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“My employer paid me $5.86 while I worked 60 hours a week,” Tibebe Ayele, a Union Station food court worker, told Salon. “I also received no overtime pay. Nobody should be treated like I was, especially in a federal building.”
This week, Good Jobs Nation helped Tibebe and 60 other Union Station food court workers file a wage theft complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The workers, who were cheated out of $10,000 a year because they got paid wages under the legal minimum wage and didn’t receive overtime pay, are owed $3 million in stolen wages and damages.
Last June, Good Jobs Nation assisted Ronald Reagan Building food court workers file a similar wage theft complaint, which the DOL is still investigating.
“Overall, wage theft – like that alleged by Union Station and Reagan Building workers – steals more money each year than the combined haul of every store holdup and bank robbery nationwide,” noted Think Progress.
With the President expected to tackle income inequality in his upcoming State of the Union speech, members of Congress are urging President Obama to use the opportunity to lead by example and sign an executive order to make sure taxpayer-supported companies follow labor laws and pay a living wage.
Democratic Senators pressed the issue with the President directly in a White House meeting this week. Senator Bernie Sanders, in an interview with the Associated Press, reported that the President indicated he’s taking “hard look” at raising the pay of low-wage contract workers.
Salon’s Joan Walsh argued that “An executive order raising standards and hiking wages within the federal contractor workforce would be both a practical and symbolic move for a President who clearly wants to tackle the issue of income inequality in the closing years of his second term.”
The Washington Post’s Greg Sargent also urged Presidential action, writing “This is one way Obama can help low income workers, and push the recovery along, without the help of a Congress that only appears willing to do harm to the economy.”
The New York Times Editorial Board weighed-in once again, saying now is the time for the President to announce an executive order “to give preference to companies that offer good pay and benefits.”
And as Amy Traub, Demos senior policy analyst, notes in Policy Shop, “The country as a whole would benefit if low-paid workers – whether they’re federal contract employees, Walmart workers, or anyone else stuck in a low-wage job – earned enough to buy the basics and support their families.”
Mr. President, workers can’t wait!
In the run-up to the State of the Union, we’re planning some exciting activities next week! If you want to be in the know, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!