Coalition for a Real Minimum-Wage Increase

Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund, Chinese Staff & Workers Association, Community Development Project Urban Justice Center, Flushing Workers Center, Hunger Action Network of New York State, MFY Legal Services, National Mobilization Against SweatShops, National Center for Law and Economic Justice

Press Release

Workers, Labor and Advocacy Groups Demand of Cuomo: Real Minimum-wage Increase and Labor-law Enforcement
Workers detail rampant wage theft & weak labor-law enforcement; call on Cuomo to raise minimum wage for tipped workers, repeal his corporate subsidies Low-wage workers from the restaurant, nail salon, car service and other trades, together with labor and advocacy organizations, demanded Governor Cuomo to take immediate action to ensure that all workers in New York receive a real increase in the minimum wage. Tipped workers described the rampant violations of minimum wage and other labor laws, the impossibilities of making ends meet even if one receives the current minimum wage, and the weak response from government enforcement agencies. One worker, Wah Lei who works at Jing Fong, a dim sum restaurant in Chinatown said Both my children are still in school. My husband and I both bear the financial responsibility in our family. My wage including tips per hour is a maximum of $7-$8 an hour. For Governor Cuomo to not increase the minimum wage for tipped workers means I cannot provide for the livelihood of my family, or a quality life for my children. Not increasing wages for tipped workers is discrimination. Most of the people in the service sector are women. Dont we deserve a wage increase?! The NY State Department of Labor says that there is a backlog of two years for minimum-wage and overtime-pay complaints from workers. Another worker, Carlos Rodriguez who worked at Dominos Pizza until he was fired for speaking out, described his experience going to the DOL for help. I went to the Department of Labor in 2007 because someone told me they would help me. I had worked two years doing bicycle delivery. I worked 66 hours a week, but they paid me for only 45 hours. They robbed me of 20 hours each week! Also, they only paid me $4.40 an hour, but half the time I was made to work inside the store and didnt get any tips. I never heard from the Labor Department. I just found out that they closed my case in 2008 and collected $365. Is this enforcement of the law? Under Governor Cuomo, the New York Department of Labor has failed to fulfill its mission of protecting New Yorks most vulnerable workers from wage theft. It is simply unacceptable that complaints for violations of minimum wage and overtime laws languish at the Department of Labor for two years or more. New York must do better for its low-wage workers and their families. said David Colodny, from the Community Development Project at the Urban Justice Center. Recent reports indicate that low-income workers in New York City alone may lose $1 billion a year to such violations. The Coalition for a Real Minimum-Wage Increase announced the submission of a FOIL request to the NY State Department of Labor for information about its enforcement activities and policies. This new law will enrich employers and corporations to the detriment of workers. It excludes hundreds of thousands of tipped workers from receiving an increase; 72% are women and many are immigrants and people of color. It does not allocate any resources for labor-law enforcement to investigate workers complaints of employers failure to pay minimum wage. Instead, Cuomos law subsidizes employers and corporations with millions of dollars to hire young workers, pitting the

Coalition for a Real Minimum-Wage Increase

Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund, Chinese Staff & Workers Association, Community Development Project Urban Justice Center, Flushing Workers Center, Hunger Action Network of New York State, MFY Legal Services, National Mobilization Against SweatShops, National Center for Law and Economic Justice

young against the old. In addition, Cuomos raising of the minimum wage to only $9 in three years is too little, too late. It undermines current national efforts to raise the federal minimum wage to at least $9 next year. Mark Dunlea, Executive Director of the Hunger Action Network of NYS pointed to the epidemic of poverty wages, More than a third of three million people fed in NY by emergency food programs are from households with someone working but not making enough to make ends meet. The recent minimum wage hike was too low to provide a living wage for families and it is inexcusable that tip workers were not directly included in the hike. The Governor needs to put more resources into having the Department of Labor take action against the epidemic of wage theft in New York State. Workers and labor and advocacy organizations are making specific demands of Cuomo to right the wrongs of the minimum-wage bill that he signed last month: Increase the minimum wage of tipped workers Enforce and strengthen the labor law concerning employers failure to pay minimum wage. Repeal the portion of the current minimum-wage law that subsidizes corporations and pits young workers against older workers Increase the minimum wage to at least $10 in the coming year (indexed to inflation)

Cuomos got to take responsibility, says Sarah Ahn of the Coalition for a Real Minimum -Wage Increase. Its unconscionable that he uses our money for corporate welfare instead of enforcement of the labor law to make any minimum-wage increase a reality. And how can he justify treating tipped workers like a second class? Its time for all of us working people to come together to let Cuomo know that he must take action stop the discrimination, stop robbing from workers to help the corporations.