Luis and SeaSol have won our second fight against Pegasus Pizza. A few months after our last encounter, Luis was fired for being a few minutes late due to delays in his Metro commute (something that happens to other workers all the time without reprisals). Recognizing this as blatant retaliation for fighting back on the job with us last winter, we demanded that Pegasus Pizza either give Luis his job back or pay him for the two weeks of wages he lost while he was out of work (approximately $600). More background on this fight and the real reasons for Luis’s firing can be found here.

When we started to pass out leaflets in front of their door, many West Seattle locals were not surprised to hear about Ted or Sarah’s exploitative behavior. We heard many stories of people’s friends, family and neighbors having their time sheets tampered with, wages docked and stolen outright in the past. We also received numerous phone calls and emails from former employees that confirmed that Pegasus has been routinely stealing workers’ wages for years. We began to compile these stories into a public blog that the General Manager of Pegasus, Sarah, told us herself was very damaging to their reputation. The owner, Ted, responded by coming into Luis’s workplace and threatening his life. Sarah on the other hand responded with a short press release that claimed they had time sheets proving Luis’s tardiness. We wondered how seriously we were supposed to take these time sheets, after hearing multiple stories about management routinely editing them for their own benefit.

After we started picketing and shutting down a few lunch and dinner rushes, management apparently had enough. They requested a sit-down meeting during which Sarah admitted she had become “irresponsible” with her payroll. After trying and failing to get Luis to sign some sort of legal agreement, she had another manager run and get two money orders made out to Luis for a total of $600. About this fight, Luis says he is “very happy. Really, I think if there had not been SeaSol I would not have been able to do anything. We have one more victory. We’ve beaten some bad people [Ted & Sarah] that treat immigrants very badly. With SeaSol I’ve learned to help people, and that if we wait, nothing will change.”

We hope that Ted and Sarah have learned their lesson and clean up their act before another worker who has been trampled by Pegasus decides it is time to fight back with our help.

We are happy to announce that, after six months of protest, Borracchini’s has finally begun to allow all workers their 10-minute breaks. (Here is more background on the fight.)

Our many actions have included picketing, postering and even a bake sale of “Cakes Made With Breaks.” At every action we reached new people in the neighborhood who told us they wouldn’t be shopping at Borracchini’s because of the conditions there for workers.

We will be suspending our campaign, as long as workers continue receiving their breaks.

We remain disgusted with Remo Borracchini for publicly pledging $10,000 to Children’s Hospital as a public relations move in response to our campaign, and then donating only a tenth of that amount.

Let’s celebrate this improvement in working conditions at Borracchini’s. Stay tuned for details.

It was almost Christmas when Luis got in touch with SeaSol and he hadn’t been paid since before Halloween. A part-time pizza chef at a local Pizzeria, Luis had not received a penny for his hard work for almost three months. Instead, management had only given him three bad checks from different banks and scores of broken promises.

As his bills continued to mount and his family kept asking him when he would finally be getting paid Luis wondered what he should do. A dishwasher at the restaurant had recently been slapped in the face and subsequently fired for being too insistent about being paid on time. Luis thought about not showing up to work until he got paid or just quitting for good, but he didn’t want to lose his job and knew he shouldn’t have to.

After joining SeaSol, he decided it might be possible to fight for his stolen wages while continuing to work at the restaurant. On Friday, January 13th, nearly thirty SeaSol members marched into the restaurant with Luis on one of his off days to bring a little bad luck to the thieving establishment.

While the owner was spotted hiding in the back Luis was eventually able to deliver a letter to the general manager containing a simple message: pay him everything he was owed within two weeks and do not retaliate against him in any way or expect further action.

SeaSol received a phone call later the same evening from the general manager apologizing for how she had behaved during the demand delivery (screaming, swearing, and calling the police) and assuring us it was all just a misunderstanding because Luis doesn’t speak English. Most importantly, she promised to pay him the next day.

She broke this promise and time started to run out fast as SeaSol and Luis could not agree with the restaurant on exactly how much he was owed. As the deadline of Friday, January 27th, approached SeaSol and Luis began organizing an action for Saturday the 28th if the restaurant should fail to pay. However, this action never happened.

When Luis got off work Friday night he was handed a check for $1,774.24. And this check didn’t bounce. There was a small discrepancy regarding an additional $150 being owed, but once it was brought to their attention management added this amount to the first up-to-date and in-full paycheck Luis had received in months the following week. Luis got his money and kept his job and as of this writing he is continuing to be paid on time and in full. Thanks to everyone who helped make this possible and stay ready in case anything should change for the worse at Luis’s workplace.

Video of the demand delivery is available at YouTube.

In November 2011, Lavon agreed to work for John Hybridge, owner of Thrifty Janitorial Services (TJS), on a month-to-month basis. During his first (and only) month there, Lavon was punctual, hardworking, and he developed good relationships with the contracts he covered. Yet, at the end of November, his paycheck was nowhere to be found.

Upset with John and needing his money to follow up on plans to propose to his (now) fiance, Lavon decided to call up a few other employees who had worked for TJS. He soon found out that many of them were only receiving partial payment, if they were paid at all. So Lavon decided to confront Mr. Hybridge about the missing pay, asserting that he needed to give Lavon his back-wages within a week. Despite agreeing to this demand, when the deadline had passed, all Lavon had to show for it was a check receipt sans the check. Facing non-payment, Lavon quit in his fifth week, citing that his obligations to his second job (that actually paid him) had become overwhelming.

Shortly thereafter, Lavon was on his way to work and happened to notice a phone pole with a flier that jumped out at him. It read, “Problems With Your Employer? Unpaid wages? Injustice at work? Call Seasol!” Previously at a loss for where to begin pursuing his absent paycheck, and aware that seeking legal help for his back-pay would be prohibitively costly, Lavon thought, “What’s the worst that can happen? Why not give it a try?” After calling and explaining the situation to a Seasol member named Michael, they decided to meet at a local coffee shop and discuss Lavon’s options/next steps. Within a week Seasol had decided to take on the fight.

After a few weeks of meetings, research, and preparation, the group was ready for the demand delivery. With some clever maneuvering, Lavon and fellow Seasol volunteer Carley had found out that John would be waxing the floors at the Burien Big 5 on the night of January 26th. With some help from another volunteer Cyan, the demand letter was written and ready to be delivered.

The night of the delivery, more than forty people gathered in the parking lot in Burien, braving the bitter cold in the name of justice for a fellow worker. The plan was to ambush John on his way into work with a frosty reception and a letter describing what he’d done wrong, and what he had to do to make the situation right. The letter also made clear that if he didn’t make good on his promise to pay Lavon, Seasol would be back to carry on the struggle. Seasol volunteers took lookout positions throughout the parking lot, and waited for John’s arrival.

After an hour had passed, it seemed like something had gone wrong. The Big 5 employees had filtered into the night, the police had come and gone letting us know that “…big crowds of people make people in Burien nervous.”, but still, no John. The group agreed to slowly disperse leaving a core group to stay behind just to be sure. Nine of ten minutes passed, minutes spent plotting out our next moves, a second attempt at John’s house in North Seattle, postering around his neighborhood, visiting his contracts around the city, fake job applicants and more.

Finally, just as we were preparing to call it a draw, who should pull over the crest of the parking lot but John and his latest cleaning crew! The rest you can see here, but suffice it to say our perseverance was rewarded. Within a week Lavon had been paid and the stress he’d endured had been handled. In his own words, “Our night in the Burien Big 5 parking lot was awesome…we did it, it was great!”

See the video here.

Last summer, Cesario inquired to rent a studio in the International District. Due to poor credit, the apartment management required pre-paid rent. They accepted a security deposit and six months rent from Cesario, but failed to mention their historic building’s ongoing problem with bed bugs. It was only a few months later that a bed bug infestation made Cesario’s 125 square foot studio their home as well.

Management had the room fumigated on several occasions, and although this left a nasty chemical residue on Cesario’s possessions, it did not eradicate the bed bugs. After spending hundreds of dollars out of pocket trying to deal with these pests, Cesario decided he had to move out. He informed the manager of his intent, and only requested two months rent and his security deposit back. This simple request was quickly denied by the apartment manager. Already being a member of the Seattle Solidarity Network, Cesario knew exactly who could support him in this situation.

In early January, 34 SeaSol members descended upon the apartment complex to deliver a demand for the pre-paid rent and security deposit. When we crowded into the small entrance, the apartment manager caught a glimpse of what would be waiting for their business if they did not comply. Cesario was paid his $1000 back within two weeks.

Thanks to everybody who came to his demand delivery!