By San Lucas Workers Center, www.sanlucasworkers.com

At an April 28th community meeting, over 50 community residents were on hand to hear stories of worker abuse presented to Harvey Cole, owner of Elite Staffing in Chicago, IL by San Lucas worker-leaders. The objective of the April 28th meeting was to allow neighborhood residents and day laborers an opportunity to let Harvey Cole know that "business as usual" would not be tolerated when he opened his new office in their community. Day laborer and San Lucas Workers Center (SLWC) member Raquel Arroyo spoke eloquently on behalf of the crowd, "What we want is justice; we want Elite to treat us like human beings, not like animals."

Black, Puerto Rican, and immigrant day laborers described for the crowd and their boss multiple and repeated abuses by Elite staff, such as:

• unpaid and delayed wages;
• discrimination;
• unsafe transportation;
• failure to refund money taken for illegal fees;
• no opportunity to go from temporary to permanent employment;
• harassment of workers by off-duty police who are hired by Elite to provide security.

Community members also testified to the neighborhood costs of day labor abuses. Carmen Flores-Rance told Cole: "Eighty percent of the people eating at our church's meal program are there because they're making a poverty wage working day labor. They don't need missing wages on top of that."

SLWC worker-leaders then presented Harvey Cole with six demands. Those demands were:

• move 50 workers to permanent employment;
• provide names and badge numbers of all off-duty police working security;
• pay all remaining refunds owed due to illegal fees;
• stop cutting deals with liquor stores (located next door to Elite offices) to cash employees checks;
• permit San Lucas access to dispatch to ensure no discrimination in work assignments;
• zero tolerance on unpaid wages and a copy of the work ticket giving proof of hours worked to workers.

Agreement on the last demand would bring Elite into compliance with the City of Chicago Day Labor Ordinance. Breaking the law is not new to Harvey Cole and Elite Staffing. In 2003, Illinois Attorney General, Lisa Madigan, ordered Elite to refund money stolen from workers in illegal fees. The Attorney General's action was a result of a 2001 Illinois Department of Labor audit prompted by SLWC.

The April 28th meeting was not SLWCs first experience taking with Harvey Cole. Two years ago, San Lucas spearheaded the fight to win the Chicago Day Labor Ordinance. The Ordinance was bitterly opposed the Association of Day Labor Agencies, headed by Cole. San Lucas Workers Center has met with Elite management four times in the past three years in an attempt to stop the systematic and deliberate abuse of day labor workers. This meeting followed the past pattern of all sweet talk (Cole's specialty) and no action.

Harvey Cole's smooth tongue has many client companies believing he is a fair and reasonable businessman. Cole cares deeply about his business relationships and reputation with his clients. What was clear from his inaction on April 28th is that he cares little for the day laborers that work for him or his relationship with the community. His contempt was obvious when he refused even that most basic of demands-pay workers for hours worked!

Based on past experience with Cole, SLWC regarded this event as a last chance for Elite to voluntarily do the right thing. Before the meeting, SLWC members pledged that if Elite continued its defiant attitude toward reforming illegal practices, San Lucas would broaden the fight and take it to the streets. According to long-time Logan Square resident, Sandra Morales, "Harvey is not here to help people; he's here to exploit them." What was clear from the meeting is that the community has come a long way in both its awareness of abuses, and its commitment to change. People are ready for a fight!

Day laborer and SLWC member, Raquel Arroyo learned first hand how Harvey Cole and Elite Staffing deal with workers who stand up and fight back against injustice. Arroyo, a seven-year veteran at Elite, went public about the abhorrent working conditions suffered by day laborers employed by Elite Staffing during the April public meeting. The crowd of over 50 workers and community members were witnesses to Harvey Cole's promise that "it is my intent that the workers should have no fear. There will be no recriminations."

On June 4th, worker-leaders from San Lucas decided to take action. Workers and representatives from a dozen community groups marched into Elite's offices on Armitage Avenue to present a letter demanding Arroyo's reinstatement. The letter was presented to Elite dispatcher, Onix Molina who smirked and promptly tore up the letter. Molina is named in the letter as the Elite staff who fired Arroyo. The protesters made sure to inform Elite's neighbors up and down the block about Elite's abusive practices.