Your Workers' Center stops wage theft by working with workers, not for them

Your partnership with workers seeking justice: an insider's peek into WIN's Workers' Center

Delmar Vasquez appreciated that through the Workers' Center, "I got to be part of solving my problem."

     As WIN's Workers' Center takes on wage theft cases, we have two equally important goals: recovering wages, and building workers' power.

     In 2008, Delmar Vasquez contacted WIN's Workers' Center after a cleaning company refused to pay him for a month's worth of work. He soon learned that the Workers' Center would use labor laws to support his wage theft case. However, he would be much more involved in resolving his case than he would have been if he'd just contacted a lawyer.

    That's because one of the ideas that guides your Workers' Center is this: we're here to partner with workers in resolving their cases, not to do things for them.

 

    This means that when public actions such as vigils or pickets are planned, workers like Vasquez are expected to participate in them. While this new experience can be intimidating at first, workers often leave with a greater sense of the power they have to challenge injustice.

    Vasquez took part in a delegation to one of the businesses that he had cleaned while working for the cleaning contractor that owed him money. He also talked about his case at public forums on the crisis of wage theft. Now, he's become a member of the Steering Committee for WIN's Workers' Center. He frequently talks with other workers who face the same injustices he did, and he encourages them to speak out.

    Vasquez recovered the full $1,437 he was owed for his work. One of the things he appreciates most about his involvement in the Workers' Center goes beyond the wages he recovered. "I got to learn the facts more about my rights and how we can organize. I was not depending on someone else to solve my problem. At the Center, you get to be part of solving your problem," Vasquez says.

Worker recovers $13,000 in stolen wages from Memphis restaurant

     Did you know that there are some waiters in Memphis who are getting paid nothing by the restaurants they work for, except for the tips you leave?

Fernando asked for WIN members' support as he fought to get his stolen wages from Mis Pueblos restaurant

     That's what happened to Fernando Santiago. Fernando was a waiter at Mis Pueblos restaurant. He worked 60 hours a week.  The law required Mis Pueblos to pay him $2.13 an hour. If customers' tips did not bring his pay up to $7.25 an hour, the restaurant was also supposed to pay the difference. Since Fernando was also working more than 40 hours a week, he was also entitled to overtime pay for the extra 20 hours a week he worked.

    Fernando wasn't sure what the law said about his pay, but he knew he was entitled to some kind of wages besides tips. He called one of our partner organizations, Latino Memphis, who referred him to WIN's Workers' Center.

    After Fernando sat down with WIN staff member Alfredo Pena, they figured out Mis Pueblos owed Fernando tens of thousands of dollars.

   After several negotiation sessions between Mis Pueblos and WIN, Fernando agreed to take a settlement of $13,000 in back wages.

    This is the most money that WIN has helped a worker recover, without having to involve an attorney, since our Workers' Center began four years ago. We could not have done it without the generous financial support and activism of WIN members like you!

   Reflecting on the experience, Fernando said "I feel good, and not that good at the same time, because they only paid me part of what they owed me. But it's good to know that no matter what, we all have rights here. What they were doing was stealing. Maybe this will make the manager start paying his employees like he's supposed to."

    Fernando also wants to share his appreciation to all the members of WIN for supporting his in his struggle to get his stolen wages. He's become a member of WIN's Workers' Center. He's already working to recruit more restaurant workers to get training on their workplace rights from WIN.

    I was also deeply moved by Fernando's decision to donate $2,000 of his wage settlement back to WIN so that we can support other workers' wage theft cases. WIN requires that all workers who win their cases donate 10% of their settlement back to the Center, but Fernando went above and beyond this. "I received help from WIN, and if I can help a little bit back, I want to do that," Fernando said. "The more we support WIN, the more WIN is able to help others."

Want to join Fernando in supporting WIN? Make a gift so that our Workers' Center can partner with other workers who are facing wage theft: https://www.chi-cash-advance.com/sforms/appeal785/Contribute.aspx

What inspires you to seek justice? Interview with Alfredo Pena

   The three of us who are privileged to work at Workers Interfaith Network all share something in common with each other and with you: a passion for seeking justice.

    As I've gotten to know my co-workers better over the years, I've been continually inspired by their stories of what brings them to this work. Then I thought, why not share these stories with you?  Today's story if from Alfredo Pena, WIN's Worker Rights Director. Maybe it will inspire you to share your story with us. Tell us in the comments section why you are an activist for workers' rights.

    Alfredo has worked at WIN since 2007, when he launched our Memphis Workers' Center project. The Workers' Center frequently partners with workers who have had their wages stolen by their employers. As Alfredo shares, he's been no stranger to wage theft in his own work life.

  The warehouse Alfredo talks about in the video is just one of the companies that stole his wages. He also worked at an oil change shop, where they made all the workers clock out when they didn't have customers. "I hoped if I went along with it, one day I would get a promotion. When I would get my paycheck and it would be very low, I would think 'I need to get more hours.'"

   Working at WIN, Alfredo has realized "this is why I was put here on this earth - to help other workers."

   It's painful to hear the many stories of explitation that workers share with him. But Alfredo is also encouraged by the workers who report back to him that they've been able to solve a problem. "Workers tell me, 'I want to thank you for listening to me. Because of what you said, I pushed forward. I didn't keep quiet. I stood up.' After a long day at work, a call like that keeps me going," Alfredo says.

  In the nearly four years since Alfredo started the Workers' Center, he has seen more workers take on leadership in the Center. Earlier this year, seven workers were elected to serve as a Steering Committee for the Center. He looks forward to the day when "the Workers' Center will be self-sustaining, from the support of our worker members."

    Share what inspired you: I would love to hear your story of where your passion for justice comes from. Tell us your story in the comments section below!

Get your advance discounted tickets for the Faith and Labor Picnic now:
https://www.chi-cash-advance.com/sforms/appeal786/contribute.aspx

Is this your year to volunteer?

   Maybe you've heard the stories of Mid-South workers getting their wages stolen by employers. Or you want more workers, like those working at the University of Memphis, to be paid a living wage. Or perhaps you're troubled by workers being fired just for trying to establish a union. But what can you do about it? The problems are big, and you're just one person, right?


   There's not doubt these are big problems. But the good news is that there are simple things that you can do. Things that will have a big impact on whether workers are treated fairly, because you won't be doing these things alone. You know what makes big huge difference in whether WIN can achieve worker rights victories? Our volunteers.


   Volunteering with WIN is a rewarding experience, as veteran volunteer Earline Duncan can attest. Earline shares that she's "stayed active in WIN because there's nothing like seeing the faces of workers light up when they benefit from the work you and I do through WIN. After we won the City of Memphis living wage ordinance, I remember being hugged by a city worker at a senior center. She was so happy to be getting a living wage, because now she earned enough to meet her basic needs."


   Volunteers Mario Mercado and Cristina Condori also have great volunteer stories to share. Cristina says "it's very satisfying to teach workers about their rights. We still remember a worker from Guatemala who seemed so timid during one of the worker rights workshops Mario led. He wouldn't even speak that night. But then later, we saw him handing out WIN's worker rights flyers to workers waiting outside a temporary agency. Being part of experiences like those is why we're members of WIN."


   As you make your plans for 2011, why not become a WIN volunteer? Some volunteers help out on a weekly or monthly basis, while others volunteer just a few times a year. Some of our volunteers help out in the office preparing mailing. Some help with phone banks to make sure people show up for important rallies and actions. Other volunteers join us on the picket lines and at prayer vigils. Some Spanish-speaking volunteers train workers on their rights at our Thursday night worker rights meeting.


   If you're interested in volunteering, please fill out our online form to let me know what types of volunteer work you're most interested in. You can also let me know whether weekdays, weeknights, or weekends are best, and how often you'd like to be asked to volunteer.


   Then we'll contact you about opportunities that match your interest and availability. And the next victory WIN achieves for living wages or worker rights, you'll be able to say "I was part of that!"