by DC Jobs with Justice | Nov 17, 2014 | Campaigns, Immigrant Rights
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Less than a week after winning their case at the NLRB, Tito workers won their election to bring a union to Tito Contractors after more than a year of organizing. A group of men and women in Washington, D.C., who have been organizing to expose abuse and form a union just won their case before a National Labor Relations Board administrative law judge. As a result, many employees who were illegally fired and retaliated against by Tito Contractors will get their jobs back. The judge’s ruling will help prevent employees at Tito Contractors from further retaliation and marks another milestone for these brave immigrants in their campaign to stand up for better jobs. A number of immigrants employed at Tito Contractors were interested in the idea of forming a union to help change the culture of exploitation at their company. In 2013 Tito’s employees began meeting with their local painters union, IUPAT District Council 51. The workers reported to IUPAT organizers that they were cheated out of overtime and routinely intimidated. IUPAT began an organizing drive, but shortly thereafter Tito’s management started to retaliate. According to Tito’s workers’ testimony presented under oath at the NLRB hearing, supervisors threatened that they would report them to immigration officials, withheld necessary equipment and even terminated several employees. In the face of this retaliation, IUPAT organizers witnessed a palpable wave of panic among the men and women of Tito who feared they could lose their jobs or be deported and torn from their families if they continued to organize. The story of too many organizing drives stops here. But IUPAT organizers...
by DC Jobs with Justice | Jun 14, 2012 | Campaigns, Press, Projects, Trabajadores Unidos de DC / United Workers of DC, Wage Theft
PRESS RELEASE IMMEDIATE RELEASE – UPDATE June 14, 2012 DC WORKERS UNION, DC JOBS WITH JUSTICE, AND METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT CELEBRATE NEW PROCEDURE TO RESOLVE WAGE THEFT COMPLAINTS CONTACT: Arturo Griffiths DC Jobs with Justice PHONE: 202-445-0411 CONTACT: Rachel Sier DC Jobs with Justice PHONE: 202-427-2172 District of Columbia day laborers (Unión de Trabajadores de DC/DC Workers Union) and DC Jobs with Justice announce the development of a new procedure to involve the Metropolitan Police Department in investigating and documenting wage theft cases. On Thursday, June 14th the members of the Unión de Trabajadores de DC/DC Workers Union and DC Jobs with Justice will celebrate this new accord with representatives from the MPD and DOES. The celebration will be held at 7 PM at the Foundry Church located at 1500 P St. NW, Washington, DC For the past several years DC Jobs with Justice has been working with immigrant day laborers to address the rampant problem of wage theft that affects workers throughout the District of Columbia. Wage theft occurs when workers do not get paid for work performed or are laid off without being paid their salary. Carlos Diaz, a member of la Union de Trabajadores de DC, says “Many of us work long hours to make ends meet. But frequently contractors refuse to pay what we are owed at the end of the day. We are happy that the D.C. police will now get involved in assisting us to recover our wages”. This procedure defines the role of the police in supplementing existing institutions by creating a standard protocol and training for officers...
by DC Jobs with Justice | May 13, 2009 | Projects, Trabajadores Unidos de DC / United Workers of DC
Members of the Union de Trabajadores de Washington, D.C., DC’s only day laborer association, were able to claim a victory Thursday night in their on-going campaign to battle wage theft. rnrnJoe Walsh, Director of the Department of Employment Services, agreed to a long list of workers’ demands for improvements to the DC Office of Wage and Hour. Walsh’s committments, when implemented, will better protect contingent workers by removing barriers to accessing Wage and Hour services, improving investigations, improving communication with workers that have filed cases, punishing unscrupulous employers, and working more closely with the Attorney General when necessary to pursue fines for employers.rnrnMore than 30 workers, joined by allies from DC Jobs with Justice, Jews United for Justice, Foundry UMC, and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee packed the basement of Foundry Church early Thursday night to prepare for the meeting with Walsh. During the 2-hour meeting, workers carefully presented Walsh with recommendations for improving the services that to Office of Wage and Hour provides to day laborers and other contingent workers that have been victims of wage theft. Walsh took careful note of the recommendations and assured Union members that he would make sure that each of their demands were met. “I believe that all of you have had too many barriers already to finding a job,†Walsh told the group. rnrnDuring the meeting Walsh expanded on his ideas for improving investigations into unpaid wages claims. Among his plans is to create a “task-force†within DOES that would connect different offices– including Wage-Hour, Unemployment, and Worker’s Compensation, as well as the Attorney General’s office– in order to share resources and...
