With the holidays near, can calls to “shop local” be far behind? In October 2012, “Bloom Magazine” editor Malcolm Abrams made a persuasive case for the economic benefits of keeping dollars circulating locally (http://www.magbloom.com/?s=Shop+Right). But most calls to “shop local” have lacked an important caveat: some local businesses are shameless perpetrators of wage theft.
Wage theft happens when you aren't paid what you're owed for your work, contrary to labor law. Examples include:
Albert J. Harno and Edward W. Cleary Chair in Law Director, Program in Comparative Labor and Employment Law & Policy Center for Advanced Study Professor, University of Illinois College of Law
“From Weight Checking to Wage Checking: Arming Employees to Combat Wage Theft.”
WHERE: Law School Room 123 (Moot Court Room), IU-Bloomington campus
Wage theft is the illegal withholding of wages or the denial of benefits that are rightfully owed to an employee. Wage theft, particularly from low wage legal or immigrant workers, is incredibly common in the United States and Indianapolis. On Wednesday, June 5th from 7:00 - 9:00 pm, Central Indiana Jobs with Justice will hold a Workers' Rights Board where employees who have experienced wage theft in several different industries will come forward to talk publicly about their experiences. A panel of community leaders will develop our action plan for dealing with these abuses.
Congress and President Obama are in the midst of negotiating the terms of a comprehensive immigration reform package. No matter your position on the issue, most people recognize that reforming our system for incorporating new arrivals is long past due. While some are focusing on border security and punitive measures for those already here, South Central Indiana Jobs with Justice believes those efforts are misguided. Those calling for stricter enforcement and deportation miss the benefits that truly progressive immigration reform will bring, not just for immigrants, but for all of us.
Since our press release a year ago was never published in the Herald-Times or Indiana Daily Student, let me begin with this: in December 2011, South-Central Indiana Jobs with Justice chose Resilience Capital Partners, a private equity firm headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, as the winner of its 2011 “Scrooge of the Year” award. The firm’s effort to eliminate or water down seniority rights, grievance rights, and pensions at Indiana Limestone Company in Oolitic led to a strike, led by members of Millworkers Local 8093.
