CIW member Julia de la Cruz lead the protest, assisted by members of the Brown University Student Labor Alliance, the AFSC, Fuerza Laboral and the Fair Food Alliance.

When a coalition of five protesters approached the restaurant to deliver a message to the manager, they were loudly asked to leave the property, and did. The protest lasted 90 minutes and garnered the support and interest of many passersby.

After workers and activists from Fuerza Laboral gave David Civetti a 6am wake up call last August, he agreed to meet with the 8 workers who claim that his company owes them for work they completed but were never paid for. Civetti, the CEO of  Dependable and Affordable Cleaning Inc, met the workers at the Fuerza Laboral offices, said organizer Raul Figueroa, but maintained he owed the workers nothing, became frustrated, and left. Hence the need for a second action, this timed aimed at Civetti’s offices in the neighborhood next to Providence College.

Fuerza maintains that on May 26-29, Civetti’s company “assigned a group of workers to clean apartments located in the area surrounding Providence College. The workers say that Civetti assigned workers to the houses that needed cleaning and supplied them with company tee shirts and cleaning supplies. After the job was completed, 8 workers were not compensated for those 4 days, 11 hours a day.” Civetti claimed that the people who cleaned his apartments were hired by subcontractors, and that the the subcontractors owe the money, not him.

On Thursday about a dozen workers and activists showed up at Civetti’s offices near Providence College, and began leafleting houses and passing students. Organizer Raul Figueroa carried a megaphone and broadcast the workers’ complaints to the neighborhood. Once the workers arrived at Civetti’s offices, Fabian, one of the workers, called Civetti on the phone and asked him to come down and pay him the money he is owed. When Civetti would not commit to do so, the protest continued.

Eventually, as can be seen towards the end of the third video below, Civetti agreed by phone to meet with the workers at the Fuerza Laboral offices for a second time. According to Fuerza organizer Raoul Figueroa and Mike Araujo of RI Jobs with Justice, Civetti agreed that he did owe the workers their unpaid wages at this meeting. He has agreed to pay the workers on Friday.

This story will be updated.

UPDATE: Raoul Figueroa has informed me that the employees have been paid.

David Civetti, CEO of Dependable and Affordable Cleaning Inc, got a wake up call early Thursday morning about the importance of paying employees for work done.

At about 6am over a dozen people from Fuerza Laboral arrived at Civetti’s Johnston home and knocked on his door, waking him from his sleep. Fuerza maintains that on May 26-29, Civetti’s company “assigned a group of workers to clean apartments located in the area surrounding Providence College. After the job was completed, 8 workers were not compensated for those 4 days, 11 hours a day.”

The excuse given at the time was that Civetti was not satisfied with the work that had been done, say the workers.

“What’s the problem?” asked Civetti answering the door after protesters rang his bell and yelled for him to come outside and talk with them. “I have no idea who anybody is. I have no idea who you are.”

“No?” asked a woman incredulously, “Do you know her? Do you know him?”

“No,” said Civetti, before eventually admitting that he recognized one of the workers present.

“You need to pay your workers,” said Heiny Maldonado, executive director of Fuerza Laboral.

Civetti shrugged. “Everybody who works for me gets paid.”

“Let me ask you a question,” said Civetti, “Did I hire you? Or did someone else bring you to work with them?”

“We worked for you.”

“Did I hire you?” asked Civetti again. “Rosa hired you. Did Rosa bring them? Rosa and Chris brought them to a job. I didn’t hire them.”

“We know the game,” said Raul Figueroa, organizer for Fuerza, “we deal with it every day.”

The game Figueroa was referring to is the practice of classifying some workers as subcontractors in an attempt to circumvent labor laws. By hiring people on as subcontractors, some companies try to avoid the costs associated with properly hiring workers and sometimes manage to not pay workers at all.

“We use sub-contractors from time to time,” admitted Civetti. “Rosa and Chris are sub-contractors. They are responsible for paying [their employees].”

Claiming that the workers were hired as subcontractors doesn’t let Civetti off the hook says Marissa Janton, a lawyer with the Rhode Island Center for Justice, a public interest law office that has teamed up with Fuerza Laboral. Under the law, an employer is defined by what he does, she said.

According to Janson, Civetti “directly employed” her clients. Civetti met them at a house on Eaton St. near Providence College where he keeps his cleaning supplies. He set their $10 an hour pay rate and assigned them to the houses they needed to clean. After they finished a house, the workers called Civetti who told them which house they needed to clean next, said Janson.

This all adds up to being an employee, maintains Janson, not a sub-contractor.

Workers at the early morning action reminded Civetti that they were given tee shirts emblazoned with the company logo to wear while they worked. Civetti said that he gives out lots of tee shirts, and asked if wearing a Dunkin Donuts tee shirt means he works there.

“It does if you’re pouring coffee,” said Justin Kelley, who assisted Fuerza as the police liaison for the morning’s action.

Ultimately, after nearly a quarter hour of contentious conversation, Civetti agreed to meet with the aggrieved workers to settle the issue next week.

Driving to Civetti’s home, the group passed many campaign signs advertising a Civetti running for the Johnston City Council. When asked about the signs Civetti replied that the signs were for his brother, Robert Civetti, a longtime Johnston resident and accountant

Not getting paid for work is something few of us can afford, but this practice seriously impacts low wage workers. Everyone needs to eat and pay rent after all, and a week working without pay is a serious injustice.

“It’s sad and disappointing to work so hard for someone who ends up stealing your wages, after working for over 40 hours,” said Maria Hoyos, one of the affected workers. She was involved with a direct action several years ago, demanding lost wages for other workers. She never thought this would happen to her. “Being told that your work was not done properly, just to use it as an excuse to not pay you is not only wrong but immoral.”

Below is the full interaction between Civetti and Fuerza Laboral.

These bills will provide for serious penalties including fines and imprisonment for taking from working Rhode Islanders. Perhaps the most significant penalty is the loss of a business license, the bills also empower the director of the Department of Labor and Training to determine compliance. Encouraging responsible reporting and discouraging false claims, the process of private suit has meaningful safeguards in place.

“Too often we see workers awarded a judgment by DLT only to have the employer refuse to pay what is owed,” said Robert McCreanor executive director of the worker advocacy law firm The Rhode Island Center for Justice. With the power to revoke business licenses from offending employers who refuse to comply with its rulings, DLT will be able to compel prompt payment and get more money, more efficiently, into the hands of the worker who earned it. While more work needs to be done to address the growing problem of wage theft, this bill provides an important tool for Rhode Island workers.”

Said Lidia Jimenez a member of Fuerza Laboral, “As a worker that has had their wages stolen, I feel proud that my testimony and that of Flor Salazar helped elected officials understand the atrocities that are committed daily by bad employers who feel that justice will not reach them and take our daily bread. This will help put an end to some of the abuse.” It is estimated by Economic Progress Institute that over $50,000,000,000 per year are stolen from workers’ wages. The process of enforcement historically has been spotty and difficult to apply.

Jeremy Rix who is running for 2nd ward of the Warwick City Council said, “I’m thrilled that the wage theft reforms introduced by Rep. Shekarchi become law. This law will deter many unethical employers from stealing wages, and provide a meaningful path for vulnerable employees to recover their stolen earnings.”

The organizations that have participated in the effort to pass these two vital bills are: Rhode Island Jobs with Justice, The RIAFL-CIO, Fuerza Laboral, and the Rhode Island Center for Justice. Each of these organizations is committed to improving the conditions of Rhode Island’s working people.

Todos Somo Arizona (TSAZ) is a coalition of groups including Jobs with Justice, English for Action, Fuerza Laboral, Comite de Inmigrantes, RI Interfaith Coalition, 32BJSEIU RI, AFCS, Estudios Biblicos and ONA, that is holding a series of actions at the State House to keep attention focused on the issue and on Tuesday activists were loud and their presence was felt, even in the midst of a Second Amendment Rights rally happening at roughly the same time.

At least 400 2nd Amendment Coalition members turned out to pressure the House Judiciary Committee on a raft of bills being heard concerning guns. Nearly 100 members of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence (RICAGV) turned out to have their say on the bills as well.

This lead to some friction, like when former candidate for Mayor of Warwick Stacia Huyler decided to chide the Licenses for All coalition for being too loud. The irony of a Second Amendment activist complaining about people using their First Amendment rights was lost on Huyler.

The issue of granting driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants is not going away. Everyone, regardless of status, deserves to be allowed to function in our society, and until this becomes the law in Rhode Island, these protests will continue.

Here’s all of this year’s coverage of the issue from RI Future:

• Licenses for All rally rocks opening session at State House
• Progressive Dems urge Raimondo to issue executive order on driver’s licenses
• Two protests rock State House during Governor’s budget address
• Undocumented workers pay $33.4 million in RI taxes and they need drivers licenses
• I used to live in fear: Driver’s licenses and the undocumented
• Bishop Tobin supports driver’s licenses for undocumented workers
• Full video: House hears testimony over driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants
• Driver’s license debate is driven by nativism

Workers declared victory today after Teriyaki House management finally gave into the pressure of direct action and paid their employees the money the US Department of Labor stipulated.

Teriyaki House workers and their supporters once again protested outside the restaurant in Downtown Providence during lunch to demand that the restaurant pay its employees thousands of dollars in unpaid wages. During the last protest, just before Christmas, Teriyaki House management and lawyers agreed to pay Fidel de Leon, Emilio Garcia, Vicente Lobos and Pedro Gomez their back wages (and damages) as stipulated by the US Department of Labor, by January 22.

As the workers and supporter, organized by Fuerza Laboral and RI Jobs with Justice (JWJ) marched in front of the restaurant on Friday, dissuading customers from eating at the restaurant, the manager of Teriyaki House came out and discussed surrender terms with JWJ executive director Michael Araujo. After Araujo spoke with Teriyaki House’s lawyer on the phone, the restaurant manager headed directly to the US Department of Labor offices downtown and paid.

Minutes later, the unpaid employees, who had been fighting for what they have been owed for years, emerged holding checks. It was a surprising and joyous end to a long and difficult battle for fair pay.

• Workers claim unpaid wages at Teriyaki House rally
• Teriyaki House ruining Christmas for unpaid employees

This was the fourth demonstration at Teriyaki House over this issue. For years workers were not being paid minimum wage or overtime for 70-85 hour work weeks. You can see the demonstration and its successful conclusion in the first video below. In the second video, Heiny Maldonado of Fuerza Laboral talks about the power and necessity of direct action against a system that does not empower workers against their employers. Keally Cieslik provided the English translation in both videos.

The workers organized through Fuerza Laboral / Power of Workers, a community organization that builds worker leadership to fight workplace exploitation, and RI Jobs with Justice, a coalition of community and labor groups. In June 2015, former Teriyaki House workers filed a complaint with the US Department of Labor regarding their unpaid wages. The employees who filed the complaint had worked at the restaurant for up to three years, between 72 and 85 hours per week. During that time, they were only getting paid between $450 and $600 a week. The restaurant management discounted two hours of lunch/break each day when workers were actually given only 15 minutes to eat their lunch and took no other breaks.

The Christmas theme was especially poignant, as unpaid workers will be foregoing many aspects of Christmas that many who celebrate the holiday take for granted. “Christmas is an important time to be with family and buy gifts for your children, but we won’t have money this holiday,” says former Teriyaki House employee Fidel de Leon, “By stealing our wages, Teriyaki House stole Christmas from us and our children.”

During the action, a man who identified himself as the manager of the restaurant stood nearby with his cellphone, filming those who spoke out about the wage theft they experiences. his actions seemed intended to intimidate the former workers, and he laughed as speaker’s asserted the facts of their case. Later, the same man exited the restaurant a second time. This time he attempted to force a worker to lower his protest sign so that the cellphone camera could capture the worker’s face.

“I worked first 6 days a week, 12 hours a day but I was only paid $514 a week, which comes out to only $7/hr without any overtime,” says Vicente Lobos, one of the former Teriyaki House workers taking action today. “I’m very happy that the DOL has reached an agreement with Teriyaki House to pay us, and we want Teriyaki House to know that we will make sure they come through with this payment. I need my money now, I cannot wait any longer than I already have.”

Teriyaki House workers are part of a greater push to organize workers all along the food chain through Food Chain Workers RIsing, led by Fuerza Laboral and other members of RI Jobs with Justice. The workers’ struggle against wage theft at Teriyaki House is also part of a larger national campaign with Jobs with Justice to pressure the US Congress to pass the Power Act. The Power Act would expand protections for undocumented workers who are organizing for their rights in the workplace.

See also:

Workers claim unpaid wages at Teriyaki House rally

Fast food workers rally for $15 and a union at Wendy’s in Warwick

“In June of last year, when the candidates were running for governor, we got a promise from all the candidates, including Gina Raimondo, that she would sign an executive order granting driver’s licenses to undocumented people in Rhode Island within the first year of office,” said Juan Garcia, from the Comité de Inmigrantes en Acción.

Garcia was speaking at a State House press conference organized by Todos Somos Arizona, ​(We Are All Arizona) coalition, a group that supports immigrant rights. Since the Paris attacks last Friday, say organizers, “we have seen a surge in xenophobic messages and remarks made by politicians and the media against refugees and immigrants across Europe and the United States, including Rhode Island.”

Garcia said, “We just want to send a message, especially with everything that has happened in Paris with the terrorist attacks. The people standing behind me are not terrorists. We are human beings, and what better way to promote safety in Rhode Island than to give everybody a driver’s license?”

The coalition argues that this is a human rights issues and that, “driver’s licenses for all residents of Rhode Island would mean safer roads for everyone… Parents need driver’s licenses to drive their children (many of whom are US citizens) to school, doctor’s appointments, and to get to work. They shouldn’t have to live in fear everyday simply to provide for their families.”

“We do not want to be criminalized,” said Heiny Maldonado, director of Fuerza Laboral, “We only want to be recognized for the people that we are.”

José has been in the country in since 2000 and has been driving without a license since 2009. “It’s a safety issue,” he said, “I drive in fear, looking through my rear view mirror… I work a lot, I drive a lot and I need to provide for my loved ones.”

Veronica, speaking on behalf of Inglés en Acción / English for Action (EFA), said that she was speaking for undocumented parents who need to meet with teachers, meet with doctors and need to attend English language classes. They are, says Veronica, “afraid that they can’t get somewhere because they don’t have licenses.”

A dozen states, including Illinois, Vermont, California, New Jersey and Connecticut, have already passed legislation to provide licenses for all of their residents, regardless of immigration status. “We demand that Speaker [Nicholas] Mattiello support the governor, and not block this action,” said Garcia.

So far, Governor Raimondo has failed to keep her campaign promise and sign the executive order. In response to a query, the Governor’s office replied, “The Governor supports providing licenses for undocumented Rhode Island residents and remains committed to pursuing a solution. She has a team across state agencies working on this, but no decisions have been made on timing or process at this time.”

The Todos Somos Arizona coalition includes English for Action (EFA), Olneyville Neighborhood Association (ONA), Jobs with Justice, SIEU, Fuerza Laboral, Comité de Inmigrantes en Acción / Immigrant Action Committee and the American Friends Service Committee.

The activists entered the restaurant on Eddy Street and presented a letter to the manager. After the manager accepted the letter the activists moved peacefully out of the restaurant and to the sidewalk, where they marched and chanted. This was part of a series of similar actions covered in part here and here. In accepting the letter, the manager of the Wendy’s kept the disruption of business within the restaurant to a minimum.

According to the Fair Food Program website,

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ (CIW) Fair Food Program is a unique partnership among farmers, farmworkers, and retail food companies that ensures humane wages and working conditions for the workers who pick fruits and vegetables on participating farms. It harnesses the power of consumer demand to give farmworkers a voice in the decisions that affect their lives, and to eliminate the longstanding abuses that have plagued agriculture for generations.

The Program has been called ‘the best workplace-monitoring program’ in the US in the New York Times, and ‘one of the great human rights success stories of our day’ in the Washington Post, and has won widespread recognition for its unique effectiveness from a broad spectrum of human rights observers, from the United Nations to the White House.

According to the activists, of “the five largest fast food corporations in the country — McDonald’s, Subway, Burger King, Taco Bell, and Wendy’s — Wendy’s is the only one to not yet sign onto the Fair Food Program.”

In a release announcing the action, the Brown Student Labor Alliance said, “With 14 food retailers now part of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Fair Food Program, we are seeing incredible changes — from a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment and modern-day slavery, to access to shade, water, and bathrooms, to a real voice on the job — made real not only in Florida, but across state-lines. Just a few months ago, the CIW traveled up and down the eastern seaboard of the United States — Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey — carrying out worker-to-worker education sessions about these new rights for the first time ever with thousands of workers beyond Florida. With these changes, there is now a deep urgency for reinforcement and expansion of the Program, which will only be possible through more retailers joining — yet, corporations like Wendy’s and Publix continue to utterly deny their responsibility to farmworkers.”

Fast food employees, restaurant workers and labor allies rallied outside the Wendy’s restaurant at 771 Warwick Ave in Warwick around noon as part of a national effort to kick off a year-long $15 minimum wage campaign ahead of next year’s presidential elections. Nearly 100 people gathered in the parking lot of Wendy’s, where the management had locked the doors ahead of the protests and only served meals through the drive-thru window.

Led by outgoing Rhode-Island Jobs with Justice executive director Jesse Strecker, workers chanted and marched around the building, finally settling in front for a series of speeches from various workers and advocates “all the way down the food chain.”

Long time Wendy’s worker and minimum wage advocate Jo-Ann Gesterling spoke not only about fair wages, but about wages stolen when management forces workers to work through their breaks, lack of accountability in the management structure, and other issues fast food workers deal with on a daily basis.

Demonstrators were not only demanding $15 an hour, fair treatment and a union, they were also demanding that Wendy’s join the the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Fair Food Program (FFP). Attentive readers will remember that the Brown Student Labor Alliance lead a protest in October around the FFP, described as a “ground-breaking model for worker-led social responsibility based on a unique collaboration among farmworkers, Florida tomato growers and 14 participating buyers.” It is “the first comprehensive, verifiable and sustainable approach to ensuring better wages and working conditions in America’s agricultural fields.”

Emelio Garcia, a former employee of Teriyaki House Restaurant in downtown Providence spoke about not having been paid for work he did at the restaurant. Wage theft is a story sadly common in Rhode Island, as more and more employees stand up and demand the wages that have been stolen from them by employers. Garcia says that he was docked for two hours of pay a day for breaks he was never actually allowed to take.

Flor Salazar, who worked at Café Atlantic and was owed thousands of dollars in unpaid wages, was allegedly assaulted by owner Juan Noboa with a baseball bat when she and a group of workers confronted Noboa at his home Halloween morning. “We are tired of having our work stolen, we are tired of being disrespected in our workplace,” said Salazar, “It’s enough.”

The final speaker was a not a restaurant worker but Magdalene Smith, a CNA working at a Pawtucket nursing home. “This is not a fight for just restaurants, but for everybody,” said Smith. “Everybody deserves $15. We work hard.”

In addition to Jobs With Justice and the Brown Student/Labor Alliance the event was sponsored by 1199 SEIU Rhode Island, Fuerza Laboral/Power of Workers and Restaurant Opportunities Center of Rhode Island.