A group of several dozen Hispanic workers marched in downtown Lakewood on Sunday to protest for higher wages and improved working conditions. The demonstrators, many of whom are employed in the local home-cleaning industry, have organized similar efforts in recent years, using strikes and protests to push for increased pay.
The protest comes at a strategically significant time—just weeks before Pesach, a period when demand for cleaning services in the community reaches its peak. Previous demonstrations have also taken place around this time, as workers seek to leverage the heightened need for their services.
In some respects, these efforts have yielded results. Wages in the local cleaning industry have risen to the point where some households can no longer afford to hire cleaning help. Despite this, workers continue to push for further improvements, arguing that they still face challenging conditions and insufficient pay.
I do not want to get involved with the $ part of this issue.
I think that it is a very good idea to offer the cleaning person a cup of coffee and some cake in the morning.
In the afternoon maybe juice and cake. A sandwich with tuna salad is also a good idea.
They should be happy to have employment, so many others don’t
At 20+ an hour cash what are they thinking. That’s like $25-28 an hour if they were paid with a 1099 or w2.
Who gets that? They want an increase. Ok. Many will cut back hours. And then we can deduct from our taxes. They will end up making less.
Also protesting publicly these days is not a brilliant move for undocumented individuals.