NEW YORK CITY — Low-wage workers, community leaders and union organizers have planned a march and a “Day of Action” today to support workers’ rights, the New York Daily News reported.
The July 23 story said multiple carwashes in the area should expect visits from the protestors after the march. Deborah Axt of Make the Road New York said after today’s march ends, people will be piling into buses and going to carwashes in Harlem, the Bronx and Astoria.
The event begins at 3:30 p.m. in Herald Square, and expected participants include domestic workers and employees from carwashes, super markets and airports. Striking Con Edison employees and Verizon workers and retail store employees are expected to join.
“The march and rally will highlight the unprecedented amount of low wage workers organizing,” Axt said in the story. “It’s a national day of action to raise the national minimum wage. They will come together with other folks who face retaliation and pressure, and horrible working conditions.”
One march participant interviewed in the story, Jose Linares, has worked at a carwash for over two years. After he and his co-workers started organizing against workplace abuses, they have gained access to tips and overtime pay. But, their hourly pay is still $6, which is less than the $7.25 federal minimum wage.
The march is the latest event in a wave of meetings and lawsuits aimed at improving the labor practices of some NY carwashes.
