Doble Barrera para Jornaleros

PUBLICADO: EST

NUEVA JERSEY — El guatemalteco Luis Hernández trabajaba en jardinería hasta que hace cuatro meses un grave accidente con una máquina le cortó el vientre, dejándolo temporalmente incapacitado.

Después de la desgracia, su patrón, un contratista del área de Fort Lee, Nueva Jersey, desapareció para evadir la responsabilidad de pagarle por los gastos médicos, que ascienden a $57 mil y una compensación mientras está inhabilitado para trabajar.

“Cuando sufrí el accidente quedé inconsciente, me llevaron al y allí estuve una semana. Al salir traté de ubicar a mi patrón, de nombre John, pero no volví a encontrarlo”, sostuvo Hernández (23), que vive en Fairview desde hace seis años.

Hernández es uno de los cerca de 180 jornaleros que se paran todas las mañanas en la esquina de la calle Columbia y la avenida Broad en Palisades Park. Casi un 90% de ellos son guatemaltecos, y al menos la mitad sólo habla un idioma indígena, por lo que su barrera de comunicación es doble.

La situación de Hernández no es aislada. José Torralba, organizador del centro de recursos para inmigrantes Viento del Espíritu, precisó que “entre los jornaleros la comunidad indígena es la más vulnerable, entre otras cosas porque hablan idiomas indígenas y están expuestos a más abusos y explotación laboral”.

City of Seattle Wage Theft Ordinance Text

City of Seattle Wage Theft Ordinance – full text is below and attached. Was passed in 2011 based on organizing campaign of Casa Latina.

 

 

AN ORDINANCE relating to wage theft; amending Seattle Municipal Code sections 5.55.230 and 12A.08.060; clarifying the definition of theft as it relates to theft of wages; providing a list of circumstances that may be considered in determining whether a person intends to commit wage theft; clarifying the City’s jurisdiction in such cases; and allowing the City to refuse to issue, revoke, or refuse to renew business licenses from employers found guilty of wage theft.

 

Miami Dade Wage Theft Ordinance Text


Full Text of the Ordinance is attached. It was passed in 2010 as a result of WeCount organizing in Miami Dade County, Florida.

ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING CHAPTER 22 OF THE CODE OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA; PROHIBITING WAGE THEFT, PROVIDING ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES AND PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION FOR WAGE THEFT PROVIDING SEVERABILITY, INCLUSION IN THE CODE, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE

Lamar Smith’s E-Verify Proposal Launches Backward Arizona Policies to National Level

Washington, DC. Rep. Lamar Smith added steam to the backward trend of Right-wing politics hijacking the political arena by introducing the overreaching e-verify bill that would mandate employer participation in the costly, inaccurate, and untested e-verify database.
The bill, a blend of Arizona’s anti-immigrant policies and Wisconsin’s anti-worker efforts, creates a toxic morass in Washington that would have devastating effects on the economy and is seen by many as a distraction to the real solutions Americans are seeking from Washington.
Pablo Alvarado, Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, stated, “It’s nearly criminal that Lamar Smith would hijack the cause of those suffering from joblessness for his extreme political ends when Washington has an actual opportunity to provide real solutions to the hardships everyday people are facing in America.
Smith has compiled the worst practices from Arizona’s immigration policy and Wisconsin’s recent approach to unions and somehow combined them into an immoral piece of legislative scapegoating.
The America I want to live is one that welcomes the newest members of our communities and creates opportunities for all of us to succeed. Lamar Smith would like to roll up the sentiments of welcome expressed by the Statue of Liberty and toss them and the unions along with them into the Hudson. E-verify’s result would be to sink the country into an even deeper economic crisis, one that none of us could afford.
In one fell swoop, Smith alienates immigrants, unions, and those with concerns over government programs encroaching on our privacy with his fortress USA style policy.
However, our efforts together will move the country forward toward a better America. Congress should be verifying that everyone has access to a dignified job and quality education, that those who immigrate here to provide for themselves and their families have a pathway to inclusion.
As a national network of day laborers, we’re proud of the partnership we made with the AFL-CIO in 2006 that recognized the humble workers, street corner day laborers, as key partners in the labor movement whose efforts make a rising tide to lift all boats in the country.
We will not allow Rep. Smith’s efforts divide us or turn us around.”…