Tell your state legislators to
support workers, not big biz lobbyists:
During the state House Labor committee’s recent hearing on the Worker Protection Act (HB 1076)—a bill that would allow whistleblower enforcement of workers’ rights law—big business lobbyists were there to testify in opposition, just like they do every time there’s a Good Thing for Workers on the docket. Recently, they’ve also opposed higher wages, sick days, and basically every other worker protection currently on the books.
And gosh, they sure were in extra special business lobbyist form during the hearing…
This biz lobbyist inadvertently named the entire problem the Worker Protection Act addresses when he wondered aloud why workers don’t simply enforce their own gosh darn rights:
“Everything I heard earlier in this testimony—while it may have been difficult situations—every one of those had the ability to enforce the statutes but are saying that they didn’t. Why they didn’t, I don’t know.”
Here’s the thing: studies estimate bosses swipe $1.2 billion from WA workers each year, the state has extremely limited capacity for enforcement that doesn’t come close to meeting the scope of the problem, free legal representation is scarce, and workers often fear retaliation when standing up for their rights on the job. These barriers make it hard to know what to do to get paid what you’re owed. But you already know all that, because you’re not a business lobbyist paid to act like wage theft and health & safety violations aren’t really a thing.
A business lawyer was up next, saying a whole lot of business lawyer things about how workers aren’t right, including this choice comment:
“I know that you just heard a couple of stories from individuals telling their side of the story—and that is an inherent problem in the legislative process.”
Meanwhile, workers were there to tell legislators the true story about the barriers they’ve faced when enforcing their rights and about how the Worker Protection Act will make a big difference in holding their employers accountable.
Here’s what Clare, who’s worked in restaurants for 26 years, had to say…
“The Worker Protection Act would allow workers to hold their employers accountable for violations without fear of retaliation and without requiring them to be able to pay prohibitively expensive legal fees.”
And here’s April—who has 15 years of experience in the service industry—talking about how the Worker Protection Act will help make workers’ rights real…
“Coronavirus has made my job incredibly risky. I love my job and need to get back to work eventually—and when I do, I want to know the laws meant to protect me will actually be enforceable.”
Note the strong consensus across all the testimony on the Worker Protection Act: businesses think the current enforcement system works great and cast doubt on workers’ experiences. Workers think the system is broken.
That suggests something, no?