Houston’s City Council made a unanimous vote to try and shut down wage theft within the city through contractors and businesses by amending chapters 1 and 15 of the city ordinance.
Organizing groups such as Texas Organizing Project and Fe y Justicia Worker Center populated much of council chambers as they stood firm and continuing a fight that has been ongoing for the past two years.
“Today is a very exciting victory and very meaningful. Not only does it tackle wage theft but it essentially endorses and respects the value of everyone’s work in Houston,” said Laura Perez- Boston, Executive Director at Fe y Justicia Worker Center. “It doesn’t matter if you’re cleaning floors or if you are building homes and work places, the work matters.”
The ordinance states that upon relation to wage theft; declaring the policy of the City regarding wage theft; defining certain terms; providing for the creation of a wage theft database and procedures relating to its use; providing sanctions relating to wage theft; containing findings other provisions relating to the foregoing subject; providing for severability; providing an effective date.
This may sound like a foreign jargon but what they are saying is there will be a place for employees of any company in Houston to go and file a grievance if they are being victimized through wage theft. There will be a coordinator to monitor the city website, listing companies that are accused while investigating the claims made. This ordinance is a tangible way for employees to see that their voices are heard as the ordinance prior to amending; ruled that companies that did commit wage theft can be banned from city work.
“Any business found guilty of wage theft in an administrative or legal proceeding would be ineligible to work for the city and would be unable to receive or renew city permits or licenses,” said David Feldman, City Attorney.
This ordinance has been a constant movement as organizers have worked for two years to get city council to pass the type of ordinance they felt would help the average worker.
“This is a huge problem that is really affecting Houston workers who sometimes are already earning minimum wage and living in poverty,” said Perez- Boston. “Wage theft throws them further and further into economic instability. It’s also an issue for responsible businesses that are trying to do the right thing and paying their employees benefits and then are under cut by business that aren’t paying their employees and cutting back on cost.”
Councilmember Ed Gonzalez noted that Houston has a large amount of buying and purchasing power along with lots of contracts but he also wants contractors to know the city won’t do business with people who are found guilty of that type of activity.
“More than 100 wage and hour violations occur each week, affecting workers employed across multiple industries. A recent report estimates that more than $753 million in wages are illegally withheld from low-wage workers in the Houston area each year and nationally studies found that 68% of low-wage workers experienced wage violations each week,” according to the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Compliance Action Data and “Houston, We Have a Wage Theft Problem” (Fe y Justicia Worker Center, 2012) & “Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers (National Employment Law Project, 2009).
The Sun spoke Alejandro Zuniga, a supporter and victim of wage theft at City Hall and his story is like many who also came out to support the ordinance.
“I had an accident at my work. I wasn’t paid for damages for the accident or the day’s pay and my boss did not pay for my medical cost. I wasn’t paid for the day’s work because my employer didn’t have insurance for the workers. And now it’s been two and a half years and nothing has still been fixed,” said Zuniga.
He no longer works for the company and had to leave because of non-payment. Zuniga allegedly suffered brain damage for about two months and mental issues because of the damages. For the last two years he has been on medication for respiratory issues.
“I was working at a school cleaning floors and I used a machine powered with gas that was not supposed to be used, but neither did the contractor or the school paid any attention to that or the worker,” said Zuniga.
Due to pending litigation, Zuniga can’t release the name of the school or the company he was working for as an independent contractor.
As of now Houston is the only city in Texas to have an ordinance as such. The website will be monitored and inquiries will be taken seriously. If companies are found not guilty of such complaints they will be removed from the watch list.