Retail store cleaners file class action lawsuit, set strike date

[Omaha Steve]

CTUL member Maricela Flores speaks at a press conference to announce a class-action lawsuit seeking unpaid wages for workers who cleaned Macy’s and Herberger’s stores in the Twin Cities. Photo by Michael Moore

http://www.workdayminnesota.org/articles/retail-store-cleaners-file-class-action-lawsuit-set-strike-date

By Michael Moore, Union Advocate
May 21, 2015

MINNEAPOLIS
Janitors who clean big-box and department stores in the Twin Cities announced two key developments in their campaign for better wages and working conditions Wednesday, setting a new strike deadline and filing a class-action lawsuit to recoup wages allegedly lost to wage theft.

Members of the Twin Cities worker center CTUL, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha/Center of Workers United in Struggle, took legal action in Hennepin County against cleaning contractor Capital Building Services Group, alleging janitors who clean Macy’s and Herberger’s stores were paid less than minimum wage and did not receive overtime pay, among other offenses.

Eight current or former Capital employees joined the class action, which could grow to include other workers as the lawsuit advances. Several plaintiffs gathered for a press conference to announce the suit outside Macy’s store on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis.

Leyla Yusuf, a former Capital employee, said the company did not provide paycheck stubs with information on wages, hours and overtime to its employees. When she suspected she was not being paid in full, she demanded to see a pay stub.

FULL story at link.

[yallerdawg]

1. The bosses think they can get away with this stuff - to maximize profit.

“The reason I got fired is because I asked for my check stub,” Yusuf said through a translator. “I spoke up, and I’ll never be silenced. We are here to get it right.”