up the workers, in
fact they sent out the national guard and the army after them. You all know how
the story ends... The workers were caught between the Army and the Red Sea, and
the great labor leader, Moses, parted the Red Sea and lead the workers to
safety. OK,
so perhaps I took liberties with the story but it's not that
far off.
But I want to call to your attention the deep connections between faith and
Labor. God called Moses to liberate the Hebrews who were living as slaves. Why?
Throughout the Bible, God says many times "I have heard their cry" and
"You should treat the less fortunate well, because remember, you were
slaves in Egypt, and I liberated you." The
Bible has many lessons about wages, paying workers, and treating workers fairly.
Moses is pretty clear in Deuteronomy when he is laying down God's laws. He says
"You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers. You shall pay
them their wages because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them;
otherwise they might cry to the LORD against you, and you would incur...
GUILT." Notice
he doesn't list some other tangible penalty. No fine for not paying workers, no
jail time, just good Old Testament Guilt. Remember that, because I'll come back
to it. If
you think you can kick back and relax on Labor Day knowing that all these worker
woes have been solved, think again. When Lewis Hine photographed immigrants in
horrible working conditions in the 1910s, I wonder if he imagined that nearly
100 years later, immigrant workers would face very similar circumstances in
America. Now
the immigrants are more likely from Mexico and Central America than from Ireland
or Eastern Europe. And back then anyone who could get boat fare here could
pretty much just walk in the door at Ellis Island, and we know that's no longer
true. But the work is still dangerous, the hours long, and while back then,
there were few labor laws to
be violated,
today there are
such laws, and they are
being violated. Chicken
packing factories in the south are notorious for increasing line rates for
workers, who end up cutting off fingers or getting arms smashed in machines.
Yes, there are actually garment sweatshops in Los Angeles where mostly immigrant
Asian women are literally locked
in for
hours and live virtually
enslaved
by their human traffickers, who tell them they have to work-off the cost of
smuggling them into this country. And
right here in Madison we have labor and wage problems. Here is a true story. A
construction worker fell from a height and was injured at a construction site
here in Madison. The employers drove him home
to change into clean clothes, before
driving him to the hospital where they dropped him off... and told him,
"Say you were injured at home, working on the house, and we'll pay for your
medical care... if you say you were injured on the job, we won't pay for
it." In fact the law says the opposite. If a worker is injured on the job,
the employer must fill out an injury form and the workers' medical treatment
should be paid for by the employer's insurance. This Madison worker has suffered
a permanent disability, is unable to work construction, and has no health
insurance. He was disposable to his employer and he has been disposed of. I
know this story because I am a volunteer at the Workers Rights Center on South
Park Street. The Workers Rights Center is a project of the Interfaith Coalition
for Worker Justice, the ICWJ. Our local ICWJ is one chapter in a national
organization. I'm in the pulpit today as part of a national Labor in the Pulpits
campaign. Labor unions participate in the ICWJ, as
do houses of worship, Christian, Muslim, and Jewish. The
ICWJ Workers Centers reaches out to low-wage workers, to teach them their rights
as workers, to advocate on their behalf, and to help them ultimately to organize
and run the workers centers themselves. Anyone is free to make an appointment at
the workers center and there is no fee for our help. Some of our cases are about
workplace injury. The majority are about unpaid wages. So
what do we do for these workers? Sometimes
we refer them to attorneys, such as in injury cases, because lawyers will take
workers comp cases. For
those with unpaid wages, it's a pretty straightforward process. We help the
worker try to document the hours worked and what they are owed. We call the
employer to see if it's just a misunderstanding. Sometimes it is, and the
workers get paid. Most of the time we help the worker file a claim form with the
Department of Workforce Development, the DWD. The DWD has investigators who will
write to the employer, request payment records, and it often goes back and forth
in disagreement. Generally it takes 75
days
for the DWD to come to a conclusion, again, all the while the worker has not
been paid. Two
and a half months. Often the upaid workers are facing eviction because missing 2
weeks pay means not making rent. The DWD is successful a lot of the time, many
employers do not want trouble with the government. If an employer ultimately
refuses to pay, the DWD forwards the case to the county district attorney who,
under state law, shall investigate and prosecute these cases. Now
let's stop and think a minute. If you are an employer and a worker steals $500
from the cash register, that's clearly a crime, they'd be arrested and put in
jail. If, however, you are the worker, and the employer "steals" $500
from you, by not paying you, which is as good as snatching it from your wallet,
is it a crime? Well, yes and no. The worker has to use civil law system to file
a claim, wait for DWD, and if DWD ultimately finds in the employees favor,
great, but the DWD has no enforcement authority. All they can do if the company
won't pay, is forward the case to the county district attorney. Those
of you who were Paying Attention and read the Isthmus newspaper last week will
know that the Dane County DA has said he will not prosecute wage claims. Will
not? No time or money to do so. OK, maybe if they are flashy cases with big
dollar amounts or maybe a dozen workers at one company, but those somehow don't
come along very often. So you remember when I read you Moses said "You
shall pay them their wages
because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them; otherwise
they might cry to the LORD against you, and you would incur... GUILT."
Well, that's pretty much as it today. I fear that the inaction of the DA has
sent a clear message to employers that even if they are wrong in the eyes of the
DWD, no prosecution will happen because the DA has real
crimes
to pursue. It's
true that county budgets are tight, but, to quote a certain vice presidential
candidate, it sounds like 2 Americas. Employers who have access to criminal law,
and employees who can't even get the civil laws to work for them. The good news
is.... as a result of the efforts of the Worker Center, and that newspaper
article, we finally got a meeting with the DA this Thursday. And if any of you
are so inclined, a letter to the editor of the Isthmus would be much
appreciated!!! Of
course, his isn't the only example of injustice to workers.... there are many
more stories to tell. It's important to hear the individual stories, to put a
real human face on the statistics. But it's also important to look at the big
picture. We've all benefited greatly from the improved quality of working
conditions in this country, but the laws protecting workers are being eroded and
those not
being eroded are not
being enforced. Don't
think just because your hands are not callused and you don't work construction,
that you're safe. White collar workers today are starting
to understand
what it feels
like
to be disposable, as tech jobs are shifted overseas. Professional unions of
pilots and engineers are realizing that their pension program evaporates when
their company "restructures" under new bankruptcy rules. I think, if
you're paying attention, you'll see that in our current society, labor in all
forms is simply not valued and not honored and not protected, and that goes
against our Judeo-Christian tradition. So
of course the question is What can I do to change this? In the local picture,
you can of course support the Worker Center, by pledging your money or your time
by volunteering. You can write a letter to the editor about enforcing wage laws,
and consider how you vote in the county races in November, and in the national
elections. You might ask the newspaper why there is always a Business Page, and
not a Labor Page. And
if you are in a position of management and you make decisions about employees or
profits, ask yourself what Moses would do, what Jesus would do.... to honor
workers, to protect workers, to pay a living wage to workers. And when you are
relaxing on Labor Day, look at all the people who will be working
on that holiday, those clearing your dishes in the restaurants, and scrubbing
the floors. You expect stores to be open, but you certainly don't expect to work
your salaried job. Until
we learn to identify directly
with those who are marginalized, whether as immigrants or as disposable low-wage
workers, we will struggle to get up off the couch and come to their aide.
Honestly?... one of the reasons I come to church on Sunday is for that kick in
the pants, to be reminded that there are injustices out there and that Jesus,
Moses, and other prophets said in many different ways, help those less
fortunate, help your neighbor, and help the stranger. For me, that's the real
test of living out the Christian life from Monday through Saturday. A
former pastor said to me "Can you
see Jesus
in the faces of the poor?" And to that I would add "Can you see
yourself?" Madison's New Minimum Wage
on raising the minimum wage. Three spoke publicly and all registered in
support of the ordinance. A
broad range of ICWJ volunteers, low-wage workers, and faith leaders contacted their alders about the
ordinance (See sidebar letter.) The ICWJ will work to spread the word to Employers and Employees about the stepped increase which begins on January 1, 2005. Download a flyer prepared by the Madison Equal Opportunity Commission that explains Madison's new Minimum Wage Ordinance in English or Spanish. Link to Madison
Ordinance
“We’re glad that the city responded to our concerns, “ said Patrick Hickey, ICWJ board member. “Cintas is the exact opposite of the type of company with which Madison should be doing business.” Cintas, a Cincinnati-based company that is the largest industrial launderer in North America, had originally been selected by a city purchasing committee to receive the contract to supply and clean uniforms for Madison Metro and other city agencies. It came under scrutiny, however, after admitting at the July 12th board meeting that under the company’s service agreement with the city Parking Utility signed in 2001, Cintas paid its workers $8.25/hour, far below the $9.74 living wage required for employees of firms providing more than $5,000 in services to the city. The board's decision to reject Cintas "puts everybody who does business with the city on notice that the living wage is important," but also means the city must carefully apply the law, said Melanie Conklin, spokeswoman for Mayor Dave Cieslewicz. Cintas maintained that it had committed no wrongdoing, as the Parking Utility contract did not mention the required living wage. City officials acknowledged that they had failed to inform Cintas of the ordinance when the contract was first signed. Yet when asked by the board whether the company had raised it employee’s salaries since it had been informed of the living wage law, Cintas manager Greg Kaldor replied, “no…we were never explicitly told we needed to change anything.” Council members expressed concern that the living wage policy was not being implemented as intended when the City Council approved the ordinance in 1999. Referring to city staff’s advice that Cintas could comply with the law by increasing wages a mere two cents, council president Brenda Konkel, the alder who most forcefully opposed Cintas, commented, “This is not how the ordinance was supposed to work." This is the first time since the ordinance’s passage that a company had been challenged for failing to comply, and both alders and activists recommended reforms to ensure enforcement of the law. “Madison made a commitment to only deal with companies that treat their workers right,” said Tony Schultz of the Student Labor Action Coalition. “But this whole Cintas thing shows that right now there’s no teeth to the living wage. Neither the company nor the city is held accountable.” Besides the living wage violations, Cintas also came under fire for allegations of other questionable practices. According to South Central Federation of Labor President Jim Cavanaugh, Cintas workers face “poverty wages, unsafe working conditions, racial and sexual discrimination, and anti-union intimidation” across the U.S. A former Cintas worker contacted by the ICWJ Workers’ Rights Center wrote a letter to the Board that spoke of the racism he experienced at the Madison plant: “The managers treated the Latinos with no respect; often they made fun of us and called us names. They gave the better jobs to the Americans and the Asians, and worst jobs--the dirtiest ones with the lowest pay--they gave to us, the Latinos.” Criticism against Cintas was not limited to job conditions: in May of this year, the Sierra Club of Milwaukee reached a settlement with Cintas over alleged violations of the Clean Water Act by dumping polluted wastewater and laundry chemicals. Deciding to take the unionized Aramark over the non-union Cintas was made easier by the fact that Aramark actually put in a cheaper bid and would save Madison taxpayers over $3000/year. As Alder Tim Bruer put it, "This is one of those times where social and economic justice is in line with fiscal responsibility." Despite all of the charges against Cintas that continued to emerge, the Board delayed taking any action on the contract at three consecutive meetings citing legal concerns. It was only until the August 2nd meeting, when 15 people registered against awarding Cintas the contract and many more had called or written their alders, did the council members bring forward a motion to be voted on. John Bayley, a Madison Metro bus driver and member of Teamsters Local 695 contacted by ICWJ volunteers, gave one of the more powerful testimonies when he read a letter expressing Metro drivers’ desire to not wear Cintas uniforms. The letter, signed by almost 50 Metro employees in only one day, stated their “support for living wages for all workers, union and nonunion.” After hearing testimony and having a closed session with the city attorney, the Board voted unanimously to drop Cintas in favor of Aramark for the new contract. For Bayley, the victory “showed how much more strength we can have when we’re united… I don’t feel that same spirit of solidarity in the labor movement very much anymore—it was exciting to see so many different groups working together on this.” Some have claimed that given Aramark’s own anti-labor reputation elsewhere, Madison gave the contract to a company no better than Cintas. Rosie Reml, president of UNITE HERE 229, which represents around 100 workers at Aramark, responded to this sentiment by commenting that although “Aramark is far from a model employer around the country, at least here in Madison we have a union shop, so we have better wages and benefits and a say on the job. Added the ICWJ’s Patrick Hickey, “This wasn’t about Cintas vs. Aramark. This was about whether the city of Madison stands up for workers who earn a living wage and have a voice on the job . In this case, Madison made the right decision and took the workers’ side.”
Lands' End Update An article in April's newsletter detailed the ongoing struggle for workers at Just Garments to fight union-busting. The ICWJ worked closely with the Workers' Rights Consortium, Madison Arcatao Sister City Project, the Student Labor Action Coalition and others to apply local pressure on Wisconsin-based Lands' End to address the problems faced by workers at Just Garments. (From Just Garments Website) Just Garments is contracting the STIT-affiliated workers who lost their jobs in April 2002 and were subsequently blacklisted from obtaining employment in other factories. (The Worker's Rights Consortium released a report about the blacklisting with regards to a factory in El Salvador that sews for “Lands End”). Just Garments has been financed by the Taiwanese corporation “Tainan Enterprises”. Tainan 's April 2002 closing of its Salvadoran operations led to a series of events which culminated in the corporation assuming responsibility for its actions with regards to the workers. JUST GARMENTS is fruit of the resistance of Salvadoran workers and the efforts of many people around the world. Never has a business in Central America that shut down operations when collective bargaining was solicited been able to reopen again. Just Garments has the current capacity to employee 300 people and began producing in January 2004. Once all of the legal paperwork is in order, STIT and Just Garments will sign a collective contract as per the November 2002 agreement. Companies such as the GAP and Phillip Van Heusen have offered to place orders with Just Garments. The Lands End company has provided technical support and has donated fabric and machines. Tainan Enterprises has provided the majority of the necessary capital and machines so that this company is possible by way of Mr. Donald Wu, the majority shareholder.
In this issue we want to mention two spectacular settlements that our volunteer advocates and community allies have won. On a Thursday night in May, volunteer advocate Claudio Selva came in for his usual shift to meet with workers who were having problems on the job. That night Claudio met with a worker who had been fired from a restaurant that he/she had been at for many years. Because the employee was 'at will' winning the job back was not an option, but in their discussion it came out that the worker had put in overtime for years but never received overtime pay. Claudio asked the worker to calculate the hours he/she had worked. Fortunately, the worker had kept scrupulous records, including copies of punch cards and check stubs. "We discussed filing with the Department of Workforce Development and then contacted the Employer to see if we could work things out informally," Said Selva. With the assistance of Vicky Selkowe Staff Attorney with the Economic Justice Institute, they were able to mediate a settlement to get the worker the nearly $9000 in unpaid overtime. "Mediation is often the best way to go especially when the facts of the case are so clear," said Selkowe. "Talking directly to the Employer can often get things resolved much more quickly than relying solely on State enforcement." "This is the kind of assistance that volunteer advocates at the Workers' Rights Center are giving to people everyday," said Director Sarah Shatz. " Empowering low-income workers with information and support so that they can demand fair treatment and full compensation for their work." In another case that began at the Workers' Rights Center, advocate Martin Alvarado met with a worker at an area laundry who had been fired after taking a leave that should have been covered by the Family Medical Leave Act. The ICWJ teamed up with UNITE HERE which represents laundry workers nationally to line up legal representation for the worker who filed a Family Medical Leave Act violation. The worker was reinstated, and received a full year of back pay. "There
are laws on the books that protect workers," said Board member Ann McNeary.
"But they aren't always followed. the Workers' Rights Center plays a
crucial role in helping educate and advocate for workers."
Newsletter Archive |
|
| For assistance with the website contact director@workerjustice.org |