Securing DC’s Community – Washington Post

Ever since the Department of Homeland Security decided to conscript local police as “force multipliers” in harsh immigration enforcement efforts, sick cities and states have found themselves unwittingly or unwillingly part of the controversial federal deportation program misnamed Se Communities. But a bold move last week by the D.C. Council [“In D.C., no warm welcome for immigration crackdown,” Metro, June 5] to protect residents from the effects of Se Communities should serve as a model for the country.

Wage Theft: A Crime You Can Get Away With

By Tim Judson,  Workers’ Rights Policy Spet at Progressive States Network | Source: HuffingtonPost.com | Posted: 06/07/2012 5:19 pm

Co-authored with Cristina Francisco-McGuire

This week, we authored a report grading states on how well they protect a fundamental workplace right: getting paid what you are legally owed. This right is so basic and common-sense that most people are still unaware of how commonly it is violated.

Wage theft, or the illegal underpayment of workers, has become so widespread, it affects millions of workers across the country and is nearly ubiquitous in certain industries: retail, restaurants, ity, day-labor, warehousing, child care, and construction. That’s a lot of people — already not getting paid enough — whose bosses illegally make their paychecks even lighter.

The last time a detailed, multi-state survey was done, the findings were shocking. Researchers in three of our nation’s largest cities interviewed thousands of workers who earned at or near the minimum wage, and found a wide array of workplace violations. Here are just the basic facts:

CA Senate Committee Approves TRUST Act

Source: New America Media, News Report | Jun 12, 2012 SACRAMENTO — The California State Senate’s Public Safety Committee on Tuesday approved, by a vote of 5 to 2, the new version of the TRUST Act (AB 1081), introduced by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano). If enacted, the bill would change California’s participation in the Se Communities…