Norton to Speak at Press Conference and Rally for Exploited D.C. Workers on Monday
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) on Monday, August 4 at 9:00 a.m. will participate in a press conference and rally outside of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to highlight instances of worker exploitation at District of Columbia-based construction company Tito Contractors. More than 100 current and former Tito employees are suing the company for unfair labor practices in violation of federal law, including failing to pay overtime and threatening workers with retaliation when they tried to assert their worker rights. Tito employees attempted to form a union last year, organizing with the Painters District Council 51, and they have formally submitted their complaint to the NLRB. Several workers also reported that company supervisors threatened to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in an effort to use the possibility of deportation to silence them and stop the organizing effort. In April, Norton sent letters to ICE and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) following reports from the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades and DC Jobs With Justice that their workers have been intimidated by their employers, which have threatened to call ICE to enforce immigration laws in response to ongoing labor disputes with the workers. The report came at a meeting Norton hosted that month with ICE, DOL, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, DC Jobs With Justice and constituents. In her letters, Norton asked, among other things, how DOL works with ICE to ensure that ICE does not interfere with ongoing labor disputes.
"Worker intimidation, regardless of immigration status, is against the law," Norton said. "Intimidating workers to keep them from organizing or becoming a member of a union not only offends our workers, but it also violates everything from human rights treaties that the U.S is a signatory to, to federal and state laws and the Constitution itself. I believe the NLRB will recognize the rights of these workers, and will use their authority to right the wrongs committed by Tito Contractors."
Who:Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton
Tefere Gebre, Executive Vice President, AFL-CIO
Reyna Sorto, recycling plant worker for Tito Contractors
Domingo Zamora, painter for Tito Contractors
Natalie Patrick-Knox, Immigrant Rights Campaign Organizer, Jobs With Justice
Where: Front steps of the National Labor Relations Board
1099 14th Street NW, Washington, D.C.
When: Monday, August 4, 2014, 9:00 a.m.