Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

44° Evanston, IL
Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Labor Law’s Success Questioned

An Illinois law that intensifies penalties for employers who cheat workers out of legally entitled earnings took effect Saturday, Jan. 1, sparking praise and skepticism from Chicago-area employees. Though hailed as progression of labor rights by some, many low-income workers are disappointed by Gov. Pat Quinn, whose administration has yet to finish drafting the law’s enforcement guidelines.

Sonia Gonzalez, 22, a kitchen staff member at Northwestern University’s 1835 Hinman dining hall says she hasn’t heard of SB 3568, but that she knows how it feels to be paid a wage that doesn’t reflect the value of her labor.

“We work more than we make at our job,” Gonzalez says. “I think we deserve a little more.”

Gonzalez, a Chicago resident and mother, has worked at least 40 hours almost every week at $9 per hour for the past two years. Her job offers neither health benefits nor paid vacation, and Gonzalez said nuCuisine, the organization responsible for allotting her income, doesn’t pay her overtime. Tamika Harris, the manager at Hinman, declined to comment on how the dining hall reimburses its employees.

According to the Illinois Department of Labor’s (IDOL) website, the Wage Payment and Collection Act Amendment, also known as SB 3568, “provides assistance to workers in the collection of wages and final compensation including unused vacation pay, commissions, bonuses or other fringe benefits.”

Alberto Ortega, founder of Workforce Employer Resource Collaborative, an organization that helps people who are out of work in Chicago find jobs, says he supports SB 3568, but that it is not necessarily applicable to Sodexo Inc., the corporation that sponsors nuCuisine.

“Based on my knowledge, Sodexo respects their employees and the payment of wages owed to their employees,” Ortega says. “WERC member organizations value the relationship with Sodexo and will continue to help unemployed and underserved populations find…employment with Sodexo and other employers that follow the rule of the law.”

Alternatively, Kellyn Lewis, a Living Wage Campaign co-chair and Weinberg senior, said Gonzalez’s claim is nothing new at Northwestern. Last year his organization helped over 30 custodians file work-related grievances, including uncompensated overtime.

“Often employers on campus who are in the service sector hire workers who specifically don’t speak English well,” Lewis says. “They take advantage of them by not communicating with them or not paying them overtime.”

Wage crimes are also a problem outside of Northwestern. According to a study released by the University of Illinois at Chicago last April, low-income workers in Cook County lose $7.3 million each week from minimum wage and overtime violations.

Eric Rodriguez, the executive director of the Latino Union of Chicago, worked with other unions and the IDOL to draft SB 3568 and said language barriers remain an obstacle for the law’s enforcement in the greater Chicago area.

“A lot of workers in this state are not aware of their labor rights – specifically immigrant workers,” Rodriguez says. “The next step in ensuring these rights is educating the public.”

Though in agreement with Rodriguez, Ted Smukler, the public policy director for Interfaith Worker Justice and an advocate of SB 3568, says the real hurdle is state enforcement.

“I think the law is good in that it creates a streamlined process for workers to recover back-wages,” Smukler says. “But the IDOL has to do rule making, and we need to push them to expedite the process.”

This article was created by an affiliate of The Daily Northwestern. The Daily is not responsible for the article’s content. For more information, please contact The Daily’s editor in chief at eic@dailynorthwestern.com.

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881
Labor Law’s Success Questioned