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Revere subcommittee recommends stronger wage-theft ordinance after extensive public testimony
Summary
The Legislative Affairs Subcommittee unanimously recommended that the full Revere City Council adopt an ordinance to strengthen local tools against wage theft, following testimony from councilors, labor representatives and advocates and a discussion about overlap with state enforcement.
The Legislative Affairs Subcommittee of the Revere City Council voted unanimously to offer a favorable recommendation to the full council for an ordinance strengthening the city—s wage-theft rules (council order 25-1-14), after more than an hour of public testimony and debate.
The ordinance would add local enforcement and penalty tools tied to city contracts, tax benefits and licenses while directing cases that implicate state or federal law to the Massachusetts Attorney General or the Department of Labor, according to proponents and supporters who spoke at the meeting.
Councilor Jaramillo, who spoke in support, framed the measure as protection for low-paid workers and read an excerpt from a book about a 2002 janitorial strike to illustrate the human impact. "When we talk about wage theft, we are talking about the people usually, folks who are, lowest paid," Jaramillo said.
Jeff Cohen, identified himself as Salem—s Ward 5…
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