by DC Jobs with Justice | Mar 4, 2015 | Get Involved, Wage Theft
Reposted from Georgetown Kalmanovitz Initiative Blog My time with the Kalmanovitz Initiative Summer Organizing internship not only let me grow as a person but also use that growth to make deeper connections with DC workers and organizers. I am humbled to have worked with so many passionate people that really care about other people and their struggle. I was placed with DC Jobs with Justice, “a dynamic coalition of labor organizations, community groups, faith-based organizations, and student groups dedicated to protecting the rights of working people and supporting community struggles to build a more just society.” At least that’s how I have learned to describe it to other people, but to me, DC JWJ became a wake up call. I worked on DC JWJ’s anti-wage theft campaign. DC previously passed legislation to increase the minimum wage and extend paid sick days, which were huge victories for DC workers. During my time at DC JWJ, the DC City Council also passed the strongest anti-wage theft law in the country. I sat in the Wilson building for six hours just to hear them pass the bill. Though I have never been so incredibly bored in my entire life, it was a moment of clarity and it is something that I have recently reflected on. I was there to support these workers whom I had started building a relationship with, but I see now that my presence was small. The workers and the organizers had devoted so much of their time, and they had built a unique relationship in solidarity with each other. They had spent hours upon hours not just sitting...
by DC Jobs with Justice | Jan 29, 2015 | Justice At Wings
Yesterday, another worker at Wings Enterprises went on strike to demand an end to racist discrimination and harassment, inadequate training, and unsafe working conditions. Why is a company with Wings’s long track record of wage theft, discrimination, and safety failures still getting work in our city? Yesterday’s action was at 660 North Capitol St, where Wings is helping build …take a guess….luxury...
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 4, 2014 | Projects
Tuesday was an eventful day at the DC Council! After years of grassroots organizing, the “Ban the Box” and “Wage Theft” bills were voted on by the DC Council for their first time. The Wage Theft Prevention Act of 2014 aims to put in place stronger policies to deter unscrupulous employers from cheating their employees out of their wages. As it currently stands, there are few effective ways for workers to recover wages they are owed and little protection for employees that speak out against their bosses wage theft practices. This system makes it easy for employers to get away with stealing from their workers and creates a disadvantage for businesses that follow the law properly. DC JwJ and the Wage Theft Coalition have been advocating for the current bill, championed by by Councilmember Vincent Orange, which proposes to change that by putting in place penalties and fines from employers that commit wage theft and creating a better process for workers to recover their money. DC residents, workers, and advocates gathered outside the DC Council at 9:30am for a rally highlight the issues of wage theft and employment discrimination against returning citizens. Before the initial vote on the Ban the Box and Wage Theft Prevention bills, a clear message was sent to councilmembers: “Stand with Workers! Apoye los trabajadores!.” Allies and supporters from the Wage Theft Coalition and Ban the Box advocates filled the council hearing room to highlight the importance of these bills. Despite strong support from councilmembers, the DC Chamber of Commerce and other business interests groups had been lobbying behind the scenes for amendments they hoped could water down the strength of...
by DC Jobs with Justice | Mar 17, 2014 | Projects
Cold weather didn’t stop over 75 people from showing up on the steps of the City Council on Friday morning for a rally calling for an end to wage theft in the District and the passage of new legislation to tackle the issue. The crowd gathered with signs and “No Wage Theft” stickers at 8:30 AM before the scheduled committee hearing on the Wage Theft Prevention Act of 2014. The bill, co-introduced by Councilmembers Orange (At- large), Cheh (Ward 4), and Graham (Ward 1) with a number of co-sponsors, will create better protections for workers that speak out for their rights, as well as create a mechanism for issuing enforceable judgements at the Office of Wage-Hour that can result in penalties for employers that repeatedly break the law. Community members shared their moving stories and demanded and end to wage theft during the rally outside before the committee hearing. Beyond explaining that people should be paid fairly for the work they do, speakers also adamantly stated that wage theft is an issue that hurt everyone. By not penalizing employers that break the law, business that do the right are at a competitive disadvantage, since not paying workers effectively becomes an interest-free loan. Ari Weissbard, Director of the Employment Justice Center, explained in his testimony that DC received an F on a recent study as a result of how widespread wage theft is in the city. “A worker is more likely to be robbed by their employer than they are on the street or at home.” Yet, while there are channels to receive renumeration for most theft and penalties against...
