Undocumented immigrants have filled the roles of essential workers before and since the coronavirus pandemic, yet many are at the mercy of unscrupulous employers who steal their wages, force them to work in unsafe conditions and sexually harass and assault them. These workers often don’t speak out for fear of being deported.
In early-July, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a document outlining a process to provide immigrant workers some protection, although advocates say much more needs to be done. In support of the action, the national AFL-CIO federation of unions said, “When immigrant workers are scared into silence, violations go unchecked. We cannot reasonably expect to end wage theft and exploitation without protecting those workers who have the courage to take a stand.”
Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Nadia Marin-Molina, co-executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, or NDLON, comprised of 66 workers’ centers in 23 states. Here she describes how grassroots activism helped bring about this Labor Department immigrant worker initiative, which she calls “a big deal.”
[Web editor’s note: The audio version has been shortened to fit broadcast time constraints and some content is not included in this transcript.]
NADIA MARIN: What the Department of Labor announced last week was a guidance document where they explain how workers who file labor complaints can seek what they call a Statement of Interest, which is basically a letter in support from the Department of Labor to be able to request deferred action status from the Department of Homeland Security. It is a big deal because it recognizes for the first time how immigration status – and immigration as an agency – is used by employers against workers who are attempting to enforce their rights.
MELINDA TUHUS: Can you give just some examples – you don’t need names — but just some specific examples of how immigrant workers have had their rights denied and been abused by their employers and have not had recourse before?
NADIA MARIN: Sure. I mean, it’s hard because there are so many examples — and among employers there is a sort of culture of abuse and exploitation against immigrant workers. And for workers it’ so common that sometimes that’s just the way it is.
But to give some concrete examples, I think it was last year, there was a chemical leak in Georgia at a plant called Foundation Food Group, where six workers were killed, and one of the organizations on the ground there is Georgia, which is called GAFU – Georgia Familias Unidas – they talk about how the fact that workers were undocumented in that plant. The fact that the sheriffs in that area have an agreement to co-enforce, basically, immigration with ICE, meant that workers in that plant were afraid.
Even though there was this terrible leak, even though workers were killed, people were afraid of what would happen. When the emergency services came, (they) were afraid that they could be deported, and this was an obstacle for OSHA, which is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, to be able to do its job of investigating why the leak had happened and whether workers had been adequately protected by the company — which they hadn’t, right? And so this group of workers were willing to stand up and talk with OSHA because there was an assurance that their immigration status wouldn’t be used against them.
You know, this is something that happens every day, where workers have their wages stolen, where workers are facing hazardous health and safety conditions or are being discriminated against or are sexually harassed on the job and feel that they can’t speak up. Or they want to speak up, but if they do, their employer is going to call immigration, is going to call ICE and ICE is going to come and arrest them and their families.
The idea of the directive is that workers who file a case, let’s say with OSHA, that they would be able to make an application for the Department of Labor to support them so that they could get immigration protection. Eventually, what we believe is that when other workers see that they can access this protection, that’s going to encourage workers to come forward. Now, the announcement for us was a partial step forward toward what needs to be done, because the Department of Labor puts this information out on their website, in a Frequently Asked Questions document. What needs to happen is that every worker in the country needs to know that this exists? Every worker needs to know how they can apply, if they need to?
And then the other part that’s still missing is DHS, the Department of Homeland Security, also needs to come forward and make clear how workers can apply for this status. So, there is still more that we need to see for this to become real for workers across the country.
For more information, visit the National Day Laborer Organizing Network at www.ndlon.org.
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