#stolenwagesnj

This is, partly, an experiment in form pulled together to show my class that we can tell stories using a variety of platforms. This one is generally called the Instagram essay, which has been used by writers like Neil Shea and Jeff Sharlet. I am working on a longer version of this for NJ Spotlight.

Let me know what you think of this as a storytelling medium.

#stolenwagesnj 1. New Labor was outside the Dominican/Mexican restaurant La Cabanita in New Brunswick to protest the business’ failure to pay more than $11,000 in unpaid wages and to highlight the need for more local laws and state-wide legislation. #instagramstories

A photo posted by Hank Kalet (@newspoet41) on Nov 18, 2015 at 10:39am PST

#stolenwagesnj 2. New Brunswick, where La Cabanita is located, is one of five towns in New Jersey — Princeton, Highland Park, Newark and Jersey City are the others — that tie business licenses to payment of wages. Under the New Brunswick ordinance, the city can strip a business of a license if it fails to make good on a wage ruling issued by the state. Activists are pushing more towns to adopt ordinances, with the goal being a statewide rule enacted by the state Legislature. They also want to close what they see as loopholes — such as New Brunswick’s exemption for temp agencies that employ New Brunswick residents elsewhere in the region. #instagramstories

A video posted by Hank Kalet (@newspoet41) on Nov 18, 2015 at 12:58pm PST

#stolenwagesnj 3. As I reported in #NjSpotlight in July, “Critics of the laws, including the state’s major business advocacy groups, say they are unnecessary and can hurt workers unintentionally. They also say that the local laws result in a patchwork of rules that create administrative problems for businesses. // Supporters, including groups like New Jersey Working Families and New Labor, say wage-theft ordinances make it easier for workers to collect back wages while leveling the playing field for low-income employees who otherwise have to rely on Byzantine state rules and processes.” #instagramstories

A video posted by Hank Kalet (@newspoet41) on Nov 18, 2015 at 12:51pm PST

#stolenwagesnj 4. Jose Cruz worked at La Cabanita for nine months, putting in 29 hours of unpaid overtime per week. Cruz, who lives in New Brunswick, filed a complaint with the state Department of Labor and won an $11,000 judgment against the restaurant, which is supposed to pay him monthly. He has yet to receive a check, he says. #instagramstories

A photo posted by Hank Kalet (@newspoet41) on Nov 18, 2015 at 7:17pm PST

#stolenwagesnj 5. The withholding of wages, or wage theft, created serious hardship for the Dominican native. “I suffered a lot,” Jose Cruz (pictured with Reynalda Cruz) says through an interpreter. “I have been lacking in certain things and cutting back,” including clothes and medicine. He had injured his hands and was prescribed medication, which he could not afford. #instagramstories

A photo posted by Hank Kalet (@newspoet41) on Nov 18, 2015 at 7:20pm PST

#stolenwagesnj 6. La Cabanita is due to make its first payment on Dec. 1. New Labor scheduled the protest to apply pressure. The city ordinance can be used for additional pressure, said New Labor Director Lou Kimmel. #instagramstories

A photo posted by Hank Kalet (@newspoet41) on Nov 18, 2015 at 7:21pm PST

#stolenwagesnj 7. While the city law may help people like Jose Cruz, who live and work in the city, others like Eulalio Ramirez (pictured) are falling through the cracks. Ramirez, who lives in New Brunswick, worked at a Princeton restaurant with his brother. Both of them were denied overtime pay and have won judgments from the state. The restaurant, however, has refused to comply and the Ramirez brothers are still waiting for their back pay. #instagramstories

A photo posted by Hank Kalet (@newspoet41) on Nov 18, 2015 at 7:22pm PST

#stolenwagesnj 8. Princeton passed a wage-theft law in 2014, but it only covers landscapers. That has left Eulalio Ramirez struggling to make ends meet, and leaves him with little leverage in his fight with his former employer, who he said was abusive. #instagramstories

A photo posted by Hank Kalet (@newspoet41) on Nov 18, 2015 at 7:24pm PST

#stolenwagesnj 9. Eulalio Ramirez and his brother were fired during the winter without notice, which did not give them time to save and prepare. Even if they had time, Ramirez said, he was not earning enough to put money aside. “We would work a lot and have to suck it up and work the overtime and we would have to suck it up to (the boss’) characer.” #instagramstories

A photo posted by Hank Kalet (@newspoet41) on Nov 18, 2015 at 7:25pm PST

#stolenwagesnj 10. Princeton officials have said they will consider expanding the law to cover other businesses. Activists like Kimmel and Reynalda Cruz (pictured with drum) say they are hoping to build momentum for a state law by passing local ordinances. But they say that the lack of a statewide rule leaves workers like Eulalio Ramirez vulnerable. Legislation has been introduced, but it is not expected to be heard before the new Assembly is seated in January. #instagramstories

A photo posted by Hank Kalet (@newspoet41) on Nov 18, 2015 at 7:26pm PST

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Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet