Day Laborers will picket exploitive employer
–via Renee Saucedo
Monday Feb 7th, clinic 2011 1:24 PM
On Tuesday, February 8, at 9 am, at 2619 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, in Oakland, dozens of day laborers , domestic workers, and their supporters will picket the private home of a Bay Area contractor who won’t pay the over $6000 owed to the worker under a State Labor Commissioner Order and Award.
CONTACT: Renee Saucedo (415) 425-6575
Jose Cruz worked as a laborer for Il H. Jun, a roofing and general contractor doing business in the Bay Area as Jun’s Associates, Inc. Mr. Cruz filed a claim with the California Labor Commissioner and received an Award for $6,213.11 for unpaid wages, penalties, and interest.
“My employer kept saying he would pay me, but he either didn’t at all, or would pay me with checks that bounced,” states Jose Cruz, a day laborer from Chiapas, Mexico who finds work off of San Francisco street corners.
This picket exemplifies how day laborers and domestic workers, through their workers center, the San Francisco Day Labor Program /Women’s Collective, organize themselves to hold exploitative employers accountable.
“We want to make sure that, despite this climate of hate against undocumented workers, employers get the message that they have to pay us for our work and we must be treated with dignity,” says Jose Ramirez, a day laborer leader with the San Francisco Day Labor Program /Women’s Collective .
La Raza Centro Legal, in San Francisco, represented Mr. Cruz in his wage claim.
Employer’s contact information: Jun’s Associates, Il H. Jun, (510) 830-7749, ilhyunjun [at] gmail.com.