workers' rights
The Pump Handle
Tag archives for workers’ rights
First-of-its-kind survey compiles the experience of domestic workers, highlights the grim nature of an unregulated industry
Posted by The Pump Handle on December 7, 2012 The collective experience of domestic workers — house cleaners, nannies and caregivers — often remains hidden from view. But a new survey has pulled back the curtain on the conditions and experiences domestic workers face, documenting issues such as wage exploitation, preventable on-the-job injuries and the little — if any — power domestic workers have in improving their work environments.
‘An issue that affects all of us’: Young workers center takes on wage theft in the Rio Grande Valley
Posted by The Pump Handle on August 27, 2012 For six months, Jorge Rubio worked at a local chain of tortilla bakeries and taquerias in the cities of Brownsville and San Benito, both in the very southern tip of Texas. Rubio, 42, prepared the food, cleaned equipment, served customers. Eventually, he decided to quit after being overworked for months. On his last day of work, his employer refused to pay him the usual $50 for an 11-hour workday.
On the border of change: A portrait of the workers’ rights movement in El Paso
Posted by The Pump Handle on July 27, 2012 In the fall of 2011, a new Texas statute took effect against employers who engage in wage theft, putting in place real consequences for employers found guilty of stealing wages from workers. It was a big step forward in a state where wage theft has become as common as cowboy boots and pick-up trucks. It was especially good news for workers in El Paso, where wage theft has become so rampant that workers rights advocates have dubbed it an “epidemic.”