Unpaid Child Labor in America

The contractors who clean the publicly owned Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore violate the human rights of workers. Not only are workers treated as trash and not with dignity, but they are also paid poverty wages.  When illegal wait times are added into a worker's shift, cleaners make less than the state's minimum wage, far below Baltimore's living wage rate.  

Even worse are outright instances of underpayment for work done.  Here is Devin's story (1 min. YouTube video of Devin introducing himself and talking about not getting paid for work done below the fold)...

The United Workers demands a living wage at Camden Yards.  We've held to this single demand for over three years.  We've been promised a living wage twice, once by the owner of the Orioles and once by the main contractor.  Both promises were broken.  After three years of broken promises, the cleaners are fed up. It's time for a living wage at Camden Yards.

We entered into face-to-face talks in April, with the hopes of reaching a living wages solution by Sept 1.  On Aug 7 the Maryland Stadium Authority told us that the deadline would be missed.  Now it's time to ramp up pressure and to make our demand be heard.  

The United Workers is a Maryland-based human rights organization led by the poor.  We are fighting to secure human rights for all, including the right to freedom from poverty.  We are organizing the poor to demand that the values of respect, dignity and sanctity of human life be acted upon in America. We believe that it's possible to end poverty.  Poverty is a political choice.  If enough people demand an end to poverty we can put in place systems for economic justice that will end poverty.

Get involved - all events are in Baltimore:
Labor Day Prayer Breakfast Sept 3 @ 11 AM (809 Light St - walking distance to Camden Yards)
Concert for Human Rights Sep 8 @ 2 PM (Conway Park at Conway St. and Russell St. - across from Camden Yards)

UnitedWorkers.org
Low-wage workers leading the way to poverty's end.

•  i am interested in your diary and the story

  of devin, however, due to the lack of dsl in my location, i use dialup.  accessing the story is impossible.

  might i suggest you include a brief summation of that particular part of your diary?

  also, a request to every diarist, PLEASE put your youtubes in the body of the diary - it kills downloads of the main page for those of us forced to live in the last century technology!

  thanks.

  by edrie on Thu Aug 09, 2007 at 06:46:52 AM PDT

  •  thanks for the suggestion

    moved the video down and added a short description - and thanks for your interest

    by Harriet Tubman on Thu Aug 09, 2007 at 06:51:28 AM PDT

    •  thanks - am off to work ---- will check

      back later to read it.

      by edrie on Thu Aug 09, 2007 at 09:16:06 AM PDT

•  There are many more examples

  This may seem like stretching it, but I've lived it. Schools all across the country are underfunded. In many cases, the extracurricular programs aren't funded at all. So up and down the streets the kids walk to sell junk food, to fund their own education.

  This may seem trivial, but I've seen instances where the same kid has five giant collections of junk food (one  for library books, one for the band program, one for soccer...) to get rid of in a single semester.

  Parents vote down the taxes. Kids work.

  by MrMichaelMT on Thu Aug 09, 2007 at 07:06:18 AM PDT

  •  We don't think it's trivial at all

    What you are describing is poverty.  No education. Child labor.  That's unacceptable.

    Human beings have a right to be treated with respect and to have work worthy of human dignity.  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights includes economic human rights - such as the right to protection of childhood, to education and to work with dignity.

    The United States is in gross violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  As a human rights violator, the United States needs to clean up its act and to use its power and wealth for human rights values - not greed.

    by Harriet Tubman on Thu Aug 09, 2007 at 07:09:57 AM PDT

    •  You are right

      This doesn't happen in rich schools. It happens in inner city schools, and very rural schools.

      by MrMichaelMT on Thu Aug 09, 2007 at 07:53:02 AM PDT

•  Harriet please explain:

  You said:  "When illegal wait times are added into a worker's shift, cleaners make less than the state's minimum wage, far below Baltimore's living wage rate."

  I have not heard about "illegal wait times."  Please explain this.  Is this a state or federal law?

  by Dar Nirron on Thu Aug 09, 2007 at 07:19:18 AM PDT

  •  The state of Maryland requires that workers get

    paid for all "required" hours.  When workers are under the supervision or are otherwise required to be someplace, these times are considered as work times and workers should get paid. Temp agencies have workers sign in and then make them wait for up to several hours before actually working. During this time, workers are transported in temp agency vans and are not allowed to leave the area (if they left the area they would not be kept on the shift). We consider these to be illegal wait times since the workers are not paid for this required time.  Most temp workers put in 12 hour days and bring home at the very most 8 hours of work.  This does not include commute time to and from the temp agency.  Workers are also charged for safety equipment and transportation, bringing wages far below the poverty level.  This creates an endless cycle of poverty for most temp workers.

    by Harriet Tubman on Thu Aug 09, 2007 at 07:27:44 AM PDT

    •  Thank you for the explanation. n/t

      by Dar Nirron on Thu Aug 09, 2007 at 12:13:42 PM PDT

•  Hi Harriet!

  Thanks for keeping us up to date. If it makes sense as part of your organization's strategy, please let us know who we can write to, e-mail, or fax to protest conditions at Camden Yards.

  United Workers

  CNT

  IWW

  by chesapeake on Thu Aug 09, 2007 at 07:20:25 AM PDT

  •  we are planning a major announcement

    on Aug 15.  Once we make that announcement we'll be enlisting help from allies in putting pressure on Camden Yards.  We'll be sure to keep you posted.

    While we can't release the details yet, we can say this:

    "Our men, women and children have suffered not only the basic brutality of stoop labor, and the most obvious injustices of the system; they have also suffered the desperation of knowing that the system caters to the greed of callous men and not to our needs. Now we will suffer for the purpose of ending the poverty, the misery, and the injustice, with the hope that our children will not be exploited as we have been. They have imposed hungers on us, and now we hunger for justice." - Cesar Chavez

    by Harriet Tubman on Thu Aug 09, 2007 at 07:31:37 AM PDT

    •  See

      here for comparable diary, possible tips for building solidarity at dkos.
      

      by chesapeake on Thu Aug 09, 2007 at 07:45:57 AM PDT

      •  great diary - keep us posted

        by Harriet Tubman on Thu Aug 09, 2007 at 08:41:54 AM PDT