The home care industry in New York City runs on state-sanctioned wage theft. In 2022, SEIU 1199 estimated that $6 billion in stolen wages was owed to NYC home care workers. Yet when 1199 arbitrated an agreement with the home care agencies, it settled for $34 million — just 0.56% of what it believed workers were owed. Billions more are stolen from non-union agencies. Workers from SEIU 1199-unionized agencies, are told that their wage claims have been resolved with the arbitration award, averaging an insulting $250 per worker.
In the restaurant industry, service workers have been spreading the word to support the passage of the SWEAT bill (Securing Wages Earned Against Theft) in the New York State Assembly. Recently, NMASS member Octaviano picketed his workplace and won back stolen wages. At his victory celebration, he put it this way: “During the pandemic, I bussed tables, prepared food, delivered meals, and broke down cartons. I worked 52 hours a week, six days a week, for $50 a day. In the last 19 years I’ve done delivery for three restaurants and all three have stolen my wages. All my friends, coworkers, and family have had the same experience. We need to organize to stop this wage theft.”
NMASS 