New nonprofit organization working to protect rights of local workers
Posted on Wednesday, May 3, 2006
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/40245/
A new nonprofit organization is operating through churches and community groups to spread a message of workers’ rights.
The Northwest Arkansas Workers’ Justice Center opened last month in Springdale as the area’s latest educational resource for workers. The services are offered to all workers, but director Matt Goodwin has noticed a large number of clients so far have been Hispanics. "I guess right now the people with the brunt of a lot of discrimination are the immigrant workers, and that’s because maybe they’re new to the area or not as savvy with the system, so people feel they can take advantage of them," Goodwin said.
The center has two pri- mary functions — to teach workers about their rights and also to champion individual problems. Goodwin currently is the only staff member, accepting the position after eight years in the area with Catholic Charities. Much of the work is performed by volunteers, though two interns will assist this summer, and a workers’ rights advocate could be hired soon.
Goodwin traced its inception to church congregations and community organizations that identified a need locally for a workers’ advocacy group. Interfaith Worker Justice in Chicago also had shown an interest in Northwest Arkansas because of the booming job market and large immigration population, he said.
About 118 work centers have opened or are under development in 30 states. The office in Springdale became the first to operate in Arkansas.
Its mission is to support religious congregations, workers and their organizations, and community groups in efforts to improve wages, benefits and working conditions. "There’s serious ethical issues around work, and most people who are a part of a religious faith see that," Goodwin said. "When workers are treated unfairly, (congregations) see it’s an ethical issue, not just a work issue."
Workers have brought a range of issues to the center, from people not receiving pay and suspected unwarranted firings to health and safety concerns and discrimination claims.
Among the accomplishments are helping 800 workers obtain safety equipment, teaching 1,000 workers their rights, recovering back wages and claims, assisting in cases of workplace abuse, and helping organize workers against claims of English-only rules.
The organization also backed recent boycotts and rallies by Hispanics that were organized to show their economic impact on the United States and protest a bill that would make illegal aliens felons. "We support the expression of free speech of workers," Goodwin said. "A lot of the immigration issues are connected to work, so anything that empowers workers to fight for their own rights, that’s what we support."