An early morning “trick-or-treat” themed anti-wage theft action at 23 Julian St. in Providence, the home of Juan Noboa, was met with violence Saturday morning as Noboa allegedly assaulted one of his former workers with a baseball bat. About two dozen demonstrators arrived at Noboa’s door at 5:30 am, wearing costumes and carrying signs, there to demand that Noboa pay his former employees the $3,691.35 the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training deemed to be owed on June 30th, a small fraction of the $17,427.00 in unpaid wages that workers claim to be owed.
To date, Noboa and his partner, Jose Bren, have not paid, necessitating Saturday morning’s action. Instead of paying, Noboa came out swinging with a baseball bat.
According to Fuerza Laboral community organizer Phoebe Gardener,
In our early morning wage theft action today, former Café Atlantic restaurant owner Juan Noboa physically assaulted one of the worker leaders, Flor Salazar, with a bat, hitting her three times in the arm and shoulder but aiming for her head. Flor was there with two other workers who Juan Noboa and business partner Jose Bren owe over $17,000 in stolen wages to. Café Atlantic workers have been organizing for 10 months for their wages, including a previous action at Juan Noboa’s house back in January.
“On June 30th, the RI Department of Labor issued an official order for Juan Noboa and business partner Jose Bren to pay just below $4,000 (only a fraction of the money claimed in their original complaints) to 4 of the 6 workers who filed complaints. It’s been 4 months, and Noboa and Bren still haven’t paid. Workers had no other option then to use community pressure to force Noboa to pay, and Noboa responds by assaulting workers.”
Flor Salazar was taken to the hospital where she was released after determining that she had no broken bones but two or three contusions.
When Providence Police arrived just after 6:30am, Noboa answered the door, according to Providence in Espanol, “screaming about the protesters. Noboa then tried to run, and the police chased him in his home, authorities said… After the altercation, an officer [was] transported by a rescue vehicle fire department at Rhode Island Hospital with a possible broken foot.”
This was the second time workers demonstrated outside the home of Juan Noboa over this issue. Back in January workers went to Noboa’s home, and days later Noboa, through his lawyer, denied owing any money.
In a statement prepared before the action and before she was assaulted, Flor Salazar, who worked between 60 and 70 hours a week at Café Atlantic between August 1st and September 28th of 2014, said, “The DLT decision requires Café Atlantic to pay just a percentage of the total wages we are due, but we thought that Noboa and Bren would at least pay up now with an official order from the state. Workers won’t come forward if they feel that the DLT doesn’t have the tools to actually recover their wages. This isn’t just about our wages. This is about bringing justice for working families and single mothers.”
Wage theft is endemic in the restaurant industry in Rhode Island, yet there is very little recourse available to workers wanting to collect stolen wages. If an employee steals from their employer, they can face arrest and serious legal consequences. If an employer steals from an employee, there is little chance that they will suffer any serious legal consequences.
“They owed us money every week and didn’t pay us at all the last two weeks of work,” said Gianni Batres in a statement. Batres worked as a drywaller at the Alta Stone Place apartments. “This isn’t fair for workers. Wood Partners needs to be ultimately responsible for making sure that the workers who are hired by their contractors and subcontractors get paid.”
Gardener added that small subcontractors can easily change names or leave the state. Many builders use contractors and subcontractors that are based out of state to begin with, which means workers would have to travel out of state and deal with out of state agencies to recover their wages. Even if the court or the state decides that the subcontractor owes workers money, it can be hard to recover if the subcontractor moves or has no assets. When workers have tried to bring these labor rights violations to the general contractor, they are told that the general contractor is not responsible because the workers are not direct employees.
On April 15th, Providence became one of over 200 cities to participate in a “National Day of Action to Fight for $15.”
The groups are also asking Mayor 
The recent 
Yet protests like these are not about one business owner who may have stolen wages from employees, or even about two restaurants (the other being 
Having protesters arrive outside your home at 6am to accuse you of theft with a bullhorn is embarrassing and may be even a little frightening for your family. The very possibility that this might happen should serve as a deterrent to any business owner in Providence who might be considering cheating employees out of the money owed to them. As the Fuerza Laboral press release stated, “Workers and allies are bringing the message that they must be paid in full immediately or else they will continue to bring public attention on Noboa and the other owners.” [emphasis mine]
About 40 people showed up before sunrise at Juan Noboa’s 23 Julian St. residence in the Olneyville section of Providence this morning to demand the payment of over $17,000 in back wages to six employees.
Juan Noboa was a volunteer for Buddy Cianci during his unsuccessful run for mayor last election. 
Supporters, activists and former employees stormed Gourmet Heaven, an upscale deli on Weybosset Street in downtown Providence Friday. They say employees are owed more than $100,000 in back wages, as is the case at Connecticut delis under the same ownership.
Pedro Guarcas worked, at both the downtown and Meeting St locations of Gourmet Heaven. Guarcas claims that while on the job, he suffered workplace injuries and physical abuse.
