Thread: WA-Tensions rise among unpaid workers at Wal-Mart site

Tensions rise among unpaid workers at Wal-Mart site
by Melissa Sánchez

POSTED ON Tuesday, May 05, 2009 AT 11:04PM
5 photos View the gallery

ANDY SAWYER
Manuel Espinoza Garcia is one of about two dozen workers at the new Wal Mart at 64th and Nob Hill in Yakima that have not been paid for three weeks of their work. Espinoza was also evicted from the apartment where he had been living because the company didn't pay the rent. "I need to leave tonight," Espinoza said. "I don't have money. I don't have anything." Tuesday, May 5, 2009.


YAKIMA, Wash. — The construction site for Yakima's second Wal-Mart is embroiled in a labor dispute involving about two dozen workers who say they're owed three weeks of back pay.

And the conflict is further complicated by the question of workers' legal status. The subcontractor acknowledges he's late in paying his employees, but says he will only pay workers who are here legally.

Yakima police got involved Tuesday after two workers and a young boy showed up at the con-struction site at Nob Hill Boulevard and 64th Avenue. Several officers responded after they received a call about someone with a gun.

"We just came to get the money we were owed," said Manuel Garcia Espinoza, 25, who was not arrested. "They told us to leave or else they'd call immigration on us."

Police arrested a worker on a stolen weapons charge outside his Chevy pickup and took him to the station.

The pay dispute involves 20 to 30 people -- about two-thirds of them Latinos -- who have been working for Standard Structures, an Arkansas-based masonry contractor, laying the foundation for Wal-Mart's superstore since February. Workers said they've been paid $10 to $25 an hour and were receiving checks through FedEx every two weeks.

But on Friday, they didn't get paid.

Garcia acknowledged that he and some other workers are in the U.S. illegally but said they should get paid for the work they completed.

The subcontractor said that's not possible. In a telephone interview Tuesday, he said Standard Structures was recently notified that the Social Security numbers submitted by some of the workers were not legitimate.

"Here's the deal. Those guys knew before they started work that they needed to have legitimate work authorization," said Mead Crowell of Standard Structures.

"Those guys did get paid some, but whenever we finally got notice by E-Verify that they weren't legal, we asked them, you know, prove it, dispute it, whatever. We can't legally pay these guys unless they are legally authorized to work."

E-Verify is a federal system employers used to verify the Social Security numbers of new hires.

Crowell said he did not know the men were here illegally when he hired them about two months ago. He said he intends to pay the rest of his workers soon.

Site superintendent Jack Huff estimated that the workers are due a total of $25,000 for three weeks of pay. Huff said he doesn't know why the subcontractor was late in paying his employees.

"We've been paying Standard Structures all along. They just neglected to pay the people they have been doing the work," Huff said.

He said all the workers at the site have submitted proper I-9 forms to Wal-Mart. "Every one of those guys passed," said Huff, who has hired about a dozen of the masonry workers to finish the job.

Messages to an after-hours media hotline for the retailer were not returned Tuesday evening.

All the workers were housed in six Glenmoor Green apartment units in Yakima, said apartment manager Jan Hutchinson.

She said their rent has been paid by the subcontractor as part of the workers' compensation.

But she, too, is now waiting to be paid for the rent in May.

"They haven't paid us either," Hutchinson said.

About a dozen workers believed to be here illegally had already packed their belongings and left by about 3 p.m., after the complex manager told them their May rent hadn't been paid.

Garcia, who lived with seven people in a three-bedroom apartment, said his companions probably left in fear of getting deported.

Having moved here from Utah, he has no family here, no money and nowhere to go.




* Melissa Sánchez can be reached msanchez@yakimaherald.com.

http://www.yakimaherald.com/stories/200 ... 09-workers

Workers said they've been paid $10 to $25 an hour

their rent has been paid by the subcontractor as part of the workers' compensation.

These illegals should be paid for all work performed, [/b]HOWEVER, THEY SHOULD THEN BE QUICKLY REPLACED BY AMERICANS WHO WOULD BE MORE THAN WILLING TO LAY BRICKS FOR $10 to 25 PLUS HOUSING SUBSIDIES!

carolinamtnwoman wrote:

These illegals should be paid for all work performed, HOWEVER, THEY SHOULD THEN BE QUICKLY REPLACED BY AMERICANS WHO WOULD BE MORE THAN WILLING TO LAY BRICKS FOR $10 to 25 PLUS HOUSING SUBSIDIES!

Maybe, maybe not. I think the contractor makes a debatable point here:

"Here's the deal. Those guys knew before they started work that they needed to have legitimate work authorization," said Mead Crowell of Standard Structures.

"Those guys did get paid some, but whenever we finally got notice by E-Verify that they weren't legal, we asked them, you know, prove it, dispute it, whatever. We can't legally pay these guys unless they are legally authorized to work."

Originally Posted by MW

carolinamtnwoman wrote:

These illegals should be paid for all work performed, HOWEVER, THEY SHOULD THEN BE QUICKLY REPLACED BY AMERICANS WHO WOULD BE MORE THAN WILLING TO LAY BRICKS FOR $10 to 25 PLUS HOUSING SUBSIDIES!

Maybe, maybe not. I think the contractor makes a debatable point here:

[quote:21tbu88m]"Here's the deal. Those guys knew before they started work that they needed to have legitimate work authorization," said Mead Crowell of Standard Structures.

"Those guys did get paid some, but whenever we finally got notice by E-Verify that they weren't legal, we asked them, you know, prove it, dispute it, whatever. We can't legally pay these guys unless they are legally authorized to work."

[/quote:21tbu88m]

With the recent Supreme Court decision regarding identity theft, they could probably argue that they believed the documentation which they provided to their employer was legitimate.

Originally Posted by carolinamtnwoman

Workers said they've been paid $10 to $25 an hour

their rent has been paid by the subcontractor as part of the workers' compensation.

These illegals should be paid for all work performed, [/b]HOWEVER, THEY SHOULD THEN BE QUICKLY REPLACED BY AMERICANS WHO WOULD BE MORE THAN WILLING TO LAY BRICKS FOR $10 to 25 PLUS HOUSING SUBSIDIES!

The employer can't pay them, once they know they are illegal. The employees knew they were illegal but lied to the employer.

Americans should flood to that work site for $10 to $25 an hour jobs plus housing subsidies.

The workers are lying that they don't have any money and nowhere to go. If the company paid their rent, and their wages, then they didn't spend all these wages they've already received. They need to take their money, which they have, and go home to their country of citizenship.

And if ICE were doing their job, they'd be on the scene giving them a helping hand and kicking their butts off this work site, out of this town and out of our country.

The contractor is doing the right thing. Illegal aliens need to understand they can't enter our country illegally, break all kinds of other laws getting to a job site, defraud an employer to hire them, and then when they're found out, expect to get paid. We need to send this message loud and clear. E-verify can stop this illegal employment and we need to support every contractor and other employer who is using this system and following through with terminations and non-payment.

Obama and the democrats have made it easier for illegals to work here. They decreased the immigration raids and now made it easier for those with stolen ID to get away with it. There was an article yesterday or the day before in the paper saying that unless a person using fake ID actually knew it was really another person's the charge will be more lenient. LARaza has them in their pocket.
As for the money the employees claim not to have they don't have it as they sent most of it back home.

And the conflict is further complicated by the question of workers' legal status. The subcontractor acknowledges he's late in paying his employees, but says he will only pay workers who are here legally.

I agree with Carolina Mountain Woman

The writer and the editor should both be fired for publishing shoddy work. They should be tarred and feathered as commie sympathizers. They did a lousy job at explaining the legalities facing the employer.

Originally Posted by swatchick

Obama and the democrats have made it easier for illegals to work here. They decreased the immigration raids and now made it easier for those with stolen ID to get away with it. There was an article yesterday or the day before in the paper saying that unless a person using fake ID actually knew it was really another person's the charge will be more lenient. LARaza has them in their pocket.
As for the money the employees claim not to have they don't have it as they sent most of it back home.

Yes they have it. See?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/27/immigr ... index.html

"MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- For 11 years, Pedro Zapeta, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, lived his version of the American dream in Stuart, Florida: washing dishes and living frugally to bring money back to his home country.

"Pedro Zapeta, an illegal immigrant, managed to save $59,000 while working as a dishwasher for 11 years.

"Two years ago, Zapeta was ready to return to Guatemala, so he carried a duffel bag filled with $59,000 -- all the cash he had scrimped and saved over the years -- to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

"But when Zapeta tried to go through airport security, an officer spotted the money in the bag and called U.S. customs officials.

""They asked me how much money I had," Zapeta recalled, speaking to CNN in Spanish.

"He told the customs officials $59,000. At that point, U.S. customs seized his money, setting off a two-year struggle for Zapeta to get it back. Video Zapeta describes how he lost his money »

"Zapeta, who speaks no English, said he didn't know he was running afoul of U.S. law by failing to declare he was carrying more than $10,000 with him. Anyone entering or leaving the country with more than $10,000 has to fill out a one-page form declaring the money to U.S. customs.

"Officials initially accused Zapeta of being a courier for the drug trade, but they dropped the allegation once he produced pay stubs from restaurants where he had worked. Zapeta earned $5.50 an hour at most of the places where he washed dishes. When he learned to do more, he got a 25-cent raise.

"After customs officials seized the money, they turned Zapeta over to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The INS released him but began deportation proceedings. For two years, Zapeta has had two attorneys working pro bono: one on his immigration case, the other trying to get his money back.

""They are treating me like a criminal when all I am is a working man," he said.

"Zapeta's story became public last year on CNN and in The Palm Beach Post newspaper, prompting well-wishers to give him nearly $10,000 -- money that now sits in a trust.

"Robert Gershman, one of Zapeta's attorneys, said federal prosecutors later offered his client a deal: He could take $10,000 of the original cash seized, plus $9,000 in donations as long as he didn't talk publicly and left the country immediately.

"Zapeta said, "No." He wanted all his money. He'd earned it, he said.

"Now, according to Gershman, the Internal Revenue Service wants access to the donated cash to cover taxes on the donations and on the money Zapeta made as a dishwasher. Zapeta admits he never paid taxes.

"CNN contacted the U.S. Attorneys office in Miami, U.S. Customs and the IRS about Zapeta's case. They all declined to comment.

"Marisol Zequeira, an immigration lawyer, said illegal immigrants such as Zapeta have few options when dealing with the U.S. government.

""When you are poor, uneducated and illegal, your avenues are cut," he said.

"On Wednesday, Zapeta went to immigration court and got more bad news. The judge gave the dishwasher until the end of January to leave the country on his own. He's unlikely to see a penny of his money.

""I am desperate," Zapeta said. "I no longer feel good about this country."

"Zapeta said his goal in coming to the United States was to make enough money to buy land in his mountain village and build a home for his mother and sisters. He sent no money back to Guatemala over the years, he said, and planned to bring it all home at once.

"At Wednesday's hearing, Zapeta was given official status in the United States -- voluntary departure -- and a signed order from a judge. For the first time, he can work legally in the U.S.

"By the end of January, Zapeta may be able to earn enough money to pay for a one-way ticket home so the U.S. government, which seized his $59,000, doesn't have to do so."

_______________________

I think they have it. I think they're lying when they say they don't. I think they use these phony sob stories to gain sympathy.

This is the article I mentioned about ID theft and illegals.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nation ... 8839.story

Former Iowa slaughterhouse worker withdraws ID theft guilty plea after US Supreme Court ruling
MICHAEL J. CRUMB | Associated Press Writer
2:52 PM EDT, May 5, 2009
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Defense attorneys for employees at a kosher slaughterhouse accused of helping undocumented workers commit identity theft are trying to get some of the charges dismissed because of a new ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The court ruled Monday that undocumented workers who use phony identification can't be considered identity thieves unless they knew they were using ID numbers from real people. Some officials at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, where hundreds of illegal immigrants were arrested in a raid last year, face identity theft counts.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Linda Reade allowed former human resources employee Laura Althouse to drop the guilty plea to identity theft she made in October. She still faces sentencing May 13 on a charge of conspiracy to harbor undocumented immigrants for financial gain.

Former Agriprocessors vice president Sholom Rubashkin also faces identity theft-related charges and has pleaded not guilty. His attorney Guy Cook said he will file "very soon" a motion to dismiss some of the counts against his client based on the Supreme Court ruling.



The high court's decision limits federal authorities' use of a 2004 law designed to get tough on identity thieves.

Authorities charged 270 illegal immigrants with identity theft following the raid at the Postville plant on May 12, 2008. They all accepted plea deals in which they agreed not to fight deportation.

U.S. attorney spokesman Bob Teig indicated that the undocumented workers' plea deals will not be affected because none of them ended up pleading guilty to identity theft.

"At the time those charges were filed, that was the law," Teig said. He said at that point at least three courts had ruled that "you didn't have to show that the person knew the numbers belonged to a real person."

Althouse's attorney Ward Rouse said Reade's ruling effectively dismissed the identity theft charge against her, but Teig disagreed, saying the charge will remain until action is taken by the government. He said he would not speculate on what action might be taken.

Teig declined to comment on Rubashkin's case or those against two other workers who face identity theft-related charges. Brent Beebe and Hosam Amara are charged with aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft.

A telephone message left Tuesday for Beebe's attorney, Raphael Scheetz, was not immediately returned; his client has pleaded not guilty. Amara is still being sought by federal authorities.