5Q: Mike Araujo

1 What is the mission of the organization?

Rhode Island Jobs With Justice is a coalition of labor, faith and community organizations. Our mission is to improve the conditions of Rhode Island’s working families. It is our firm belief that all Rhode Islanders have the right to live and work in healthy, thriving, open and economically stable communities.

2 What groups of employees do you represent and what are their concerns with employers?

Our constituency is made up of membership organizations. We have over 50 separate groups in Jobs With Justice, ranging from the Environmental Justice League to the Teamsters Local 251, from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church to Planned Parenthood of Southern New England. Part of our focus is on pursuing wage-theft actions against abusive employers … and mass-deportation prevention.

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3 What is the greatest source of conflict in the workplace?

Right now, the central issue is low wages and lowered compensation in general. Families have to work increasingly hard to just maintain minimum standards. Costs of services increase, like child care and elder care. These costs, along with housing and utility costs, can be onerous and harmful to … families.

4 What can employers do to have a symbiotic relationship with their employees?

For a mutually supportive relationship to happen, employers would have to recognize that increased compensation and a transparent tax policy increase stability, services and equity. … We are seeing declining paycheck value as a measure of work. The choices that employers and their organizations have made to combat minimum wage increases, tipped minimum wage elimination, and to support tax-credit policy that has very little accountability, have harmed our working families.

5 What are your legislative priorities for 2016?

In general, Jobs With Justice stays on the ground, with legislation playing a supporting role. That being said, I do have a list of bills we would like to see passed: a gender pay-equity bill, an anti-wage-theft bill that specifically targets “dine and dash.” … In addition, an increase in the earned income tax credit, driver’s licenses for all, a worker’s lien bill to provide relief for victims of wage theft, and increases in the minimum wage with no carve-outs. •

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