4 MINUTE READ
In interviews, leaders in California point to four long-term strategies needed to address wage theft and improve labor standards for workers in California.
Build mechanisms for workers to join together
Unions are a critical way for workers to engage in collective action for better wages and working conditions. Unions act as on-site monitors in the workplace and encourage employers to comply with the law. Yet today, only a very small percentage of workers — just 6% in the private sector — have access to the protections unions afford.
Worker centers are helping workers who are not represented by collective bargaining agreements to stand up for their rights under the law and report abuse. Worker centers provide support to low-wage workers, often combining organizing with service, training and advocacy.
Learn more in this video.
Labor experts, like Victor Narro of the UCLA Labor Center, say organized labor and partners need to expand workers’ access to unions, as one way to ensure they have the tools to improve their working conditions. Organized workplaces are safe workplaces, they say, where workers have good training programs, safety protocols, and can work together to take control of their economic futures.
Review and update labor law on a regular schedule
Advocates call current law and policy archaic. At current tally, California has over 1.7 million businesses. Yet the number of inspectors the state employs has not kept pace. Moreover, experts say enforcement agencies need more than just additional resources. Reform should give enforcement agencies an expanded and stronger set of tools to apply to their work.
Legal and policy reform is needed to bring current law up to date and ensure it is effective to curb abuses in a complex economy. For example, joint liability laws need to be constantly monitored. Industries in the modern economy can change rapidly. Business practices are constantly evolving to shift costs and responsibility to intermediaries, subcontractors or workers themselves. California’s new garment industry law that holds fashion brands accountable for wage theft is a good example of effective reform in this area. Other low-wage industries could benefit from similar examination.
Protect workers from retaliation
Groups representing workers say California needs stronger protections to prevent employers from retaliating against employees who stand up for their labor rights. The National Employment Law Project and the California Coalition for Worker Power recently called for establishing a retaliation fund to provide workers with the immediate economic support they need to exercise their rights if they are fired, and for adopting a state “just cause” law to protect workers against unfair firings.
“California workers, especially workers of color and immigrant workers in low-paying jobs, face intimidation, bullying and even firing when they stand up for their rights,” said Alexandra Suh of Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance, who is also co-chair of the California Coalition for Worker Power. “This retaliation is one of the core reasons workers still experience wage theft, discrimination and harassment at work — and why California, for all of its strong labor protections, continues to see widespread worker exploitation.”
Invest in local and state enforcement
Government agencies need new approaches to protect workers in this changing economy. The California Strategic Enforcement Partnership is an important model. “We have to not just talk about what government should do, but we have to talk about how government should do it,” said Rutgers’ Janice Fine.
Fine and other labor experts see opportunity for transformative reform in local and state government. They say agency staff and mid-level managers need to shift to an understanding of their agency mission as one of raising job quality. Agency staff and managers also need training in strategic enforcement and planning to better understand how to protect workers and the importance of their own role.