Wisconsin State Journal

HELPING EMPLOYERS HELP WORKERS MADISON CENTER EXPLAINS EMPLOYEES' RIGHTS

Date: Sunday, March 16, 2003
Section: BUSINESS, Edition: ALL, Page: C1

Byline: Jason Stein

For the State Journal Among the clients at Madison's new Workers' Rights Center, a surprising group has been showing up -- employers. Since the center opened last November, most clients have been what the staff here expected -- low-wage workers, mostly Latino immigrants, who come with problems ranging from a misplaced paycheck to on-the-job discrimination.

But one in six clients has been a business needing help with employees, said director Sarah Shatz. Responding to businesses, Shatz said, is becoming part of the center's overall goal -- protecting the rights of those who work for low wages. Madison's Ultratec, a maker of specialty telephones, used the center to provide its Spanish-speaking employees with materials in their native language. Buffy Kubicek, a human resources director, said documents from the center saved Ultratec time and money. "It was nice, because it didn't cost us anything," Kubicek said, "It would be helpful if employers knew that the (center) could help both" employees and businesses.

In addition to improving communications, Shatz said the center gives advice on tricky questions, such as what to do if the government can't match an employee's name and Social Security number. "We have a lot of information -- both for employees and employers -- about what they should and shouldn't do, and we have that in Spanish and English," Shatz said. Dealing with immigrant questions is a growing challenge for employers such as restaurants. Sara Stinski, a spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Restaurant Association, said members often ask how to check a worker's immigration status. Employers worry about following the law but also about firing reliable workers, she said. "(Owners) don't want to lose a good employee," Stinski said. "That's where I can see this center could really come in handy." The center was formed through a partnership of local labor and religious groups called the Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice. Run on donations from these groups and a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, the center at 2300 South Park St. has English and Spanish-speaking volunteers who counsel workers on their rights and tell them how to assert them.

In its first two months, Shatz said, the center has recovered some $4,000 in unpaid wages for workers and helped nine workers keep their jobs by explaining to employers how they should handle Social Security numbers that don't match. If a worker hasn't been paid, "a lot of time it's a communication thing," Shatz said. "Sometimes it's a very simple call to the Human Resources person and they say, You know, you're right. I'll cut them a check.' At first we work as informally as possible. Then if there's a discrepancy between the employer and the worker's (stories), we'll fill out a Wage and Hour complaint" with the state. Having such support, the restaurant group's Stinski said, is a real help to workers who are struggling to understand their employer. "It's having a place to go that they trust," she said.

A recent client at the center agreed. Fidadelfo Juarez, a Guatemalan refugee, felt he had been forced out of his factory job because his right leg ends not in flesh and bone, but in a plastic prosthesis. He wondered if he lost his job because of discrimination. At a workers' center training session, Juarez looked up from his handouts when a speaker began explaining the rights of disabled employees. He stared at her intently, hearing for the first time, after six years of living and working in the United States, the laws that applied to him. "It's everything you don't know," he said later. "Imagine someone coming from another country, explaining to him that yes, there are solutions."

Shatz said the workers' center would continue reaching out to employees, employers and government agencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. For example, the center recently pledged to work with OSHA to promote safe conditions for immigrant workers. In forming these partnerships, Shatz said she is looking to follow the recent success of a similar center in Chicago. According to its director, Jose Oliva, a complaint from his center set off a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit against a group of Chicago-area restaurants. Facing claims they had not paid workers minimum wage or overtime, 11 Chinese restaurants settled the case in February. The owners paid employees $665,000, the Chicago Tribune reported. Oliva, an adviser to the Madison center, said his colleagues on South Park Street might one day achieve similar results. "All the elements to put this into place are there in Madison," Oliva said. "I'm confident it's going to be as effective -- if not more effective -- than we are."

Illustration: CRAIG SCHREINER/WSJ photos Seen through the glass at the Workers' Rights Center at the Villager Mall, 2300 S. Park St., volunteer advocate Valerie Carroll helps a client. Formed through a partnership of local labor and religious groups called the Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice, the center aims to help both workers and employers better understand their rights.

Center director Sarah Shatz says one in six clients has been a firm needing help with employees

All content © Wisconsin State Journal and may not be republished without permission. All archives are stored on a SAVE (tm) newspaper library system from MediaStream Inc., a Knight-Ridder Inc. company.