Thursday, October 13, 2011

VIDEO: Teamsters File Prison Wage Complaint

The Teamsters Union filed a federal complaint today with the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., against the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC), asking for an investigation into repeated wage theft throughout the state prison system.

At a press conference in Tallahassee, FDOC correctional officers spoke about the wage violations by their employer. Sgt. Aaron Cobb, one of the thousands of officers who has experienced wage theft, said:
I work very hard, but I have a difficult time making ends meet. On average, I am not paid for 50 minutes of every day when I am on the work premises. I want to make the Department of Corrections a better place to work. That’s why we are standing up with the Teamsters for what’s right.
Michael Filler, Director of the Teamsters Public Services Division, spoke out about wage and hour violations:
Correctional officers suffer because of wage theft by the FDOC and also because they have had no pay increases for the past seven years. All officers who put in a fair’s day work are legally entitled to a fair day’s pay.
The Teamsters are assisting 20,000 FDOC officers seeking aggressive representation on the job. FDOC officers who believe they are victims of wage theft can call the Teamsters wage theft hotline at
1-877-589-4951.