2 days ago
Free attendance: ABQ legal clinic for worker exploitation on Friday
Jun. 10—State and federal labor officials as well as human rights advocates will come together Friday to offer a wage theft legal clinic.
The Albuquerque event is free and open to all workers, and will offer informational presentations, resources and complaint assistance for worker exploitation. Employees can also file complaints on-site at the event. Spanish language resources will be available.
Wage theft is the largest form of theft in the U.S. Workers across the nation lose billions of dollars annually in unpaid wages, according to the National Employment Law Project.
That's why Organized Power in Numbers is hosting the Friday clinic, said Janyce Cardenas, campaign manager for the labor organization serving the South and Southwest.
Wage theft can happen unintentionally, like working through lunch or not getting paid for equipment runs, Cardenas said.
But that's not always the case, she added. She said Organized Power in Numbers has worked with clients whose bosses threaten deportation as retaliation to an employee speaking up about exploitation.
Immigrant communities are especially vulnerable as the Trump administration carries out mass deportations, Cardenas said, pointing to the recent L.A. protests over immigration enforcement and, more locally, immigrant arrests in New Mexico as examples.
"So now we have a group of immigrant workers who are afraid to go to work, and ... they're more vulnerable to labor violations because their bosses know that they're less likely to speak up," she said.
"This is why events like this are important — so that all workers know, and especially immigrant workers know, that they have rights as workers, regardless of immigration status," she added.
Officials with the U.S. Department of Labor, New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, city of Albuquerque Office of Equity and Inclusion, New Mexico Center for Law and Poverty, the Mexican Consulate, New Mexico Caregivers Coalition, Border Human Rights Network and Casa Fortaleza will be at the event.
Organizers encourage workers attending the event who want to file a labor complaint on-site to bring any receipts or documents related to the case.
