Call to Action From Interfaith Worker Justice: I met with U.S. congressmen today in Washington, D.C. to convince them to urge Tom Perez of the Department of Labor to enforce a policy remedy on the federal level requiring paystubs for all. Washington State has the privilege of being a state that already requires that employers provide paystubs, however, some employers are opting to forgo paper stubs and electronically deposit wages on pre-paid cards, in particular, as many of the labor centers present reported for people who work in the fast food industry, for temporary agencies (labor contractors), and as domestic workers. Here in Washington we have seen employers use similar processes to systematically steal wages from farm workers, from packing house workers, and from canneries. Familias Unidas por la Justicia made history earlier this year by settling a wage and hour claim against Sakuma Bros. Farms, Inc. for a record $850,000.00 based on the company not keeping adequate records of hours worked, and piece-rates. Their case was possible because in Washington, it is required for agricultural employers to provide pay-stubs with the growers name, address, and the hours and piece-rates paid. The governors staffer that ran the Farm Work Group that will meet one last time this October in Ellensburg, WA suggested that the grower lobby agree to provide accurate pay-stubs, which the Farm Bureau and Washington Growers League vehemently opposed. WAFLA, a labor contractor lobby in Washington State, is actively constructing a labor economy that has labor contractors in the middle as the employers, recruiting and transporting large amounts of workers form Mexico through the systematic misuse the H-2A visa program, which was only supposed to be used in an emergency. The result is that the labor contractors and the employers blame each other for discrepancies, and both parties deny accountability for the theft of wages. In other parts of the country, states do not require pay-stubs. This is why it is important to follow through with this call to action below and encouraging Tom Perez to do the right thing and enforce already existing federal policy requiring pay-stubs for all. Tomás Madrigal, Washington, D.C. ----------------- Today were in D.C. with some awesome workers and leaders from the IWJ affiliate network. We’re meeting with members of Congress and government officials to talk about important issues affecting workers within the IWJ network and millions of other workers in low-wage industries. On the docket today is a conversation with the Department of Labor about the need for a Paystubs for All regulation... and we couldn’t have gotten better timing. Today the DOL announced that it would hear public comments about a proposed pay transparency rule that gives government-contract workers access to their own wage information (if you want to add a public comment supporting this measure, click here). The Departments fact sheet on the proposed regulation states: If compensation remains hidden, employees who are being paid less because of their gender or race will remain unaware of the problem. In the absence of this knowledge, these employees will be unable to exercise their rights by filing a discrimination complaint... We proudly support the new regulations, and we encourage you to join us in thanking Secretary Perez for recognizing the value in giving workers access to their own wage information. Prohibiting pay secrecy is clearly the right thing to do for 28 million government-contract workers. And frankly, its the right thing to do for all workers. We think that EVERY worker covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act deserves a paystub that outlines how their pay was calculated and what deductions were taken. If workers are given a clear paystub, they can figure out if they are being paid fairly and can take action if they believe they are being cheated. A Paystubs for All regulation is an important tool for workers in IWJ’s network to address the unethical wage theft and other injustices related to their pay. We could use your help today as we meet with the DOL and lawmakers! Can you thank Secretary Perez for his work and ask him to make Paystubs for All regulation a priority for the DOL!? Seriously your voice matters! When we demand these important changes... officials listen! We couldnt have gotten this far without your help. Lets get the paystubs issue back on the agenda! In Solidarity! Janel Bailey National Organizer Interfaith Worker Justice P.S. Help spread the good news! Pass this email along to five friends, and ask if they would please tell Secretary Perez to create Paystubs for All regulation for all workers! org.salsalabs/o/1035/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=16198
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 19:47:58 +0000
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