Workers Celebrate $1.4 Million Settlement (2/12/08)

RWDSU Organizer Sadatu Mamah-Trawill applauds the dedication of the Yellow Rat Bastard workers.

Workers, union and community activists gathered in front of Yellow Rat Bastard, a trendy clothing store in New York City, to celebrate a settlement requiring the retail chain to pay workers $1.4 million for wage and overtime violations. The settlement, announced by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Monday, will provide full restitution to over 1,000 cheated workers.

The lawsuit was filed by Attorney General Cuomo as a direct result of the efforts of the Retail Action Project (RAP), a partnership of the RWDSU and the community group Good Old Lower East Side.

"For almost two years, I worked earning less than minimum wage without overtime pay," said Eddie Dyer, a former employee of Boys and Chicks, one of the stores in the Yellow Rat Bastard chain. "All the owners cared about was making money, and they had no concern for the workers who helped them make it. This settlement is so exciting because it shows that workers don't have to take this kind of abuse. We can fight back!"

According to RWDSU Organizer Sadatu Mamah-Trawill, the campaign succeeded due to the work of Yellow Rat Bastard employees.

"These workers were dedicated, and this never would have happened without their efforts," Mamah-Trawill said. "They reached out to their co-workers, they showed them how if they stood together they could get justice. They had the courage to speak with the Attorney General's office about the wage and overtime violations."

Yellow Rat Bastard workers were often paid as little as $5.25 per hour and received no overtime pay. In some cases the company also reduced the work hours and even fired employees suspected of cooperating with Attorney General Cuomo's investigation.