The head of a not-for-profit agency in town said Monday she has paid all the back money owed to undocumented workers who helped build new artist housing in Westville. The workers walked off the job after charging that a subcontractor exploited their illegal status to avoid paying them.
Seila Mosquera, executive director of Mutual Housing of South Central Connecticut, Inc., said the three workers have received checks for the approximately $1,000 they were owed for their $9 – $10 an hour jobs as construction helpers. The three worked this summer on Arts Lofts West, a $5.3 million government-backed project Mutual Housing is building by the heart of Westville village.
Mutual Housing hired a construction firm called Lab Restoration and Construction Corp. to build the project. The company hired undocumented workers who said they spent much of July and August working full-time but receiving only occasional paychecks. They walked off the job in late August, claiming that they were owed around $4,000 in back pay.
They brought their complaint to John Lugo of the activist group Unidad Latina en Acci√ɬ≥n (Latinos United in Action). The head of Lab Restoration denied the claims to Lugo and threatened to call immigration officials on the workers, according to Lugo. Lab eventually agreed to pay about three-quarters of the outstanding debt. (”Immigrant vs. Immigrant,” New Haven Independent, Oct. 28.)
Lugo then brought the complaint to Mosquera at Mutual Housing. Mosquera said she cut a check Friday for the outstanding money, which she’s deducting from Lab Restoration’s next payment.
Art Abanton, who runs Lab Restoration, denied all the accusations. He claimed he’s being targeted for complaints because he’s black.
“He denied it. I don’t care,” Mosquera said. “People worked. You need to pay them.”
John Lugo said he has found that construction bosses throughout the area shortchange immigrant workers because many of the workers are in the country illegally; the bosses figure the workers won’t complain out of fear of deportation. Lugo wants Mutual Housing to fire Lab Restoration from the Westville job.
“I can’t fire him, because then I would be sued,” Mosquera said. “He fixed the problem. I have a contract with him.”
Click here to read the full story.