Wage theft prevention ordinance moves forward

Wage theft prevention ordinance moves forward

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07.20.11 – 2:11 pm | By Rebecca Bowe | Source: San Francisco Bay Guardian Online

Wage theft prevention ordinance moves forward

Members of the Progressive Workers Alliance celebrate after committee members voice support for stronger worker protections. Photo by Rebecca Bowe

Supervisors expressed strong support July 20 for an ordinance that a San Francisco coalition of labor advocates is pushing for to prevent wage theft and shore up protections for low-income workers. Spearheaded by Sups. Eric Mar and David Campos with Sups. Ross Mirkarimi, link Jane Kim, John Avalos, and David Chiu as co-sponsors, the legislation would enhance the power of the city’s Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement (OLSE) and double fines for employers who retaliate against workers.

Dozens of low-wage restaurant workers, caregivers, and day laborers turned out for a July 20 Budget & Finance Committee meeting to speak in support of the Wage Theft Prevention Ordinance, which was drafted in partnership with the Progressive Workers Alliance. The umbrella organization includes grassroots advocacy groups such as the Chinese Progressive Association, the Filipino Community Center, Pride at Work, Young Workers United, and others.

A restaurant worker who gave his name as Edwin said during the hearing that he’d been granted no work breaks, no time off, and had his tips stolen by his employer during a two-and-a-half year stint in a San Francisco establishment, only to be fired for trying to take a paid sick day. “When I was let go, I did not receive payment for my last days there,” he said.

His experience is not uncommon. An in-depth study of labor conditions in Chinatown restaurants conducted by the Chinese Progressive Association found that some 76 percent of employees did not receive overtime pay when they worked more than 40 hours in a week, and roughly half were not being paid San Francisco’s minumum wage of $9.92 an hour.

“People who need a job and can’t afford to lose it are vulnerable to exploitation,” Shaw San Liu, an organizer with the Chinese Progressive Association who has been instrumental in advancing the campaign to end wage theft, told the Guardian.

The ordinance would increase fines against employers from $500 to $1,000 for retaliating against workers who stand up for their rights under local labor laws. It would establish $500 penalties for employers who don’t bother to post notice of the minimum wage, don’t provide contact information, neglect to notify employees when OLSE is conducting a workplace investigation, or fail to comply with settlement agreements in the wake of a dispute. It would also establish a timeline in which worker complaints must be addressed.

“The fact is that even though we have minimum wage laws in place, those laws are still being violated not only throughout the country but here in San Francisco,” Campos told the Guardian. “Wage theft is a crime, and we need to make sure that there is adequate enforcement — and that requires a change in the law so that we provide the Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement more tools and more power to make sure that the rights of workers are protected. Not only does it protect workers, but it also protects businesses, because the vast majority of businesses in San Francisco are actually … complying with the law, and it’s not fair for them to let a small minority that are not doing that get away with it.”

So far, the ordinance is moving through the board approval process with little resistance. Mayor Ed Lee has voiced support, and Budget Committee Chair Carmen Chu, who is often at odds with board progressives, said she supported the goal of preventing wage theft and thanked advocates for their efforts during the hearing. The item was continued to the following week due to several last-minute changes, and will go before the full board on Aug. 2.

Stakeholders look toward day-laborer center

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By Susan Dickson, Staff Writer | July 21, 2011 | Source: CarrboroCitizen.com

As one group of residents fights Carrboro’s anti-lingering ordinance, another is looking toward a solution that could resolve the issues surrounding the law – a day-laborer center.

Though discussions are in the very early stages, local Latino leaders, law enforcement, elected officials, day laborers and other stakeholders are talking about just how this community might find a solution that could improve the situation for everyone.

In December, Orange County Justice United asked the mayors of Carrboro and Chapel Hill and others to convene a task force to examine and address the issues surrounding day laborers, and last month 30 to 40 residents and leaders came together to talk about those issues.

“I think it’s really important that we have a sanctioned place for workers so that they can be distinguished from folks who are not necessarily looking for work,” Carrboro Board of Aldermen member Randee Haven-O’Donnell said.

Day laborers, many of them Latino, often gather at the intersection of Davie and Jones Ferry roads in hopes that contractors will come by and offer them work. In November 2007, the board of aldermen approved an anti-lingering ordinance for the intersection after residents of the surrounding neighborhood complained of public alcohol consumption, public urination and littering in the areas around the intersection. The ordinance prohibits lingering at the intersection between 11 a.m. and 5 a.m.

The board recently heard claims that the ordinance is unconstitutional and voted to take another look at it when it reconvenes in September.

Mauricio Castro, a member of Justice United’s immigrant-family action team and a leader in the Latino community, said he felt it was more important to focus on a solution for day laborers than on the ordinance.

“We don’t see the ordinance at this point as a priority for the work that we’re doing because we believe that the ordinance will fix itself if we have a suitable place where the workers can gather and find work,” he said.
Haven-O’Donnell said she felt it was important to separate the issues of a possible center and the ordinance.

“If the focus is on the ordinance, then it’s fueling the negative energy of the neighbors and the community and capturing the workers when [the two issues] need not be connected,” she said. “There is a way to do this. There is a way to decouple it and that’s by getting the workers a dignified not only work station but eventually a work center,” which could provide services in addition to a gathering space.

Castro said he and others on the team are doing research on day-laborer centers and the experiences of other communities to determine how best to approach such a center. Castro said the center could be an organized setting that could provide protection for both workers and those who hire them. At the June stakeholder meeting, representatives from the National Day Laborer Organizing Network presented best-practices strategies and other information to those in attendance.

“We want people to really understand this,” Castro said. “It’s very easy these days, with the anti-immigrant rhetoric that we have, that people can take this out of context.”

Haven-O’Donnell said that one of the most important points that she took from the discussions was the need for the workers to be on board with whatever direction a possible solution takes.

“You can set up certain things, but if they’re wary of being involved and they’re not involved, they can’t help move it forward,” she said. “My key interest is making sure that their status is elevated as workers.”

El Centro Hispano, which hosted the June meeting, has been suggested as a possible location for a day-laborer center, but Castro said he wants to think outside of the box and explore all options in the community before making a decision.

“We want to do it right,” Castro said. “Part of my job and responsibility is to make sure that, at the end, there is a resolution one way or the other.

“At some point, we are going to have to make the call about whether we have a center or whether we have a corner that’s better organized,” he said.

For now, the team will continue to conduct research and educate the public, Castro said, adding that he hopes to have a more specific plan – that won’t involve fighting the ordinance – within the next six months.