Every Wednesday, Latino day laborers and service-industry workers, many of them in the United States illegally to earn money for their families back home, gather in the Central District and learn how to take their bosses to court. They are informal students of Casa Latina’s Worker Defense Committee, which educates them on their rights to a minimum wage and overtime pay. Enforcing those rights is another battle.
At a time when legal protections for immigrants are being very publicly curtailed in Arizona—which just enacted a draconian law allowing police to stop anyone merely suspected of being in the country illegally—a less-publicized but equally pernicious infringement on immigrant rights is coming to the fore in this state: wage theft.
“Wage theft is not a criminal offense in Washington,” says Arielle Rosenberg, spokeswoman for the Worker Defense Committee. “Which means you can be prosecuted for stealing someone’s candy bar, but not for stealing their paycheck.”
According to a 2009 study conducted by the National Employment Law Project, 68 percent of workers in low-wage industries lose an average of 15 percent of their wages annually due to wage theft. Frequently, the victims are immigrant workers whose bosses threaten them with deportation if they demand what they’re owed. Other states are moving to combat this problem. In February, Florida’s Miami-Dade County became the first county to make failing to pay employees within 14 days of work a criminal offense. San Francisco, Austin, and Denver have city ordinances that allow city prosecutors to file misdemeanor charges against employers in such situations. And cities like Los Angeles and New Orleans are following suit. But Washington lags behind, something Rosenberg and city council member Tim Burgess hope to change.
“This is about economic justice,” says Burgess. “People should be paid when they work.”
Immigrant workers in Washington essentially have two options for reclaiming stolen wages: sue their employers in civil court or publicly shame them into paying. But language is usually a barrier, as is the fear of their bosses contacting immigration officials.
Which is why Casa Latina is teaming up with Burgess and the city attorney’s office to explore how current labor laws can be used to prosecute deadbeat employers. If they can’t change things using existing laws, they say they’ll pursue a city ordinance disallowing wage theft—something similar to New Orleans’s proposed ordinance, which would punish offenders with a $500 dollar fine (on top of wages owed) and up to six months in jail.
“Last year, we helped workers reclaim over $94,000 in stolen wages,” says Rosenberg. “Think of what we could do if we had the right laws and enforcement to back these people up.”
There are some state laws currently on the books, but advocates say they’re not yet strong enough. In 2006, the Washington State Legislature passed the Wage Payment Act to give immigrant workers an avenue for taking wage grievances to the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I). However, the L&I citations were often ignored by business owners and widely seen as toothless. In 2009, Casa Latina referred over 100 cases to L&I for review, but none received wage recompense, even though all cases that were judged favored the worker. This year the legislature strengthened the Wage Payment Act, but Rosenberg says there’s still more to do.
In any case, Rosenberg adds, public exposure is the best way to begin fixing the problem. Which is why on Saturday, May 1, she will be marching along with thousands of others at the May Day march for immigration rights, where the Worker Defense Committee will unveil several new public campaigns to shame businesses guilty of stealing workers’ wages. The march will begin at noon at Judkins Park in the Central District and end at Memorial Stadium in Seattle Center.
pay’em.
Hey Cienna, when is Tim Keck, cheapjack Stranger publisher and wage thief, going to start paying miniumum wage to those unpaid interns?
Cienna, look in your own yard.
See the story here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/03/busine…
If they’re illegal, they shouldn’t be here in the first place. Whatever work they were doing should be getting done by Americans being paid a fair wage. Jeez, only in American can you be illegal and bring a lawsuit against someone and not get deported yourself even though you, too, are breaking the law! And Casa Latina should be getting no funding from taxpayers at all.
@3
We shouldn’t just worry about aliens who have come to America illegally. We should worry about citizens and lawful resident aliens who are being exploited by the Stranger as unpaid interns. Cheapjack Stranger publisher Tim Keck exploits a lot of these people, as SLOG and the Stranger attests.
In the meantime, keep reading the Stranger. But boycott their advertisers. Also let the advertisers know that you’re boycotting them because the Stranger exploits young students, not paying them minimum wage.
For instance, I buy my Rolexes at Ben Bridge. Fuck Turgeon Raine.
Thanks for covering this great story, Cienna! No matter what you think about immigration issues, when someone works, they deserve to be paid. The CDT does amazing work, and it’s great to see them get fair and prominent coverage. See you on May 1!
@3 Good luck getting these employers to agree to pay Americans a fair wage for the jobs they currently underpay illegal workers to do. Illegals wouldn’t be here if there were no companies willing to hire them. Save your anger for businesses who break the law and hire illegal workers.
If they want a fair wage all they have to do is become a US citizen. Maybe this person should be showing them how to get citizenship instead of showing them how to make more money illegally.
You know what.. I hear (Or read) people say things like, “Well, Illegals are here doing the work American’s won’t do”.. “This Country would fall apart if Illegals weren’t here! They doing this Country a Great Service!” and then there’s the ever so popular comment given by a politician who said, “They wouldn’t be here if we hadn’t invited them.”
#1. This Country got along just fine without them. Employers never had trouble finding anyone to work for them. What the employers wanted, & got when they decided it was better to hire people here illegally was, slave labor. Thats what Employers, & Illegals have created. Employers love it because they get to pay pennies per hour, where they use to have to pay employees what their work was worth. So for me.. #6 gets the door prize! (although.. theres really not any door prize *wink*.
#2. Its the lobbyist brainwashing people America would fall apart if Illegals had to go back to their Country of Origin. The only people who have anything to gain by Illegals being in the USA are Politicians & employers. They are the ones who want them here. Politicians obviously want them here, which leads me into #3.. they are the ones who invited them. The majority of Voting Constituents DO NOT want them here, & once Illegals started demanding amnesty, protesting in the streets of America burning our flag.. that’s when they got our attention which is why they haven’t gotten their amnesty yet. People like me, & millions of others flood our Senators phones, & emails every time they bring up voting on it. All the other times Amnesty came up in the past, back in the 70’s & 80’s.. They always went through the House & Senate with very little problems. Although back then, Illegals weren’t demanding rights, & burning our flags in our streets.
So congratulations on waking up the sleeping American’s to your Illegal Status. Don’t worry though.. I live in reality & see the writing as it is. Washington is no longer about what American’s want. Politicians are more about appeasing foreign Countries, Lobbyist, & Big Companies. Which means.. at some point soon, Senators will stop playing pretend with their constituents, & go ahead & vote for your amnesty, as they’ve always done. I personally don’t know why their still playing the “We care what American’s think” because more of us see them for what they are. I guess they have to justify those big chunky salaries by wasting time discussing, & rehashing issues they know d@mn well they’ll vote for. SOP I guess
Before I drop some serious knowledge (LOL) I just want to say I’ve loved this pinko liberal rag all my life and at one point, waaaaaay before the “unpleasantness” with the Seattle Eagle and DJ Mr. Smith, I may have possibly considered serious contemplation about sleeping with one of it’s more high profile personalities. **nervous laughter**
Keep applying the Harper Valley PTA Progressive Hypocrisy in this situation and you’re likely to find out that you’re not a part of mainstream America, just a sad little fringe group of malcontents. The people who’s rights you trample today will probably trample your’s tomorrow. Half the population was told “It’s the law made by our elected officials!” when they protested “Healthcare Insurance Reform”, and now we’re all jumping on a bus racing to throw Arizona’s population and THEIR law made by THEIR elected officials out the window? Seriously?
Now back to the “Boycott Arizona” stuff, I’m soooooo looking forward to “LETS PLAY BOYCOTT!” Too bad my Democratic brethren tend to forget about boycotts once they’re distracted by their next ill advised affair, meanwhile my boycotts continue and are reflected in my retail habits years after the boycotts are called off, I’m just that bitter (LOL). I still hold a grudge against Jane Fonda and I wasn’t even born when she pissed off America, but my “Hippie Democrat” parents raised me to have contempt for all our enemies.
California is on my permanent sh*tlist. I wasn’t comfortable with them electing The Governator, but boycotting their entire state because THEIR electorate voted him into office would have been highly un-democratic. Watching them stick their nose into their NEIGHBOR’S business is the excuse I needed to permanently boycott California. Glad this happened after Coachella, I’ll miss the music but I won’t miss the mess! I’ve already tossed my California wines and called off my yearly trip to SF gay pride parade since those “don’t boycott me” but “let’s boycott them” progressives opened their mouths to say something stupid. The gaggle of queens that I usually caravan to SF for pride day in the Pace Arrow have already started making alternate plans…I don’t play (LOL) Who’s next? Chicago (Lollapalooza sucked last year anyways), New York, possibly the Denver homophobes that are starting to speakup? I hope The Stranger isn’t next on my list.
Yes indeed people, LET’S PLAY BOYCOTT!
Sincerely,
Some Cantankerous Queen In Seattle That Won’t Ever Forget This B.S.
P.S. Just added to my list: Some d list wannabe celebrity named “Shakira” and another no-name Canadian band trying to get press called “Stars”, turns out I’ve already been boycotting them for years (LOL)
Seconding 6: these asshole employers loooove employing illegal immigrants because they get to treat them as indentured servants and steal their wages. Cracking down on wage stealing will help reduce the demand for illegal labor.
Although no one in the United States has a fundamental right to employment (the Constitution doesn’t have a lot to say about workers’ rights), ALL people who work do have a right to get paid for that work, period.
3, 11, etc: If you really had contempt for illegal immigration, and not a racist hatred of Mexicans, then you would be fervently in FAVOR of laws requiring businesses to pay illegals the same wages as legal citizens.
Why? Well, because if they have to pay the same wages either way, then there is no longer any incentive to hire illegal immigrants in the first place. The jobs would fall into American hands (Mexican-American or otherwise), and immigrants would have no reason to cross the border illegally, as there would be nothing for them here. Illegal immigrants don’t just waltz into businesses and force people to hire them (and then steal portions of their wages). Hiring illegal immigrants over US citizens is a crime committed by the businesses.
There are only two possible reasons to oppose equal wages for illegal immigrants: 1) You’re a racist who enjoys seeing “them filthy wetbacks” abused and exploited, or 2) You’re too stupid to add 2 and 2 and come to the conclusion from the above paragraph. Which one are you?
Except that the reason for the court system isn’t that it’s some great club-member benefit for American citizens. The reason for it is that being accused of a crime is not the same thing as committing a crime, and that an evidence-based trial is the best means of sorting out actual guilty people from the innocently accused. This doesn’t magically become untrue when the accused person is here illegally.
If you want actual criminals to be caught, then you have to support trials for everyone; if they’re guilty, then the evidence will show that. If they’re innocent, then we can let them go so that we can get back to pursuing the guilty person. If they’re here illegally, then try them for both crimes and only punish them for whichever crime they’re actually guilty of.
Otherwise, any criminal can just leave a sombrero and some garden shears at their crime scene and rest assured that the case will be closed as soon as some stereotype-believing moron merely accuses (but doesn’t try) an illegal immigrant.
Also, immediate deportation isn’t always simple. Illegal immigrants aren’t all just lone wolves that wander around aimlessly. Some have kids that are born here, and are thus citizens. You then have to choose between deporting US citizens along with their illegal parents, or deporting the parents and making the kids into wards of the state (in practice, turning them into orphans whose parents happen to be alive). Neither is very fair to the kid, and the latter is a dumb fucking idea if your goal is to REDUCE crime.
Sorry, but illegal immigrants have to be treated like any other human being who breaks the law. They should be TRIED, and if convicted then their punishment needs to fit the crime and take external circumstances (kids? behavior?) into account. We can’t just villify them, round em up, and kick em out. Not only is it inhumane, it’s just plain not practical.
@13- well said.
As for the article itself, I think the point is pretty simple: did they work? If so, they earned their money. Whether they’re illegal immigrants or not is a whole different subject.