WAREHOUSE WORKERS IN WILL COUNTY

This in response The Herald-New's recent article, "Criminal Charges Cloud Sexual Harassment Claim," published March 17:

http://heraldnews.suntimes.com/11171175-417/criminal-charges-cloud-sexual-harassment-claim.html

This a balanced, well-researched article that puts into proper context how criminal charges were brought against the woman who went to the police with complaints of sexual charges against her supervisor.

This is an important story because it shows how vulnerable and powerless temp workers are, especially women, who work in Will County warehouses.

Temp workers, who make up the fastest growing demographic in Will County, have no structural protection against employee abuse and exploitation. The warehouses they work in are not their employers, so there is no incentive for warehouse management to investigate charges such as sexual harassment. The only concern the companies who supply the temp workers to the warehouses have is to keep their customers, the warehouses, happy with docile, cheap labor. Employees who complain or agitate for better conditions lose their jobs. There are no unions to give protection, and the state doesn’t have the resources needed to investigate potentially illegal activities at the warehouses. These conditions provide fertile grounds for sexual harassment, wage theft and other forms of employee exploitation and abuse without any way for the employees to deal with those abuses.

If, in fact, it turns out that false criminal charges were levied against Priscilla Marshall to counter her sexual abuse accusations and that the police department was negligent in not investigating the sexual harassment charges more fully then this becomes a much more important story. The ability of a company to use the police power of the state to not only stifle descent but to cover up criminal activities simply cannot be tolerated in a free society.

Ron Kurowski