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Protecting Our Paychecks:How Houston can prevent wage theft from hurting the security officers and janitors who serve our citySeptember 2017

Christina Figueroa is a Houston-area security officer employed by contractor Norred & Associates. She works hard to protect people and property at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Figueroa reports that she and her fellow security officers are often required to start work before their shifts begins, but are not paid for that time. She believes this is wage theft. She and a number of her co-workers have filed wage theft complaints with the City of Houston. The City is investigating those complaints, but they remain unresolved.

“I love my job. But I have 4 kids at home and I deserve to be paid for the time I work—it’s time away from my family and I take that seriously. When they short our checks or pay us incorrectly, it’s really easy to fall behind in bills. I have rent, food for my kids, electricity, and water. I do the best I can but I rely on my paychecks. This is why I filed a wage theft complaint.”

And during the recent hurricane, Norred kept calling to see if Figueroa could report to work even though she was flooded in with her children. When she did go to the air-port, she worked 32 hours straight.

“Will I be paid for this time? We already made numerous complaints about how we are being paid. Now we are worried we won’t be properly compensated for the hours some of us put in to protect the airport--putting this above our own personal and family needs.”

As of this writing, she is still waiting for her employer to pay her what she believes she is owed based on her wage theft complaint. Figueroa is glad that the City has a mechanism for City contract employees to file wage theft complaints. But the length of the investigation and the fact that her employer continues to require employees to come to work early without payment for that time, makes her wonder whether the City’s complaint process is enough.

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IntroductionThe City of Houston employs private companies entrusted to provide vital security and janitorial services at municipal buildings--such as our airports, city hall and court houses.

Currently, the primary security contractor holding the City of Houston account is Norred & Associates. The primary janitorial contractor is McLemore Building Maintenance. Both contractors hire outside companies (subcontractors) to fulfill a portion of this work, although the primary contractor still retains control of most functions of operation.

As workers employed by these companies have begun to form their union and educate themselves on current labor laws, they discovered what they believe to be large numbers of possible wage theft violations by the contractors holding City of Houston accounts.

In a matter of months, workers uncovered more than 35 cases of suspected wage theft committed by these janitorial and security contractors and subcontractors and filed these complaints with the city’s Inspector General office. All 35 cases are still pending investigation and remain unresolved.

The workers involved in these cases include, among others, security officers who pro-tect Bush Intercontinental Airport and janitors who service multiple municipal build-ings. The first of these 35 wage theft cases were filed with the Inspector General’s office starting in April of 2017.

Currently, janitors and security officers are speaking out in hopes of resolving these cases in a more timely manner. They have exercised their rights under the City’s wage theft ordinance and are encouraging Houston City Council to step in and ensure their voices are heard.

The following report outlines the definition of wage theft and the varying ways it takes place, shares the stories of workers who are fighting to protect their rights under the law, illustrates how wage theft negatively impacts their lives and the communities in which they live and shop, and finally, presents proposals on how we can work together to reduce its occurrence and create a better Houston for all of us.


What is Wage Theft?Wage theft is the failure to pay wages that are legally owed to an employee. Wage theft occurs when an employer fails to pay the legal minimum wage for all hours worked, including overtime rates.

Wage theft is not just a problem in Houston, but an issue that affects workers across the country. A very common form of wage theft occurs when employees conduct work activities ‘off-the-clock.’ These activities are often performed by an employee prior to the time that an employee officially “clocks-in,” and may include onsite security proto-cols, long distance travel to a work post, preparatory meetings and other preparation of supplies and materials.

The most egregious cases of wage theft can take place when employers leverage their power and use intimidation to avoid paying workers what they are rightfully owed, often taking advantage of vulnerable worker populations by threatening retaliation if they seek legal remedies or speak out to collect their pay.

Hurricane Harvey and Wage TheftHurricane Harvey has had a devastating effect on southeast Texas and surrounding areas, causing unprecedented damage. In the aftermath, we need to ensure employees’ rights are protected from low-road employers who might seek to use this crisis to avoid paying employees and gain advantage during this time of need. As the storm waters were rising, many security officers and janitors stayed on post for hours, and even days, without break to ensure the safety and maintenance of city buildings, despite danger and loss of power at many locations. Now some of these workers are worried their employers will not pay for this time they spent protecting and maintaining City property. In addition, as the hurricane took its toll on highways, automobiles, homes, public transit, infra-structure and more, some employees felt pressure to report to work in dangerous conditions, despite having no means of getting there.

According to Marianela Arreaza, the executive director of Fe y Justicia, a Houston-based non-profit that supports low-income immigrants with legal concerns, “After Hurricane Ike, our Work-er Center saw a spike in wage theft and workplace injuries.”1 These findings add to the in-depth report, “An Injustice To All – Workers’ Lives in the Reconstruction of New Orleans”, which found similar wage theft problems in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.2

It is clear that wage theft can be a serious problem in the service industry. We want to ensure that no company profits by taking advantage of this vulnerable time—security officers and janitors who protect our city’s buildings should be paid wages for the hours they remained on post, they should not be retaliated against for lack of means to get to work due to the hurricane, they should be paid at minimum every two weeks and in a manner in accordance with Federal and State law, they should not be denied unemployment if a location is closed due to a natural disaster and should not work at any site that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) deems unacceptable.


Wage theft is ‘business-as-usual’ for low-wage service jobsPeople should be paid--in full--for the work we do. We can all agree on that. Unfortu-nately, many employers do not compensate workers as the law--and basic fairness--re-quires. Being paid for one’s work is a legal obligation at the core of our economy and at the center of our American Dream.

When employers fail to pay employees for their work, it is considered wage theft under the law.

Wage theft is prevalent and pervasive across our nation, costing local economies and workers in various industries billions of dollars each year.3

Wage theft has huge consequences for employees, their families and the communities they live and shop in. Studies show unscrupulous employers often prey on low-wage workers. A 2009 report of 4,500 low-wage workers found that more than two-thirds experienced wage theft in their previous work week--such as employers failing to pay for all hours worked, failing to pay overtime, and more.4

The report estimates that employees surveyed were deprived of an average of 15% of their annual wages due to wage theft.5

And unfortunately, wage theft occurs at a scale far greater than traditional property crime.

In 2012, $340 million was stolen through property theft6, whereas more than $933 million was stolen from workers through wage theft.7

And outsourcing work can make matters worse. A recent National Employment Law Proj-ect (NELP) study found that in the ‘restructuring of employment arrangements through multi-layered contracting, the use of staffing or temp firms, franchising, and other means can lead to a lack of corporate responsibility and sub-par working conditions.’8

Further, workers face the very real possibility of employer retaliation for speaking up or filing claims on wage theft. A national survey on employer retaliation has found that 43 percent of workers who confronted their employer about working condi-tions--including wages--experienced retaliation. It also found that 20 percent of employees did not bring matters to their employers attention because they either did not believe things would improve or they feared they would be retaliated against.9

And wage theft hurts more than just individual workers. When an employee is deprived of income through wage theft, it creates an economic burden on both the worker and their family. And this spreads to the larger community due to the reduction of spending power, which hurts local business.10

One factor in the astounding frequency at which wage theft occurs is the power differ-ential that exists between employers and their employees. The adverse impacts wage

The report estimates that employees surveyed were deprived of an average of 15% of their annual wages due to wage theft.

15%


theft has on workers and the community, as well as the insufficient legal remedies workers have to rely on to recoup their rightfully owed pay, make it clear that wage theft is a particularly insidious violation of the law. We must take serious steps to ad-dress any form of wage theft that could affect our City.

Working together to mitigate wage theft When employees try to combat wage-theft on their own: Time-consuming and confusing mechanisms, inadequate resources at state and federal levels:All too often victims of wage theft are on their own in navigating a time-consuming and confusing maze of federal, state, and municipal laws, as well as an alphabet of agencies to pursue legal remedies to recover their stolen wages.

And due to inadequate resources, enforcement of our wage and hour laws simply cannot keep up with the sheer number of violations and claims. At the federal level, the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL)--the agency responsible for enforcing federal wage laws--has just over 1,000 investigators nationwide who are tasked with enforcing laws in over 7 million workplaces.11

At the state level, a nationwide survey found that most have one inspector for every 146,000 employees--with most states having fewer than ten investigators statewide.12

Texas Payday Act and Houston’s City Ordinance -- Are they enough to successfully combat wage theft?Texas Payday ActThroughout our State of Texas, the payment of full and timely wages is governed by the Texas Payday Act. The Act also allows victims of wage theft to file a claim with the Texas Workforce Commission.

Even with the Texas Payday Act in place to protect employees, Texas employers are still committing wage theft. In October of 2016, an investigation of 60 Austin-area restau-rants led by the U.S. Labor Department found 95 percent of the eateries failed to pay their workers as much as $330,000 in wages legally owed to employees.13

According to data from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), the number of Texas wage theft claims is on the rise. Information from the TWC reveals that be-tween January 2014 and July of 2017, 42,788 wage theft claims were filed by workers. Out of these cases, 41,191 of the claims have been resolved or closed with workers reim-bursed $29,494,621 in stolen wages.14

Even with these enforcement efforts and consequent awards and settlements, there is a troubling history of employers engaging in bad-faith wage theft violations. This means that employers did not simply make a mistake in calculating wages, but they either intended to commit wage theft or failed to comply with a TWC order to pay wages owed.

According to data from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), the number of Texas wage theft claims is on the rise.

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In fact, the number of employers who were assessed a bad-faith penalty by the TWC grew by 93 percent— from 533 to 1,028—between 2011 and 2012. For that year alone, TWC data shows that employers were fined an additional $1,156,660.94 for violating orders to pay workers or otherwise acting in bad faith.15

City Of Houston Wage Theft Ordinance In response to inadequate legal protections for working people and weak penalties for both predatory and irresponsible companies, worker organizations and community supporters have been fighting to strengthen safeguards against wage theft, but have faced fierce opposition from organized business interests.16

In spite of that opposition, in 2013, advocates of working people in Houston were able to pass a local ordinance that empowers workers employed by a city contractor to file wage theft claims with the city’s Inspector General (IG) office. The IG is then tasked with investigating claims by employees of city contractors and can call for medi-ation by a third party if necessary.

However, according to a local media investigation, “city data indicates that nearly 4 years later, 25 complaints have been filed under the ordinance, but all are still ‘under investigation.’ Not one claim has been resolved.17”

The law also prohibits retaliation against employees for filing claims and requires the city finance director to create a wage theft database that tracks employers who commit the most egregious forms of wage theft, such as wage theft that results in a criminal conviction. However, criminal conviction for wage theft is extremely rare. One of the weaknesses of the database is its failure to capture the most common and prevalent forms of wage theft, even though those types of wage theft still constitute serious violations of state and federal law.

The City’s wage theft database was intended to deter employers from committing wage theft and to provide guidance to City decision-makers who must choose contractors to perform important City services. Since most Houston employers who commit wage theft are not included in the database, it has not proven to be a significant deterrent to committing wage theft. The consequences for employers and City contractors who commit wage theft should be stronger.

While the objective of the 2013 Houston ordinance was to protect worker income and taxpayer dollars by providing additional City oversight of City of Houston contractors, employees have made numerous wage theft allegations against current contractors. Employees have recently filed 35 wage claims against the janitorial and security contractors currently providing services to City of Houston sites.

Months after these wage theft claims were filed, these same companies continue to receive the lucrative benefits of city accounts; while workers go without the thousands of dollars they believe they are legally owed.

One of the weaknesses of the database is its failure to capture the most common and prevalent forms of wage theft, even though those types of wage theft still constitute serious violations of state and federal law.


Successful and proven strategies in fighting wage theft -- strong worker organizations and responsible contractor policies:It is clear we need to do more to safeguard workers’ rights and livelihoods, especially those of contingent workers who protect and clean our City’s municipal buildings. When a city uses a low-bid contracting system, companies are more likely to compete with each other in a ‘race to the bottom’ by cutting costs, including engaging in wage theft. Workers bear the brunt of this impact in unpaid hours, held-down wages and sub-par working conditions. Services provided to city residents are also more likely to suffer where em-ployees providing services are low paid and experience wage theft. The City of Houston should take steps to ensure that responsible contractors are awarded City contracts.

While Houston’s wage theft ordinance was a step in the right direction for protect-ing the rights of City contract employees and affirming the City’s commitment to using contractors that do not engage in the worst forms of wage theft, the City’s ordinance is not enough.

Pending wage theft cases have not been resolved in a fair and timely manner. Nor does the ordinance do enough to discourage companies from engaging in wage theft in the first place, given the lack of consequences for employers who engage in the most com-mon forms of wage theft.

In light of this, labor unions and worker organizations have developed strategies that have proven effective in protecting worker rights.

How the Union Dispute Settlement process protects working people and tax-payer dollarsUnions and employers frequently negotiate collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), which govern relations between union members and their employers. While public discussion often centers on wages and benefits established by such CBAs, a dispute settlement process is at the core of most agreements.

Frequently called a “Grievance and Arbitration” process, it is a progressive process for reaching agreement and compliance with the CBA. The method usually involves three to four steps that grow increasingly formal and can end in outside arbitration or litiga-tion in the event it is unsuccessful.

The first step is typically a meeting between the employee, a union representative, and an employer representative to try to resolve the dispute--which may include wage disputes, discrimination, discipline and other problems--informally. If they are unsuc-cessful, the subject of the dispute will be committed to writing and they are required to meet again within a specified number of days, usually 5 to 10 business days.

The case is laid out in detail with all available evidence. If the parties cannot resolve the dispute after a second meeting, the grievance will be advanced to a third step, again to take place within a specified, fairly expedited time frame. The third meeting is often with a higher level manager, the employee, and the union representative. If the parties

Union Dispute Process

Due to the presence of clear roles and timelines, the vast majority of grievances are resolved in steps one or two of the process within a few weeks of when the grievance is first lodged.

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still disagree, the case can be moved to arbitration or the employee can litigate private-ly, depending on the terms of the CBA.

Due to the presence of clear roles and timelines, the vast majority of grievances are re-solved in steps one or two of the process within a few weeks of when the grievance is first lodged. This process avoids time consuming and costly litigation and assures that employees have a process to solve issues at work and are not deprived of wages or their legal rights.

It is important to note the union grievance procedure differs from the current City of Hous-ton’s wage theft enforcement process in several key ways:

• First, the union process requires specific timelines and terms for review of the issues at stake with each party being obligated to meet.

• Second, it explicitly involves the participation of the employee and his or her represen-tative in achieving the outcome.

• Third, it guarantees an in-person meeting where the employer, employee and his/her representative present and discuss the evidence of wage theft.

When workers belong to strong unions, they have clear pathways to resolve pay dis-putes in a timely fashion. These procedures would certainly reduce the amount of City resources needed to investigate wage theft complaints. Such a procedure may also help protect cities from any increased liability where City contractors become involved in costly wage and hour lawsuits. And just as importantly, the union grievance pro-cedure can address any and all employer retaliation when employees speak out to protect their paychecks.

When cities adopt responsible contractor guidelines, they set clear standards to help identi-fy, hire and retain contractors with proven track records in abiding by city, state and federal laws. They ensure the use of contractors who provide outstanding service and put in place remedies that create accountability and correction whenever contractors violate the law or contract standards. You can read more at http://responsiblecontractorguide.com.

By working together, we can ensure working people have a voice on the job through their union and that taxpayer money goes only to proven responsible contractors.

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How cities and states are taking responsibility by passing innovative policies to fight wage theft and protect workers:In an effort to combat problems stemming from wage theft, many cities and states have passed innovative policies that strengthen protections and remedies for working people and increase penalties for companies engaging in wage theft. For example, many local and state laws allow workers to recover double--and in some cases, triple--the amount of wages they are owed to compensate for the time, effort and risks associ-ated with fighting wage theft. Without strong remedies and penalties, there is little to discour-age employers from violating the law because guilty companies only pay the wages they were required to pay to begin with.18

States and communities throughout the country are taking bold action to fight wage theft: • California allows liens to be placed on the property of an employer cited for wage theft.19 • In New York, to help curb repeat offenses, penalties up to $20,000 may be imposed upon

those found to have violated the law in the previous six years, up from a prior $10,000 stat-utory cap.20

• Arizona protects against retaliation of employees who come forward to file wage claims by allow-ing workers to file anonymously and allows “organizations or individuals, including fellow workers in the same workplace, to file administrative complaints on behalf of affected workers.”21

• Miami/Dade County, Florida is one of several communities that has adopted a triple damag-es provision to assess penalties for wage theft.22

Workers In Action:Wage theft is not the only issue faced by employees working for City contractors. The Texas Pay-day Act establishes authorized methods for delivering wages, such as direct deposit, mail, or pay-check distribution at worksites, as long as pay is received in the legally mandated timeframe.23

However, some Houston security officers and janitors have been denied even this basic right. A number of security officers employed by Champion Security, for example, were instructed to pick up paychecks from a van in an off-site park parking lot. This means those security officers were required to use their unpaid time to travel to and from the parking lot. Security officers and janitors who have reported that their employer requires them to travel off site to pick up their pay-checks, feel they have no choice in the matter if they want to get paid. In addition, workers report incurring financial institution fees because they do not have the option to enroll in direct deposit with their company, which they feel creates an unfair and unnecessary financial burden.

States and communities throughout the country are taking bold action to fight wage theft.


City contract workers currently have no effective process for resolving this type of problem. Both security officers and janitors have reported this problem to the City’s Inspector General office, but contractors continue to engage in this type of prohibited delivery of wages.

Champion Security is a subcontractor of Norred Security, which provides security services to the City of Houston. Security officers employed by these City contractors and subcontractors work hard to protect the city’s libraries and other municipal properties.

“We work hard every day and take pride in keeping people safe and secure and we deserve to receive our paychecks on time and according to Texas law. Champion doesn’t provide a direct deposit option and several times I’ve had to travel long distances--up to 16 miles--during my day off to pick up my check,” says Officer TheLisa Aubrey. “Between the cost of gas to drive and get my checks and the newly incurred fees from my financial institution because I haven’t enrolled in a direct deposit program, these costs add up to an additional $50-75 a month. I am living paycheck to paycheck right now and every penny counts.”

Security officers are standing up and fighting back by joining with their co-workers to hold city contractors accountable.

After several security officers filed claims with the City of Houston’s Inspector General and have spent months waiting for resolution, workers decided to take collective action to enforce their rights. Officers took their stories to City Council to ensure the mayor and council members are aware of the the types of problems security officers face as employees of the City’s contractors. .

Security officers also held a press conference at City Hall, garnering media and public attention to the negative impacts of wage theft on workers, families and local communities. Community supporters, along with faith and civic leaders, found common ground with the security officers and called on City officials to ensure that the City’s contractors are taking all necessary steps to prevent wage theft on City contracts.

A group of workers also started a petition to demand that their employer follow state law regarding the delivery of wages. “We won’t sit around and wait for our rights,” says Officer Aubrey, “we will keep fighting until we have respect, dignity, and a union!”

Rep. González Fighting on Behalf of all Texas Workers:In November 2012, Mary E. González was elected State Representative for House District 75. Mary serves on the Appropriations Committee and is Vice Chair of the Agriculture and Live-stock Committee in the Texas House. Throughout her time as a State Representative, she has authored numerous bills to improve public schools, support agriculture and increase economic development. Addressing the issue of wage theft is a serious public policy problem that dispro-portionately affects Texas’ low wage and high risk workforce.

Rep. González has authored numerous bills in the Texas House related to wage theft. House Bill 202 would have required the Texas Workforce Commission to publish a publicly accessible list of employers and businesses that have stolen wages from employees or contractors. House Bill 2443, which passed during the 85th Legislative Session and is effective 9/1/2017, will autho-rize the Texas Workforce Commission to receive electronic submissions of wage claims. Opening up online or electronic accessibility to victims of wage theft will break down barriers to filing claims and will ensure that the Texas Workforce Commission is able to serve as many victims as possible. Rep. González has also led a social media campaign on wage theft and worked with organizations and stakeholders to pass a local wage theft ordinance in El Paso.

Security officers are standing up and fighting back by joining with their co-workers to hold city contractors accountable.


How Wage Theft Affects Working People and Families in HoustonIn this report, we have defined wage theft, described the protections in place, and outlined how the current system falls short. Wage theft hurts working Houstonians. What follows are stories of security officers and janitors who claim that they have been negatively impacted by wage theft while working hard to keep our public buildings safe, clean and secure.

Security OfficersSarpaul MehatI am a security officer with Norred and Associates at Bush Airport. I have been there for almost two years. Many of my fellow officers and I are being asked to work with-out pay before our shifts actually start, and we’re not always paid for the time we spend working after our shift ends.

I believe this constitutes a form of wage theft and has resulted in thousands of dol-lars in lost wages for me over the last two years.

That’s why I filed a wage theft complaint against my employer. I love my job and I take my role as a security officer very seriously, but wage theft has a serious impact on workers like me. I am currently undergoing medical treatment and am on medication, and lost pay makes things much more difficult for me financially.

My coworkers and I have spoken to our management and nothing is getting resolved. I have even filed a wage theft complaint with the City of Houston’s Inspector Gener-al office back in April. So far, my complaint has not been resolved.

It’s time for security officers to have a union so that we can put an end to unfair prac-tices and establish an efficient way to solve these types of problems. But we’ll need all the support we can get from City Council members and the Inspector General so that the company takes our concerns seriously.

Ms. Lee PooleSince getting hired by Norred in December 2015, I do not believe that I have been paid for all the time that I worked. I have talked to other officers, and many of us are wor-ried that security officers are not being properly paid. I filed a wage theft complaint because of what occurs before and after my shifts. I am supposed to be there 30 minutes before my shift starts for a morning briefing, but I am not paid for that time. I am also not paid when they are late to pick me up from my post after my shift, but I am expected to still keep working. I’m a big believer in my First Amendment rights, so I am not scared to say how I feel about the situation. But others in my situation at work are hesitant.


I’m 60 years old with diabetes and live from paycheck to paycheck. I need my pay to survive. As security officers, we deserve better treatment for the work that we do for our city. My complaint is still being investigated.

I call on the City of Houston to address these complaints in a more timely fashion, otherwise the system doesn’t work for people like me who are already struggling on what we earn. And with the recent hurricane disaster, I lost everything. My car and apartment were completely flooded and I had to evacuate by boat. I’m staying with a relative right now and haven’t been able to get to work for days. I’m not sure how I’m going to get through this. Now more than ever, these companies need to pay us for all the time we have worked, we deserve that and it will help us rebuild our lives.

TheLisa AubreyMy name is TheLisa Aubrey and I work as a security officer for Champion Security Agen-cy. I protect and serve the people and property at the Kashmere Multiservice Center, where I enjoy knowing my facility provides resources to an underserved community. I have great respect for my fellow security officers and those in the safety field. Unfortunately, my employer doesn’t seem to share that for the officers at my site because many times our employer does not deliver paychecks to us in a manner required by state law. I have been guarding this facility for 10 months, but when the contractor changed to Champion Security, I had to wait three weeks to be paid for my work. I received no prior notice of this delay, which had an unfortunate effect on me and my family. Champion doesn’t provide a direct deposit option either and several times I’ve had to travel long distances--up to 16 miles--during my day off to pick up my check. Between the cost of gas to drive and get my checks and the newly incurred fees from my finan-cial institution because I haven’t enrolled in a direct deposit program, these costs add up to an additional $50-75 a month. I am living paycheck to paycheck right now and every penny counts. When companies behave like this, it’s hard on all employees. I have bills and rent to pay, and when they pay us late or when I have to pay additional fees out of pocket, it has a huge impact on me and my family. It may mean I can’t eat that day or run the risk of running out of fuel and getting stranded. I really enjoy my role as a security officer and keeping people safe. I love that my fa-cility provides resources to the community to help people better their situations. But security officers need to have a voice and protections at work too and we need a way to hold these companies accountable. We do the work, we deserve to be paid on time and in a way that doesn’t burden security officers who already struggle to make ends meet.


Thomas TakemCurrently, I am a supervisor at IAH where I have worked in security for almost two years. I have been with Norred since they’ve taken on the contract. I am an immigrant to this country from Cameroon with two children, and I work hard to provide for my family. We all know that if you work hard and follow the rules, people should be able to achieve the American Dream. I live by this. It is not unusual for me to work over 70 hours per week. Something is not right at Norred. They ask me to work time for which I am not being paid. I am there for Norred when the company needs me, but I feel like I am not get-ting respect from upper management for my sacrifices. I filed a wage theft complaint in April because I am fed up with how we are sup-posed to come in before our shifts and stay late without pay. My complaint is still being investigated, but I would like to see the situation corrected and be compen-sated for those unpaid hours.

Arlene NugentMy name is Arlene Nugent, and I’m 55 years old. I work for Norred at Bush Interconti-nental Airport. My shift is from 6am to 2pm. The company used to ask me to come in 20 minutes early, and now it’s 30 minutes early, so that I can attend briefings. Half of the time we don’t have the briefings, but I am supposed to sit and wait. At the end of my shift sometimes, if someone comes in late for work I have to stay there on duty without getting paid. This is why I de-cided to file a wage theft complaint with the City of Houston. My complaint is still being investigated. I also believe Norred owes me for four hours of overtime pay in July. I approached Norred about this and they just came up with excuses, and to this date I still haven’t been paid me for my hours. My rent is $695 and I have other bills to pay. How can anyone get by like this? And during the hurricane, I did my best to protect the airport and remained at my post from 6am Sunday morning all the way through to Wednesday at 2pm, I never left once. I was told I had to work double shifts during this time and that I and my fellow coworkers could not leave the airport. Supervisors told me I would receive disaster pay for this time, but that hasn’t happened yet and I’m worried they won’t follow through.


Jose GonzalesI live in south Houston with my wife and four children. I worked with MED Security as an armed officer for almost a year until the contract was switched over to Champion Security, who’s now my employer, starting on July 10th of this year. Both MED Security and Champion Security are subcontractors for Norred, the compa-ny the City of Houston contracts with to provide security services to City buildings. While employed by MED Security, I was made to continue working after clocking out at the end of my shift on a regular basis. This time after my shift was spent do-ing specific job-related tasks, such as doing rounds of the building to secure doors and gates. Champion Security has continued this practice, and I am still unpaid for the time spent on the job after my shift. Security officers like me need someone to have our backs when wage theft and other problems happen at work. I filed a wage theft complaint with the City of Houston three months ago, but it is still unresolved. My coworkers and I believe that forming a union would help to better protect our rights at work, our paychecks, and our ability to care for our families.

Christina FigueroaMy name is Christina Figueroa and I am a supervising security officer for Norred & Associates protecting our airport. I guard gates and check vehicles and shipments to ensure nothing gets through that shouldn’t and everyone stays safe. During my time with Norred, I haven’t been paid properly on many occasions. When I was first hired, I was told my hourly rate would be $12.35. But my checks were coming up short because they were paying me a lower rate than promised. I brought this up time and time again. Eventually they paid some back-pay, but not the amount I was owed. Now they want officers to arrive 30 minutes before shift, for briefing, but they aren’t paying us for this time. They also want us to stay late in the vans if we were needed, and they weren’t paying us for that work either. I love my job. But I have 4 kids at home and I deserve to be paid for the time I work—it’s time away from my family and I take that seriously. When they short our checks or pay us incorrectly, it’s really easy to fall behind in bills. I have rent, food for my kids, electricity, and water. I do the best I can but I rely on my paychecks. This is why I filed a wage theft complaint. . And during the recent hurricane, Norred kept calling to see if I could make it to work. I told them I couldn’t risk traveling and that I was with my children in the flood. When it was finally safe enough, I went to the airport and worked 32 hours straight. Will I be paid for this time? We already made numerous complaints about how


we are being paid. Now we are worried we won’t be properly compensated for the hours some of us put in to protect the airport, putting this above our own personal and family needs. We need to be treated better and paid correctly. The job is hard enough already, we deserve better.

Janitorial WorkersJuan ValenciaMy name is Juan Valencia. I am from Colombia but I call Houston my home. I am a janitor at the City courthouse. While employed by JBM, a subcontractor under McLemore Building Maintenance, I worked overtime for about six months without seeing this time reflected in my paycheck. In April, several janitors, including myself, filed wage theft complaints with the City of Houston against our employers. Now that I have begun to tell my story, I hope that other co-workers will no longer be afraid to stand up for their rights. It is our right to have a fair salary, benefits and a union that gives us the ability to resolve these types of problems. If I had a union, I don’t think I would have experienced wage theft. Recently, a new subcontractor called Cervantes Janitorial has taken over the court account. And I’ll keep telling my story because I know every worker has the right to be paid for what he or she deserves and to be treated with respect.

Paola HernandezI used to work at a city clinic and other city facilities. For years, I worked for JBM, one of McLemore’s subcontractors. During my time with the company, I believe there were discrepancies in my paychecks where I came up short on pay. I made a wage theft complaint against the company with the Inspector General’s office, and I spoke up at the City Council about how I was treated at work. Even though I filed my wage theft complaint almost five months ago, it remains unresolved. After I filed a wage theft complaint, the company fired me. I refuse to let the com-pany silence me. So I filed an unfair labor practice charge against my employer, because I believe I was discriminated against for filing a wage theft complaint and organizing with my coworkers to form a Union. I’m going to continue speaking out for myself and my coworkers. But that is not enough. That is why I am talking to my coworkers about forming a union, and we are work-ing together with SEIU Texas to end worker exploitation in Houston.


Deborah RiveraMy employer is JBM. I began working as a janitor at the Kashmere Multi Service Cen-ter in 2015. In 2016, I began working double shifts because my manager knows that I am a re-sponsible employee and do my job well. I usually work 12-hour days, from 9:30am to 9:30pm. My only break is at 12:30pm.

Despite all of the hours that I put in for my company, I do not believe I was paid all of the overtime pay that I earned. Because of that I gathered up my paycheck stubs and filed a wage theft complaint with the Inspector General’s office. My complaint is being investigated. Its hard work and long hours, but I do the job because I need the money to care for my children. I am a single mother of five children and am paid only $9.35 per hour. I need all the hours I can get. Employers should not take advantage of workers like me who struggle to make ends meet.

Mayra HernandezMy name is Mayra Hernandez and I have worked as a janitor at different city facilities since 2008. Today, I work for McLemore Building Maintenance. During the last few years, I also worked for one of McLemore’s subcontractors, JBM, at the city courthouse. JBM assigned me to work seven days a week. I often felt there was not adequate time or sufficient cleaning supplies to get my work done within my scheduled shift. In order to do my job, I felt pressured to arrive 10 minutes early--before my 5pm shift started--so I could prepare my cleaning cart. I’ve never been paid for that time. JBM expected me to punch out exactly at 1am, despite the fact that the workload required me to continue working an additional 10 minutes to complete my work. I punched out at 1am and many times continued to work. I believe that I should be paid for this time, so I filed a wage theft complaint with the City. My complaint is still being investigated. To make matters worse, I consistently worked more than 40 hours per week--work-ing the same location and wearing the same uniform, but I believe that JBM failed to pay me the entire amount of overtime that I earned. They were able to get away with this by paying me with separate company-issued paychecks. I am a single mother and my three children depend on me. Wage theft shouldn’t happen to anyone. I hope we can get a union at my job so that we have the peace of mind that all City contractors will be held accountable.


Maria CanalesI came to the United States in 1992 in search of a better life from El Salvador shortly after my country ended its Civil War. I am a single mother, and I am grateful for the fact that I can care for my two teen children who live with me here in Houston. But I was paid at $8.68 per hour and that means every cent had to count. When I worked for the company, JBM, I felt they made my financial situation difficult by failing to pay me for all the work I did. I was assigned to clean an entire clinic by myself. It wasn’t possible for me to finish the job in a typical shift so I often worked ex-tra and sometimes felt like I had to skip my lunch break or cut it short, so that I could complete my work. When I noticed that my checks were smaller than they should be, I explained to the manager about the time needed to complete the job since I am by myself. But I was still not paid for the extra time I worked. I filed a wage theft claim in May with the Inspector General. My claim is currently being investigated. On July 10th, I was injured at work carrying a heavy item, so now I have to file for workers’ compensation. I do not have health insurance. At the moment, I am not getting the therapy I need to recover from my injury. There are times when I can’t even sleep because of the pain. The City of Houston should hear from workers like me and make sure that only responsible contractors are awarded contracts in our city.


Conclusion: Working Together to Stop Wage Theft in HoustonAs illustrated by these testimonies, wage theft is a serious issue disproportionately hurting people in low-wage service jobs, the people who most need a full paycheck. Companies who do not pay all wages owed, not only harm these individuals, but also their families, and the communities in which they live and shop. In addition, it costs taxpayer dollars to process wage theft cases, an unnecessary bur-den on all Houston residents. To address wage theft, many states and municipalities are investing in policy experi-ments to reduce the problem. However, no policy has thus far been successful in elim-inating it on its own. Indeed, most laws are focused on assisting workers in recouping lost wages after a violation has been committed--and not enough on preventing the violation itself. The answer to preventing wage theft is twofold -- it involves supporting workers’ right to form strong unions that give workers the ability to effectively solve prob-lems and creating City policies that support awarding contracts to responsible contractors who have a track record in compliance with wage and hour laws. It has been proven that strong worker organizations and labor unions have built effec-tive and timely procedures which settle disputes, such as wage theft, at no additional cost to the taxpayer or strain on our city’s services. Strong unions also have the ability to address employer retaliation when workers speak out to protect their paycheck. When workers are part of a union and have the ability to negotiate a process to resolve serious disputes through arbitration, it levels the playing field between employer and employee. Some employers have mandatory arbitration policies that they force workers to accept or be denied employment. In those situations, workers have no real opportu-nity or ability to negotiate the terms of an arbitration agreement on their own.

On the other hand, when workers are part of a union, they can draw on the resources and experience of union members rather than navigate these waters alone, often without any representation. Without strong worker organizations, employers often create costly and inadequate methods of solving disputes, including mandatory arbitration clauses, which can place unfair burdens on workers and lead to less than desirable outcomes. Where cities choose to implement responsible contractor practices, the public benefits from working with law-abiding companies whose business practices keep experienced workers on the job, allowing them to provide high-quality services with reduced risk of disruption or unneeded cost to the taxpayer. Let’s work together to stop wage theft in the city of Houston.


Endnotes1 “A push to keep workers from becoming Harvey’s next victims”, Houston Chronicle, Sept 8, 2017

2 “An Injustice To All – Workers’ Lives in the Reconstruction of New Orleans”, Judith Browne-Dianis, Jennifer Lai, Marielena Hincapie, Saket Soni, Available at: http://www.tulanelink.com/pdf/workersreport.pdf

3 “An Epidemic of Wage Theft Is Costing Workers Hundreds of Millions of Dollars a Year”, Brady Meixell & Ross Eisenbrey, Economic Policy Institute, Sept. 2014, Available at: http://www.epi.org/publication/epidemic-wage-theft-costing-workers-hundreds/

4 “Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers: Violations of Employment and Labor Laws in America’s Cities”, National Employment Law Project, 2009.

5 Id.

6 Crime in the United States 2012, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Table 23.

7 “An Epidemic of Wage Theft Is Costing Workers Hundreds of Millions of Dollars a Year”, Economic Policy Institute, 2012.

8 “Who’s the Boss: Restoring Accountability for Labor Standards in Outsourced Work”, Catherine Ruckelshaus et al., National Employment Law Project,May 2014, Available at: http://www.nelp.org/content/uploads/2015/02/Whos-the-Boss-Restoring-Accountability-Labor-Standards-Outsourced-Work-Report.pdf

9 “Winning Wage Justice: An Advocate’s Guide to State and City Policies to Fight Wage Theft”, National Employment Law Project, Jan. 2011 at 19–20, Available at: http://www.nelp.org/content/uploads/2015/03/WinningWageJustice2011.pdf

10 Center for Public Policy Priorities, 2013. Available at: https://forabettertexas.org/images/EO_2013_08_PP_wagetheft.pdf

11 “An Epidemic of Wage Theft Is Costing Workers Hundreds of Millions of Dollars a Year”, Brady Meixell & Ross Eisenbrey, Economic Policy Institute, Sept. 2014, Available at: http://www.epi.org/publication/epidemic-wagetheft-costing-workers-hundreds/.

12 “Winning Wage Justice:Talking Points on the Need for Stronger Anti-Wage Theft Laws”, National Employment Law Project, Jan. 2012 at 3, Available at: http://www.nelp.org/content/uploads/2015/03/WinningWageJusticeTalkingPoints.pdf.

13 “Wage theft claims common at area restaurants, food trucks, experts say”, METRO-STATE, by Nolan Hicks - Amer-ican-Statesman Staff.

14 Texas Workforce Commission, Public Record Request, Available at: StandForSecurity.Org.

15 “Preventing Wage Theft in Texas”, Center for Budget Policy Priorities, 2013.

16 “How Progressives Are Fighting for Fair Wages in the Texas Legislature”, Progress Texas, 2017.

17 “Houston’s Attempt to Curb Wage Theft”, Allison Lee, Houston Public Media, July 19th, 2017, Available at: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2017/07/19/221923/for-tuesday-air-houstons-attempt-to-curb-wage-theft/#content

18 “Winning Wage Justice: An Advocate’s Guide to State and City Policies to Fight Wage Theft”, National Employment Law Project, Jan. 2011 at 19–20, Available at: http://www.nelp.org/content/uploads/2015/03/WinningWageJus-tice2011.pdf.)

19 “What is Wage Theft?”, UCLA Labor Center, 2016, Available at: https://www.labor.ucla.edu/wage-theft/

20 “Key Changes to New York’s Wage Theft Prevention Act Become Law”, By Bruce Millman, Stephen Fuchs & Jill Lowell, December, 2013, Available at:https://www.littler.com/key-changes-new-yorks-wage-theft-prevention-act-become-law

21 “Winning Wage Justice”, National Employment Law Project, 2011, at 58.

22 “Winning Wage Justice: An Advocate’s Guide to State and City Policies to Fight Wage Theft”, National Employment Law Project, Jan. 2011, at 20.

23 Texas Labor Code § 61.017.


About SEIU TexasSEIU Texas unites janitors, food service workers, hospital employees and public employees from across our state. We clean the offices of some the world’s largest corporations, administer frontline healthcare in our hospitals and provide the public with services we all depend on. Together, we are organizing to win workplace improvements to enrich our lives and better our communities.

Right now, security officers and janitors employed by companies who receive taxpayer dollars are working to raise standards in their industries. By organizing a strong union, we are fighting for better wages, quality affordable healthcare, job security and a voice on the job.

In this report, as always, SEIU Texas supports working people and stands up for the fair treatment of all workers, including those who clean and protect our city.

Contact UsSEIU Texas4299 San Felipe Street - Suite 200•Houston, TX 77027Phone: 832-204-1138seiutx.org facebook.com/seiutx twitter.com/seiutxUnitedstronghouston.org

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32983 09.18.17 jc

protecting our paychecks - united strong...

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