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May 11, 2011

Immigrant Workers Celebrate May Day by Confronting Wage Theft Throughout NYC

By  Make the Road New York Staff / Make the Road New York



MRNY members unite to fight for worker's rights.

On May 1, International Workers Day, millions of people around the globe took to the streets to stand up for workers’ rights.

In New York City, where hundreds of thousands of workers are not even paid the minimum wage or overtime pay that is mandated by law, members of MRNY organized multiple actions against wage theft.

Sadly, wage theft is rampant in low wage industries throughout New York City:

  • In Manhattan, members rallied at the upscale West Village club, Veranda, where workers are owed $159,000 in stolen wages, tips and damages. After several employees spoke up about their mistreatment,management retaliated by slashing their work hours, in a further violation of labor laws.

  • In Brooklyn, members marched through the streets of Bushwick and rallied at Sea Town Fish and Meat Market where workers have been paid less than minimum wage and no overtime for 60-hour work weeks, and subject to highly unsafe working conditions.

  • In Staten Island, members gathered in front of Chirag Indian Restaurant to denounce persistent wage theft, including one instance in which an employee was paid just $200 for 70 hours of work each week – less than $3 per hour.

With New York State’s new Wage Theft Prevention Act now in place, thanks to the tireless advocacy of MRNY, these employers now face strict fines for underpayment of wages and retaliation against employees who speak up for themselves.

Here at MRNY, we are hard at work, designing educational materials, organizing trainings and conducting outreach, to make sure that workers, employers and service providers understand, and respect, the new law.


More on: Workplace Justice 

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Victory for Immigrant Families: Preventing Unjust Deportations in NYC

On March 18, 2013, Mayor Bloomberg signed new legislation to stop federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from using NYC’s criminal justice system to deport thousands of New Yorkers.

Building on legislation we helped to win just over a year ago, Local Laws 21 and 22 prohibit not only the Department of Correction but now also the NYPD from spending millions of city taxpayer dollars to hold individuals on behalf of ICE agents for detention and deportation. Each year, thousands of New York families will stay together who would otherwise have been torn apart by overly aggressive, indiscriminate immigration enforcement.

At a moment when the country is debating immigration reform, with these laws, New York City sends a clear message to Washington that tearing apart thousands of immigrant families is bad policy.

With your support, we look forward to winning national reform that keeps families together. We thank our partners at the Center for Popular Democracy, the Cardozo Immigration Justice Clinic and the bills’ sponsors, NYC Council Speaker Quinn and Council Member Mark-Viverito, for their courageous leadership.


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