ST. PAUL, MN – Today State Senator Patricia Torres Ray (DFL – Minneapolis) and State Representative Carlos Mariani (DFL – St. Paul) announced legislation designed to protect Minnesota workers’ rights and economic security.
Personal stories from retail building cleaners who are members of the Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (CTUL) workforce center compelled the legislators to take action.
“I’m deeply concerned by ongoing reports of low wages, overwhelming workloads, and wage theft,” said Rep. Mariani. “Workers who are contracted to clean retail stores deserve respect, dignity, and fair wages for a hard day’s work. I’m proud to stand with members of CTUL today to announce this bill to help level the playing field for Minnesota workers.”
“Every day workers are sacrificing to provide for their families, and often they do not have enough time to spend with their children to watch them grow up, or to invest in the well-being of the communities around them,” said Sen. Torres Ray. “For workers to sacrifice so much, and then sometimes not even receive their full wage is unacceptable.”
Lucila Dominguez, a member of CTUL who spoke at a press conference with Sen. Torres Ray and Rep. Mariani, said she has worked for multiple cleaning companies in Minnesota over the past five years. “All of my co-workers face the same low wages and have a workload that is more than we can finish in the six hours we are given to clean a store,” said Dominguez. “Our workload is too high. Our wages are too low. That’s why we have been organizing to improve our wages and working conditions.”
HF1013 will make its first stop in the House Labor, Workplace and Regulated Industries Committee.