This is a guest post by Grace Heffernan, Board Chair, Northeast Ohio Worker Center.
The Northeast Ohio Worker Center (NEOWC) is an organization built by workers, for workers, to organize against the systems that have workers isolated, overworked, underpaid, and exploited. The NEOWC was founded in 2019 when labor leaders, community organizations, and grassroots groups came together for a gathering called the Work and Wages conference. A working group was formed as a result of that convening and NEOWC has been building power for working people and a movement that values dignity, justice, and equity ever since.
We are proud of how far we have come in such a short amount of time and we think it speaks to how much work there is to do to ensure that work, works for working people. Here are some of our most notable accomplishments by the numbers:
Three. Today in Ohio–just today–employers will steal $1.6 million from workers in the form of unpaid wages. This is the nationwide epidemic known as wage theft and it disproportionately impacts workers of color, women workers, and young workers. Through our Guardians for Fair Work campaign, NEOWC has helped three communities, City of Cleveland, City of Euclid, and Cuyahoga County, pass enhanced wage theft protections for workers.
15.33. In partnership with Cleveland City Council, NEOWC, ensured that a $15.33 minimum wage for all covered city employees was adopted in the municipal code this summer. And perhaps, even more importantly, this wage increase is indexed to inflation which means city workers will have their earnings protected in the future.
10. Here’s the thing – everyone has had a bad boss or a crummy job. And once working people become aware of their rights in the workplace, they sometimes they even realize that their crummy job or bad boss is actually breaking the law. Since launching in November 2022, NEOWC has hosted 9 Wage Theft Clinics which are free and open to the public regardless of financial situation, immigration status, or industry. During these clinics, workers learn about their rights in the workplace, find solidarity with other working people, and learn about the tools at their disposal to ensure they are working in a fair, just and safe workplace.
If you are interested in learning more about the Northeast Ohio Worker Center, please visit our website: www.neoworkercenter.org or check us out on social media. We’d love to see you at our next wage theft clinic, provide a know your rights training at your organization, or just generally be in community with you. Solidarity forever.