July 2012
1 post
Bronx carwash worker will march with thousands →
Jose Linares, a Bronx carwash worker, will join thousands of other low-wage workers, community leaders, and union organizers for a “Day of Action” in support of worker’s rights this Tuesday.
“I’m excited and hopeful to see so many people come together marching for workers’ rights, to put a stop to abuses in the workplace,” said Linares, 46, speaking...
June 2012
2 posts
Hi-Tek Car Wash In Brighton Beach Sued By Workers →
Hi-Tek Car Wash at 2981 Coney Island Avenue was sued on Wednesday by 17 of its workers, who claimed they were not paid minimum wage or properly compensated for overtime, according to the Daily News.
The immigrant workers, which included current and past washers, filed a federal lawsuit against their employers for bridging their legal rights.
The Daily News said that the workers stated that they...
Lawsuit claims Brighton Beach car wash workers got... →
A Brooklyn car wash got served by its workers Wednesday.
Seventeen current and former washers at Hi-Tek Car Wash in Brighton Beach filed a federal lawsuit against the company, saying they were stiffed on overtime and didn’t get minimum wage.
The legal move, which follows a similar suit at a different car wash in the Bronx, is the latest step in a citywide campaign to clean up the industry amid a...
May 2012
10 posts
Politicker: Car Wash Politics →
Organizers have been ramping up their efforts to change the way car washes treat their workers in New York City, and judging from recent events, it seems that they’ve generated a bit of momentum. For example, earlier today, the New York Daily News reported a new federal lawsuit placed against a car wash business, and advocates involved in the effort told The Politicker they feel the tipping...
NY Daily News: Bronx car wash workers file... →
The New York Daily News reported last week on workers at the Xcellent Car Wash in the Bronx who are suing their employer for unpaid wages and overtime, and on the ongoing efforts of the WASH New York to reform the car wash industry in New York City. Read the full story.
Elected Officials, Community Leaders & Workers...
Growing Movement of Elected Officials, Community Leaders, and Workers to Condemn Illegal Practices at East Harlem Car Wash, Push for Industry-Wide Reform
May 17, 6:00 p.m., LMC Car Wash, 334 E. 109th Street, East Harlem, New York
WHAT: City and state elected leaders will join workers and community leaders to confront management at LMC Car Wash in East Harlem, demanding an end to...
WNYC's Transportation Nation: City Council Bill to... →
(New York, NY — Sharyn Jackson, WNYC) New York City City Council members have introduced legislation that would require all car washes register for a license with the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Harlem Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito announced the bill to more than 50 protestors who gathered on the steps of City Hall. She said she was surprised when she learned that car washes didn’t...
WFUV News: City Council to Clean Up New York... →
The New York City Council is looking to clean up the city’s car wash industry.
City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito announced the Car Wash Accountability Act Wednesday. Currently, city car washes are unregulated, and don’t require a license to operate. Mark-Viverito says this leads to hazardous working conditions and unfair wages. “There have been reports by the Department...
Crain's New York: City Council cracks down on car... →
To improve working conditions, lawmakers push for annual licensing of the city’s 200 car-wash operators. Fines could reach $15,000 a year.
Local lawmakers introduced a bill Wednesday that would force the city’s 200 car-wash operators to obtain an annual license or pay fines of up to $15,000 a year.
To get a license from the city’s Department of Consumer Affairs, operators...
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NY Daily News: Lawmakers aim to clean up New York... →
City Council bill, which would make car washes get a license, comes after accusations of labor law violations
City lawmakers say they hope to clean up New York’s car wash industry — by making operators follow the same licensing rules as tow truck companies, garages and more than 50 other businesses.
“I was actually surprised when I learned that car washes don’t need any license from the city...
City Council Looks to Clean Up Dirty Car Washes,...
Press Conference: 11 a.m., City Hall Steps City Council Hearing: 1 p.m., 250 Broadway, 16th Floor
***Major Announcement To Be Made at 11 a.m.*** May 2, 11 a.m., City Hall Steps and 1 p.m. 250 Broadway, 16th Floor
WHAT: City Council members, car wash workers, community leaders, labor experts, and WASH New York representatives will participate in a press conference at 11 a.m. on the steps of City...
In New York City, car wash workers and their...
April 2012
11 posts
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The Brian Lehrer Show: The Road to Minimum Wage
Hilary Klein, lead organizer of Make the Road New York, and Luna Ranjit, executive director of Adhikaar, a Queens-based Nepalese support group, talk about their efforts to organize service workers, like manicurists and car wash attendants, for minimum wage and better working conditions.
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NY1 News: Labor Advocates Demand Improved...
Click here to watch the video.
Car washers, taxi workers, livery cab drivers and union leaders showed up on Manhattan’s West Side Wednesday to put pressure on car wash owners they say are abusing workers.
The campaign is by Workers Aligned for a Sustainable and Healthy New York (WASH NY) and supporters pledged to help meet the car washers’ needs.
The washers say the unfair working...
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Crain's: It's hardly a wash for car-clean kingpin →
City’s largest car-wash chain, the main target of a union campaign that claims workers are cheated, now faces the threat of a boycott by some of its best customers: taxi and limo drivers.
Pressure is mounting on one of the city’s biggest car-wash operators as organizers of a union drive in the niche industry receive pledges from taxi and black-car drivers to support any boycott called...
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NYC Taxi Workers & Black Car Drivers Vow To Clean...
*Taxi Workers Alliance, Machinists Union call upon drivers to boycott carwashes where workers are being abused*
At a press conference this afternoon at the Westside Highway Car Wash, New York City taxi workers and black car drivers announced that they are helping the WASH New York campaign to pressure car wash owners to improve conditions in an industry plagued by rampant wage and hour...
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Tomorrow: NYC Taxi Workers & Black Car Drivers Vow...
*Taxi Workers Alliance, Machinists Union call upon drivers to boycott carwashes where workers are being abused *
April 11, NOON, Westside Highway Car Wash, 638 West 47th Street, New York, NY
WHAT: New York City taxi workers and black car drivers are helping the WASH NY campaign being conducted by Make the Road New York and New York Communities for Change to pressure car wash owners to improve...
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NY1 News: Public Advocate Urges City Agencies To...
Watch the video.
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio wants city agencies to stop spending money at a car wash company that he says has a history of mistreating its workers.
In a letter sent to Mayor Bloomberg, de Blasio said the city has spent more than $170,000 with Lage Management Corporation since 2010.
The company operates car washes across the city and was recently protested by workers who...
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NY Daily News: Public Advocate Bill De Blasio says... →
City paid Lage Management Corp. $170G for cleanings despite investigation alleging it cheated workers out of wages
City agencies are spending big money prettying up official vehicles at a car wash empire that is currently being investigated for alleged dirty labor practices, the Daily News has learned.
The city has paid Lage Management Corp. more than $170,000 for car cleanings since 2010,...
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Times Ledger: Workers asking Sutphin wash to clean... →
Advocates for workers’ rights said they have some dirt on a Jamaica car wash and that management should come clean.
Community activists gathered last week outside the Sutphin Car Wash, at 97-31 Sutphin Blvd., where they said operator Fernando Magalhaes has been retaliating against workers who have been fighting for fair pay and safer working conditions.
Hillary Klein, a lead organizer with the...
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NY Daily News: UnitedNY, New York Communities for... →
Pro-labor coalition calls out employers who discourage organizing among workers … Sutphin Blvd. Car Wash in Jamaica, the tour’s third stop, was called out for alleged mistreatment of workers in March in a report commissioned by WASH New York, a coalition of labor and community groups.
Sutphin is part of a chain of car washes operated by Fernando Magalhaes, who was subpoenaed earlier this...
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NY Daily News: WASH New York group campaigns to... →
Coalition fighting for rights of exploited immigrant workers
It is a never ending New York story: Rich business owners shamelessly stealing wages and tips from workers who can barely scrape out a living.
Owners, of course, are counting on the silence of workers — many of them immigrants — fearful of losing their jobs.
But car wash workers, fed up with being exploited, have courageously broken...
March 2012
37 posts
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En Queens: Inmigrantes exigen trato y salario... →
Alegan que su patrono los “trata mal, algunas veces nos grita y ganamos menos del mínimo”
Nueva York - Un salario digno y que se les trate con respeto.
A eso aspiran empleados del Car Wash Sutphin, ubicado en el 9731 Sutphin Blvd, en Jamaica, Queens, quienes se manifestaron hoy para denunciar supuestos abusos del patrono.
“Nos trata mal, algunas veces nos grita y ganamos menos...
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Tomorrow: Car Wash Workers Condemn Dirty Practices...
Media Contacts: Hilary Klein (Spanish/English). hilary.klein@maketheroadny.org. 347.423.8277 Olivia Leirer. oleirer@nycommunities.org. 646.479.3426
Car Wash Workers Demand Better Treatment, Condemn Retaliations at a Dirty Car Wash in Queens Under Investigation by the NY Attorney General’s Office *Escalation of Car Wash Workers’ Campaign, Following AG Car Wash Probe, Revelations...
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NY Daily News: Mexican immigrant Adan Nicolas says... →
Nicolas claims unfair wages and abuse at LMC Car Wash in Queens
For a decade, he’s toiled 12 hours a day for meager pay, polishing cars to a gleam with harsh chemicals that make his nose bleed.
Because he’s in the country illegally, like many of his co-workers, he was afraid to complain.
But no longer.
Mexican immigrant Adan Nicolas says he wants New Yorkers to know the anonymous army that...
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NY Daily News: State probes whether New York... →
Exclusive: Workers claim bizman pays employees $5.50 per hour - $1.75 less than legal minimum
The state is investigating whether New York City’s car-wash kingpin has financed a life of luxury by cheating workers out of wages, the Daily News has learned.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman last week slapped a subpoena on John Lage, who is linked to more than a dozen car washes and lives in a...
Amsterdam News: Coalition aims to clean up car... →
rwdsu:
Edilberto Rojas-Rosas is a 25-year-old father of two struggling to support his family on the $378 he brings home weekly for working 72 hours at an East Harlem car wash. Paying the rent and putting food on the table is a daily struggle. For thousands of car wash workers in New York City, it is a similar story.
On March 16, Workers Aligned for a Sustainable and Healthy New York (WASH NY)...
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Workers World: Immigrant car washers organize in... →
Immigrant rights, community and labor groups announced on March 6 that they are starting a campaign to organize the 5,000 mostly immigrant car washers at about 200 sites in New York City. The industry’s violations of workers’ rights include lower-than-minimum wages, no paid overtime and failing to supply protective equipment to those working with caustic cleaners that burn their eyes and noses....
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Crain's New York: Car wash workers pick new target →
Stepping up their campaign to improve working conditions, workers and organizers will take aim at a car-wash chain that’s been in trouble before.
A car wash operator who three years ago paid $3.4 million to settle charges that it underpaid workers has become the top target of a campaign to improve working conditions in the industry.
Workers and organizers will zero in Friday on Lage...
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New York Daily News: East Harlem car wash workers... →
Workers charge low pay, long hours and exposure to dangerous chemicals
A car wash kingpin is set to be at the center of a confrontation with dozens of disgruntled East Harlem workers and advocates hoping to powerwash his dirty treatment of employees.
The group is hoping for a noon showdown Friday with mogul John Lage at LMC Car Wash on E. 109th St. and First Ave.
“Lage has a long...
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Emergency Action, 4:15 PM: Car Wash Workers Tell...
Media Contacts: Magdalena Barbosa. magdalena.barbosa@maketheroadny.org. 646-421-7408 Deborah Axt (Spanish and English). deborah.axt@maketheroadny.org. 347.432.6254 Olivia Leirer. oleirer@nycommunities.org. 646.479.3426 Dan Morris. dmorris@rwdsu.org. 212.684.5300/917.547.8005
Car Wash Workers Tell Managers: ‘Stop Retaliating Against Us!’
March 15, 4:15 p.m., Sutphin Car Wash,...
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Labor Press: Car Wash Industry Awash in Labor... →
The report, “The Dirty Business of Cleaning NYC’s Cars,” cites that workers receive low pay, poor treatment from their bosses and face hazardous working conditions. For example, the report notes that, based on interviews with 89 city car washers at 29 different car wash facilities, “Over 71 percent of the workers were on the job for at least 60 hours a week, with some working as many as 105 hours....
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People's World: RWDSU launches campaign for NYC... →
“We have been threatened many times if we fight for our rights, so for a long time I didn’t do anything to stand up for myself. But I know that if we unite, we can make sure our rights are respected,” said car wash worker Nelson Hernandez. Read the full story.
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UFCW Blog: NY Daily News Ed Board on Carwash... →
The New York Daily News’s editorial board hit a home run today with their editorial on the campaign by New York City carwash workers trying to clean up the industry.
As the editorial says,
“More power to the car wash workers who, in a new push this week, have chosen to exercise their freedom under law to try to organize with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.
...
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New York Daily News: Car washes have to clean up... →
Organizing and invoking their labor rights is the American way
Workers chronically stiffed of the minimum wage they are supposed to be guaranteed. Stolen tips. Overtime not counted or not properly paid.
Regular exposure, without proper safeguards, to chemicals that cn harm health long term. Injuries sustained by working with hazardous machinery — and often no recompense.
In one industry, too...
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Left Labor Reporter: East, West Coast carwash... →
The CLEAN Carwash Campaign announced that two more Los Angeles carwashes have signed union contracts making them the second and third businesses in the area to become union carwashes. Meanwhile in New York City, members of Wash New York, a carwash organizing coalition, on Tuesday released a report documenting the unjust working conditions at the city’s carwashes and announced a union organizing...
State sues three L.A. car washes for alleged wage... →
rwdsu:
State labor regulators have sued three Los Angeles-area car washes for alleged minimum wage and overtime pay violations. WASH New York takes inspiration from the tremendous work of the AFL-CIO in California. Read the full story.
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AOL News: NYC Car Wash Workers Seek Unionization... →
Working at a car wash may be better than digging a ditch, as the 1970s hit song says, but employees in New York City who work cleaning cars and trucks say pay and working conditions need vast improvement. Read more.
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Huffington Post: Car Wash Workers In New York... →
QUEENS, N.Y. — On Tuesday morning, a group of roughly 100 workers, local labor leaders and community organizers gathered in the cold on a parking lot in front of Metro Car Wash to announce a bold new campaign for New York City: a drive to bring fair working conditions to the car wash industry, on in which employees routinely earn below minimum wage and labor law violations are the norm.
...
Telemundo: Protesta por salarios justos en Car...
DNAinfo: Queens Car Wash Workers Rally Against... →
FOREST HILLS — Nelson Hernandez said his eyes burn for hours after he leaves his job at a Queens car wash. Raul Perez claimed the soap used to scrub down the cars at one location once burned the hairs off his legs. Carlos Garcia, another local car wash employee, said he was ignored when he asked for gloves or a mask to protect his body from hours of chemical exposure.
All three immigrant workers...
Human Resources Journal: Labor Battle On Horizon →
A first-of-its-kind investigative report has brought to light the widespread mistreatment of New York City’s car wash workers. The report called, “The Dirty Business of Cleaning NYC’s Cars” is compiled from a representative sampling of 89 car wash workers at 29 car washes around the city and was released by WASH New York (Workers Aligned for a Sustainable and Healthy New York) along with a broad...
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El Diario: Denuncian explotación en los Car Wash →
Nueva York - Muchos empleados, la mayoría inmigrantes latinos, de los talleres de lavado de carros de Nueva York, sufren explotación laboral, de acuerdo a un detallado informe elaborado por varias organizaciones de la ciudad que han lanzado una campaña conjunta para detener esta mala práctica. Read more.
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Transportation Nation: Car Wash Workers Protest... →
Standing in front of the Metro Car Wash in Rego Park, Queens, Tuesday a few dozen car wash workers, union activists, and a couple of city council members kicked off a campaign to organize workers and improve conditions at the almost 200 car washes across New York City.
David de la Cruz Perez says this effort is necessary. He emigrated from Guatemala five years ago, and he makes $5.50 an hour...
BNA Daily Labor: Advocacy Groups, RWDSU Open Drive... →
By John Herzfeld
NEW YORK—A pair of community advocacy groups and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union have joined in a campaign to improve labor conditions for workers at New York City car washes, the coalition announced March 6.
The launch of the campaign, called Workers Aligned for a Sustainable and Healthy (WASH) New York, was marked by the release of an investigative report...
