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Related: About this forumCalifornia Orders Wal-Mart Warehouse to Pay $1.1 Million in Stolen Wages
http://october2011.org/blogs/kevin-zeese/california-orders-wal-mart-warehouse-pay-11-million-stolen-wagesThe state of California has ordered a Southern California merchandise-processing warehouse to pay 865 workers more than $1 million in stolen wages.
Workers at Quetico, LLC, a warehouse complex in Chino, Calif., are responsible for labeling, tagging and packing apparel and shoes for major retailers including Wal-Mart, Levi's, Maidenform and Puma. On Monday, the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement cited the complex for more than $1.1 million in back wages and unpaid overtime, plus an additional $200,000 in penalties.
Workers last year informed the Warehouse Worker Resource Center that they were being denied pay for time worked, made to work through lunch and threatened with termination if they complained. The Quetico warehouse has been cited in the last year by multiple state agencies for violations, including unsafe working conditions and retaliation against workers who requested to be paid for missing wages.
The wage theft ruling is a significant victory for Warehouse Workers United, which has led a movement to hold Wal-Mart responsible for warehouse working conditions under the company's subcontractors. Dozens, if not hundreds of workers from other Wal-Mart warehouse locations—including more facilities in California, stores in Seattle and Dallas, and another outside of Chicago—went on strike late last year to protest poor working conditions and retaliation against workers who complained about safety hazards.
(More at the link.)
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Lady Freedom Returns
(14,180 posts)
PDJane
(10,103 posts)
progressoid
(50,787 posts)
$200,000 in 'penalties' hardly seems to be that.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)Next thing you know they'll move to Boyle Heights.
slackmaster
(60,567 posts)
cstanleytech
(27,181 posts)Why do I say that? Because this will really do nothing to stop the practice because its profitable for companies to do this kind of stuff and it will continue until they are shown that its not profitable which will only happen if the fines for this type of stuff are stiffened enough to where there is no profit in doing it.
Apophis
(1,407 posts)They would makes stay sometimes 2 to 3 hours past our scheduled shift then cut those overtime hours by taking extended lunch breaks. I was forced to quit after I demanded that they should have paid me what I was owed.
ReRe
(10,910 posts)... That amount is a spit-in-the-wind over the shoulder of Wal-Mart. Should have been at least ten times as much. Just saying...
Populist_Prole
(5,364 posts)They put Walmart on such a pedestal. I'm not quite sure if it's because they really like the place or because the right wing noise machine say they should. I know a few cons who are so partisan and so petty that they enjoy holding the mirror reverse opposite of anything that seems even remotely pro-labor.