Union Labor News
Madison, Wisconsin
October 2004
Nearing its second anniversary, the Workers' Rights Center is celebrating some solid victories having collected $35,000 in wage claims for low-wage and immigrant workers in the Madison area.
Just recently, one worker received a $9,000 settlement for unpaid overtime with assistance from the Workers' Rights Center, and another won a year's back wages because her employer violated the Family Medical Leave Act.
A project of the Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice, the Workers' Rights Center holds regular walk-in hours at its Villager Mall office at 2300 S. Park St., where it provides advocacy and educational resources for low-wage workers experiencing problems in the workplace.
"The number one problem we see, one-third of our caseload, is dealing with non-payment of wages," says ICWJ Director Sarah Shatz. The ICWJ is also working with the Dane County District Attorney to get prosecution of employers in the most egregious cases and better access for workers to small claims court.
Shatz spoke recently at a special meeting of the South Central Federation of Labor at the new Overture Center, September 20. The occasion was labor's United Way campaign kick-off which featured United Way-funded projects including the Workers' Rights Center.
Shatz told how Juana Garcia (not her real name) came for help after being wrongfully fired for taking time off to deal with an extended illness. "After determining that this was a violation of the Family Medical Leave Act, we connected her with a union that organizes workers in her industry, who in turn helped her get legal representation."
A solution for one is a solution for all
Garcia's claim was successfully resolved, said Shatz, and so that others like her will get fair treatment in the future, both Garcia and the ICWJ hope to help with an upcoming union organizing drive.
In another recent success, a dishwasher who learned that his employer had cheated him out of overtime pay over a four year period also won a large back-pay settlement.
"Because his co-workers now know about the overtime laws, they are ready to assert their rights if the employer violates overtime laws again," said Shatz.
"We discussed filing with the Department of Workforce Development and then contacted the employer to see if we could work things out informally," Claudio Selva told Union Labor News. Selva, an immigrant from Nicaragua who works as an engineer in Madison, has been a volunteer at the Center since it opened almost two years ago.
With the assistance of Vicky Selkowe from the Economic Justice Institute, Selva was able to mediate a settlement to get the worker the nearly $9,000 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."
Selva said that by showing respect for both sides, the mediation succeeded, although it took several months of difficult negotiations. "The employer understood that it was to his advantage to settle, rather than to go through a difficult legal process," Selva said. "We preferred to have a settlement that lets the employer feel satisfied as well."
"This is the kind of assistance that volunteer advocates at the Workers' Rights Center are giving to people everyday," said Shatz. "Empowering low-income workers with information and support so that they can demand fair treatment and full compensation for their work."
In a typical day at the WRC, one might meet clergy seeking help for a congregation member, Spanish-speaking volunteers conducting interviews, union organizers consulting with staff, or workshops being planned for low-wage and immigrant workers.
"Every day, we work with workers--dishwashers, landscapers, janitors and assembly line workers, for whom working in a unionized workplace is just a dream," says Shatz. "These are almost always low-wage workers, without health care or benefits, who live in fear because they can be fired at-will."
"None of the success or campaigns we have worked on would have been possible with our volunteers, and people who support the ICWJ through United Way of Dane County."