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Civil and Workplace Rights Training
On the second and fourth Monday of every month we offer a civil and workplace rights training, which is required of all workers who intend to receive assistance or support. The training is presented as an interactive skit with three scenes. In the first scene, a volunteer from the audience experiences a police traffic stop and learns what his or her civil rights are in the situation and practices various responses. In the second scene, the worker is refused his/her pay from an employer, and volunteers act out how to confront an employer who does not respect his/her rights; the audience learns about workplace rights related to wage and hour law, health and safety, discrimination, and record keeping. The final scene is an ICE raid in a worker’s home, and participants learn what documents to ask for of the official and his/ her rights in this situation.
Leadership Course
The worker rights center is offering a 9 week leadership course for workers who have been identified for their leadership qualities and their commitment to justice for all workers. The course is taught by worker center staff with assistance from community members and board members. The objective of the course is to critically analyze the macro level issues and how they affect individuals and communities in the state of Arizona, recognize the importance of developing multi-racial partnerships, and develop the skills workers need to lead activities in the center and support the wage theft campaign. Topics of discussion include: common migration stories of different ethnic groups to the U.S. and the push/pull factors of migration, a historical overview of organizing and tactics, training on how to speak in public, the political terrain in Arizona and an overview of our allies, world systems (ie globalization) and how they affect Arizona, the strengths and weaknesses of each leader and the ways to participate in capacity building and campaigns, racism and white privilege, and next steps.
Community Garden
One of the center’s newest projects is the community garden, which offers a space for community building, a key element to successful campaigns and alliances. In an effort to reach higher levels of sustainability members of the center would like the community garden to grow into a larger project to help those struggling financially from cases of wage theft.
Casework
For groups of co-workers who are experiencing violations of their rights in the workplace, worker center staff work with them to document the abuses, explore methods of recourse and identify associated risks, and pursue remedy. These remedies often include negotiations with employers, delegations or protests, or filing complaints with government agencies or courts.
For workers who require assistance with a wage and hour claim and who do not have the support of fellow co-workers, we offer a Saturday clinic during which community volunteers can assist workers in filing complaints.
Wage Theft Campaign
Following a national model to address wide spread abuse and non-payment or underpayment of workers, the Phoenix worker rights center will collaborate with faith leaders, ethical business owners, local non-profits, and community members to introduce a city wide ordinance that contains provisions that sanction employers who knowingly violate wage and hour law. This ordinance would serve as a tool to both prevent wage theft and facilitate workers’ collection efforts.
Outreach to Schools and Churches
The worker center is actively raising awareness in the community by informing students and faith communities about the socio-political climate in Arizona/Maricopa County, its implications for immigrant workers, the abuses we document and the characteristics of the most vulnerable, workers’ obstacles to recourse, and how the worker center addresses these issues.
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