Philadelphia Laundry Workers File Wage Theft Lawsuit
Laundry workers launch CLEAN Philly campaign to end workplace abuses and wage theft
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Laundry workers at Olympic Linen and Laundry Services filed a class action lawsuit against the company for "underpayment of minimum wages and overtime pay." In conjunction with the suit, the Philadelphia Joint Board/Workers United (PJB/WU) launched CLEAN Philly, a campaign to end worker abuses and wage theft in industrial laundries in the Philadelphia metro area.
Olympic Linen and Laundry Service cleans the sheets, towels and restaurant napkins for many of Philadelphia's most exclusive hotels, including The Hyatt at the Bellevue. The lawsuit contends workers were paid subminimum wages, were not paid overtime for the hours worked above 40 hours, and were not paid for all hours worked.
Cleotilde Tlacopilco, who worked at Olympic Linen for 12 years, said: "The boss would often short me $15-20 in my weekly pay. My son is 4 years old, and I struggled to buy him food and pay our rent and bills. It's a lot of pressure and I was always tired. I work for a living, so I should make enough to support myself and my family."
Lynne Fox, Manager of PJB/WU said, "Olympic Linen and Laundry Service is hurting not only its workers and their families, but our entire community. They are keeping families in poverty, so that they can barely afford basic necessities and are unable to contribute back into Philadelphia's economy. "
"Philly needs good jobs for our city to thrive. We have many responsible laundry contractors that don't run their plants like sweatshops. The fact that Olympic Linen and Laundry Service continues to be contracted by high-end restaurants and hotels while treating their workers this way is unacceptable."
As part of the CLEAN Philly campaign, laundry workers and community members are calling on Olympic Linen customers to use responsible laundry contractors that do not exploit workers.
Workers at today's news conference reported that, when they asked for their wages to be paid on time and in full, they were met with abusive language from management.
Another worker at the news conference, Guadalupe Pina, who worked at Olympic for two years, described the verbal abuse endured by workers when they tried to get paid what they earned.
"My boss was always insulting employees. He would use bad words and would scream and harass the workers," she said. "One time I noticed I was missing $100 from my paycheck. When I told my boss, he cursed me out. I only wanted to be able to work in a safe environment and be paid a fair wage."
The Philadelphia Joint Board, Workers United represents over 3,000 workers in food service, commercial laundries, apparel & textile manufacturing, airport workers and distribution workers in Philadelphia and surrounding counties and South Jersey to Atlantic City.
To follow the lawsuit, and for a copy of the complaint, go to http://www.olympiclaundrywage.com/.
SOURCE Philadelphia Joint Board, Workers United
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