Stand with Unforgettable Workers and Call on DHS Secretary Mayorkas to ensure Protections for Immigrant Whistleblowers
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas
For the last year, workers in Las Vegas have been leading the fight to expand access to immigration protections for immigrant workers who experience workplace abuses. The US Department of Labor has made clear how these workers can secure protection, but to date, the US Department of Homeland Security has refused to take a clear, public position.
Workers in Las Vegas spoke out publicly in April 2021 to seek protections as victims and witnesses in the ongoing Department of Labor investigation into Unforgettable Coatings Inc, a commercial painting company based in Las Vegas. Since 2019, workers in Las Vegas have been fighting to recover unpaid wages from Unforgettable Coatings Inc. After workers first reported wage theft, they were targeted and retaliated against by their employer.
On July 6, 2022, the Department of Labor published frequently asked questions for workers who need immigration protections in relation to ongoing labor disputes. Since then, workers have been calling on the US Department of Homeland Security to follow the lead of the US Labor Department and grant Las Vegas workers protections.
Now is the time to call on the Department of Homeland Security to protect all Unforgettable Workers, and clarify how other workers can also win protections in relation to ongoing labor disputes.
A labor investigation without workers is an exercise in futility. DHS must act now to protect immigrant workers who are witnesses, advocates and victims in the face of ongoing labor abuses.
Sign on today to make our request heard.
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To:
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas
From:
[Your Name]
For more than a decade, Unforgettable Coatings Inc., has stolen worker wages with impunity, willfully denied their workers proper overtime pay, and resorted to intimidation and retaliation to keep their workers from taking action against these abuses.
Across the country, workers, many of whom are immigrants, are organizing to keep our workplaces safe and fair. Whether they are fighting against wage theft in Las Vegas, to prevent deadly working conditions in Gainesville, GA, or to address discrimination and other egregious violations in the wake of workplace raids in Mississippi, workers who stand up to severe labor violations need and deserve protection against threats and retaliation based on immigration status.
Secretary Mayorkas, we call on you and the Department of Homeland Security to reaffirm the authority of federal labor agencies, and ensure worker requests for protection will be answered swiftly to ensure protection for workers who are witnesses and victims of workplace abuses.
Labor law in the United States must be enforced. Witnesses and advocates have been deported, and continue to be deported. Without their participation, abusive employers destroy our economy.
Act now to ensure immigrant witnesses, advocates and victims are present and protected so that labor enforcement can effectively ensure workers’ rights are respected and upheld in our country.
A day’s work should be a day’s pay.
Secretary Mayorkas, the future of labor is in your hands, and on your shoulders.
Act now to ensure worker protections are upheld and enforced.