High rate of wage theft cited in study

Published September 24, 2009 by the El Paso Times.

By Diana Washington Valdez / El Paso Times

EL PASO -- Low-income workers in El Paso are at risk for wage theft by employers who exploit their labor and mislead them about their employment terms, worker advocates say.

A report by the National Employment Law Project and the University of California at Los Angeles found that nearly 70 per cent of low-income workers nationwide have been victims of wage theft. The national report, "Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers," was released Sept. 2.

Based on local surveys, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center also found that wage theft is prevalent in El Paso.

"Wage theft is the stealing of a person's wages or labor," said Ray Rojas, the center's executive director. "In El Paso, this is a bigger problem among immigrants, the homeless and low-income people who don't know their rights under our labor laws."

To deal with the issue, the Paso Del Norte Civil Rights Project, through its Economic Justice Program, has launched the Committee for Labor Justice.

"The committee is a grass-roots organization that works to support and guide community members in their struggles to reclaim unpaid wages," said Chris Benoit, an economic justice advocate.

Both organizations are helping workers learn to settle problems with employers without resorting to lawyers and the courts, especially when small amounts are involved, such as $300 in back wages.

Sandra Juarez, 48, who turned to the Committee for Labor Justice for help, said a former employer owes her money for overtime work. The group, which meets weekly at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in South El Paso, attracts workers from throughout the city.

"I had an employer who had us work nine hours a day, or 48 hours a week, but only paid us for eight-hour workdays," said Juarez, who worked in the food industry. "I had no idea that employers could do this. Our boss kept telling us we were lucky to have work and that we would not find such nice people to work for elsewhere in El Paso."

Juarez said she was undergoing an informal process of negotiations with the former employer, and hoped to recoup "several hundred dollars" she believes she is owed.

In its own recent report, "Wage Theft Abuses in El Paso," Las Americas identified three general categories of exploited workers:

• Day workers ("jorna leros" in Spanish): These often are immigrants who are picked up by employers at street corners in South El Paso, and are paid by the day. A survey of 154 such workers found that more than 86 percent had experienced wage theft.

  Wages among different groups in this category ranged from $2.50 an hour to $75 a day.

• Domestic workers: Usually work as housekeepers or nannies and include immigrants and legal residents.

  Most of them are women, and rely on cabs, a van service and buses to travel to work. Some complained about sexual abuses. Some were offered jobs in home health care or taking care of the elderly without training.

• Low-income workers: They often do both day jobs and agricultural work, and come from El Paso County, Southern New Mexico and Juárez. Their jobs may last several weeks or months.

  A survey of 234 low-income people showed that many of them worked in the construction industry, for remodelers or as office cleaners. No further breakdown was available.

Las Americas conducts clinics under its El Paso Worker Justice Program, which operates along the lines of the Committee for Labor Justice, with workers learning community-based methods to help themselves.

"Employers sometimes deny they owe the workers anything, but this is a give-and-take process," Rojas said.

Rojas said more extensive research is needed to go into greater detail on wage theft and other worker abuses in El Paso, so that policymakers can deal with the problems.

He also said workers can help secure their rights through written agreements with employers before they accept jobs.

Blanca Borrero, a volunteer counselor with the Committee for Labor Justice, said she has worked with exploited workers for many years.

"I volunteer at Sacred Heart because the program we have tackles different aspects of the kinds of problems workers encounter, not just wage theft," Borrero said. "For example, we have English classes for those who need language training, education classes, and even classes on how to apply for a job, the proper way to dress for an interview and so on.

"Sometimes, we have people who are looking for a job and tell us that 'anything' will do, but that is not a realistic approach to finding suitable work. We try to help orient them according to their skills and abilities."

Copyright © 2009 by the El Paso Times