Our Perspective
Finally, Justice for
Downstate
Car Wash Workers
Moves Forward
By Stuart Appelbaum, President
Retail, Wholesale and Department
Store Union, UFCW
Twitter: @sappelbaum
When the New York State Senate passed a
bill amending the sub-minimum wage for
car wash workers on June 5 and the
Assembly passed the same bill a day later, the state legislature sent a clear
message to car wash employers that their workers in New York City,
Westchester and Long Island should be paid at least the minimum wage.
Under current law car wash owners have been allowed to pay workers well
below the minimum wage. It’s a confusing and unjust system and has often
led to wage theft in the industry. The new law will be a revolutionary change
for underpaid workers, too many of whom often suffer from wage theft, and
are forced to struggle to survive in one of the nation’s most expensive places
to live. It’s a resounding victory for car wash workers, who have been
fighting for their rights and better pay since 2012, when the RWDSU, Make
the Road New York and New York Communities for Change began working
to reform an industry that was rife with exploitation.
The current system – which bases car wash minimum wages
based upon location, car wash size, and anticipated tips per
employee – has created a confusing web of 8 different possible subminimum
wages in New York. That confusion often provides
employers with an outrageous license to steal, and even wellmeaning
employers have sometimes run afoul of the law due to its
complicated nature.
At labor board hearings held last year, officials and the public
heard first-hand about the struggles workers affected by subminimum
wages are experiencing. Workers have testified about their
inability to live in dignity because they can’t afford decent housing for
their families; and how they can’t look for other work because they
cannot afford adequate transportation. Workers struggle with paying
their bills and putting food on the table.
For the car wash workers in New York City – especially those without
union representation – sub-minimum wages have been a vehicle for
wage theft and systemic underpayment. Investigations have shown that
employers don’t always make up the extra pay for workers when tips are
short; and car wash workers don’t always receive the tips customers
presume are going into their pockets.
The new law would take away one major opportunity for
unscrupulous car wash owners to underpay their workers, and that’s
important in an industry where operators have been fined and directed
to make restitution for wage theft to the tune of millions of dollars.
Banning the so-called “tip credit” in the car
wash industry downstate would help lift up 5,000
mostly immigrant car wash workers in New
York. We applaud the state legislature and look
forward to swift action by Governor Cuomo.
www.rwdsu.org
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/www.rwdsu.org
/www.rwdsu.org