Ramon was hired to work at a
construction site, but after a
short time his employer stopped
paying him and offered only excuses
and bounced checks for weeks
following. Tomas worked on a
ranch doing heavy labor for ten
hours a day, but discovered he was
only being paid for eight hours.
Roselia was hired by a bakery and
worked for only twenty dollars a day
because she didn't know about
minimum wage requirements.
Ramon, Tomas, and Roselia came
to Canal Alliance because they
heard from friends that we helped
others in the same plight. We listened
to their grievances and then
contacted their employers. After
we reviewed with their employers
the labor laws that protect workers
in these situations, all three
recovered the wages that were
due to them.
A Place for Rights:
Family Advocacy
Wage abuse is reported to us
every day and we find that
mistreatment of Canal workers is
common. Their limited literacy and
communication skills leave them
vulnerable to exploitation and
fraud. As a result, one of the many
accomplishments of our program
for Multicultural Family Advocacy
is educating residents and their
employers about labor laws.
Our Family Advocates meet with
each worker, then locate their
employer and discuss the situation.
In some cases, we have to
contact the Labor Commission,
but more often, one phone call is
all it takes to remedy the complaint.
Every year, we help workers
recover thousands of dollars in
lost wages.
Other Programs that Help Promote Health and Social
Equity:
Grupo Respeto and Grupo Dignidad – Domestic
Violence Support
Compañeras
|