Workers demonstrate against wage theft in South Dade.

Wage Theft Task Force

The South Florida Wage Theft task force brings together community organizers, unions, legal advocates, faith community and researchers to combat the problem of wage theft in South Florida. In the summer of 2006 RISEP conducted a study of wage theft from plant nursery workers in Homestead and Florida City which was the first original research on wage theft in the country. We talked to workers and employers to understand the reasons wage theft occurs, how it occurs, and what could potentially be done to address this problem. This research, along with continuing analysis of wage theft cases that are being handled by community organizations and legal advocates on the task force, has provided support for the task force’s current efforts to get county officials to address this growing problem.

Research and materials:

Wage Theft Stories in South Florida
Planting the Seeds of Justice
An Analysis of WeCount’s Wage Theft Cases
“Workers Awarded Back Pay,” The Miami Herald, March 5, 2009

A Portrait of Women’s Economic Security in Miami-Dade

The Portrait is a collaboration with the Women’s Fund of Miami-Dade that explores issues of economic security, health, and violence in women’s lives. This year we published the Economic Security chapter of the Portrait which compiles data and recommendations on women’s economic security in Miami-Dade. The research included a detailed literature review of studies published on women in Miami-Dade, analysis of census and other data sources, and focus groups with low-income women. An advisory committee of advocates and service providers convened by WFMD used this research and their knowledge to draft recommendations and actions items for betterment of women’s economic situation.
A Portrait of Women’s Economic Security in Miami-Dade

Environmental Justice for Low-income Communities

RISEP collaborated with Power U Center for Social Change in Overtown, Vecinos Unidos of South Florida Jobs with Justice in Little Havana, and WeCount! in Homestead/Florida City to understand what members perceptions of their neighborhoods were and what aspects they wanted to keep or to change. With help from David Zalben of Art Center South Florida and funding from the Dade Community Foundation we conducted introduction to photography workshops, then gave participants cameras to photograph their neighborhoods. Discussion sessions allowed participants to express their views about their neighborhoods, and exhibitions gathered commentary from the community. Exhibitions of the photographs were held in each neighborhood, at an event organized by PowerU Center for Social Change celebrating the preservation of an important piece of land in Overtown for community development (instead of high-rise, upscale development), at a local community art gallery in Homestead, and at the monthly Jobs with Justice meeting. The project served as a community building activity for the organizations and a public expression of residents’ claim to their neighborhoods. The exhibition has been accepted for display in the Miami-Dade Public Library system during 2009.
Love and Respect for Self and Community Exhibition Booklet

We Count! organizer and member Levis Torres explains We Count!’s work on wage theft at the Love for Self and Community photography exhibit in the Florida International University Graham Center Gallery.