Mamaroneck HS Students Work To Combat Wage Theft Close To Home

MAMARONECK, NY — Do you remember what your homework assignments were in high school? For a dedicated group of Mamaroneck students, their long-term class project involves protecting the most vulnerable members of our community.

The students in the Original Civic Research and Action (OCRA) class at Mamaroneck High School are on a mission to educate the community about workers' rights violations within the Larchmont-Mamaroneck community. The goal is to increase the reporting of local wage theft and make certain employers understand their responsibilities.

Each year, students in the OCRA class identify community issues, such as workers’ rights violations, with which they wish to study and address with their peers. The noticeable results of this project are the fruits of nearly two years of research and outreach that have sparked a movement.

One group of OCRA students discovered that wage theft, the denial of wages agreed upon, including minimum wage, overtime pay and tips, is a serious problem in their own community. In conversations with groups, including the Mamaroneck-based Community Resource Center, the students learned that wage theft disproportionately affects undocumented workers.

"One of the things we learned was that while 19 percent of low wage workers will experience some sort of wage theft, only two percent of the victims will ever recover that money," OCRA group member and Mamaroneck High School senior Jack Master told Patch. "This seemed like somewhere we could effect real change locally."

The group's public awareness campaign soon took root.

"Lack of education is a major contributing factor to the prevalence of wage theft," group member and Mamaroneck High School senior Ben Kulish said. "A large portion of wage theft victims are undocumented workers; we’ve identified that this is primarily due to a lack of knowledge of the rights granted to undocumented citizens as workers. While it is illegal to hire a worker when under the knowledge that they are undocumented, under the Fair Labor Standards Act, once the work has been done, the employee must receive minimum wage regardless of documentation status. This is a significant NYS law that is commonly overlooked or ignored."

In order to increase awareness, and when necessary, offer options for the official reporting of wage theft to the Westchester County District Attorney's Office, the OCRA students produced a public service announcement for both local business owners and employees, in collaboration with the Community Resource Center and LMC Media.

The PSA emphasizes employers’ legal responsibilities and obligations to their employees. Rather than trying to police employers, the students chose to reward local businesses that are part of the solution.

Businesses that sign a pledge, promising to uphold the letter and spirit of the law where it comes to paying wages due, are eligible to display an official OCRA and Community Resource Center decal certifying that the establishment is an ethical business where wages are paid in full. Businesses must also meet certain other requirements such as demonstrating that legally required posters informing workers of their rights are properly displayed at the place of business.

So far, the students have recruited an impressive number of local Mamaroneck businesses to be a part of their effort, including Frankie and Fanucci’s, Don Jito, Juarez Grocery, Juarez Restaurant, Best Chinese, A. Mercurio and Sons, Petite Bretagne, International Farm II, Tentempie Madrid, and Robert’s Department Store. Other local businesses, including Siren, Green Life, Roaster’s Avenue Bagel and Tacos El Mexicano are expected to join the effort soon.

"The issues around wage theft can sometimes be murky," Kulish said. "We made the decision to name businesses that are doing the right thing rather than shaming those who might not."

The OCRA students have an ongoing relationship with the Westchester County District Attorney's Office, which has created a hotline for workers to report infringements on their rights. The group is working to organize community informational sessions with the Westchester County District Attorney's office to better help workers understand their legal rights and employers to better understand their legal responsibilities.

While the issue of wage theft has most recently made headlines in connection with migrant farm workers who sometimes fear for their right to work and stay in this country, if they report illegal and unfair wage practices, the students say that construction workers, restaurant employees, retail help and domestic workers in the local community can feel those same pressures. The sense that objecting to unfair labor practices might put a worker at risk can sometimes be exploited as a means to cheat those workers out of the money they are due.

"We are pleased that the hotline offers a safe resource for potential victims regardless of immigration status," group member and senior Léa Barry-Thouez explained. "It is an important step towards building trust between local government and undocumented workers."

To learn more about the OCRA students' efforts to stamp out wage theft and the local businesses supporting their efforts, visit them on Instagram and Facebook. For resources to help address wage theft, reach out to the Community Resource Center. To report wage theft, call the Westchester District Attorney’s Office Labor Crimes Hotline at 914-994-8477.