Victory for Workers at Scoop NYC (7/7/10)

Former Scoop NYC employee Romuald "Romeo" Llboudou talks about discrimination at the upscale retailer at a rally in front of the store last year.

Workers at the high-end clothing retailer Scoop NYC in New York City have settled back wage and discrimination suits, winning a victory that comes after a year of organizing, public demonstrations, and legal action to make the company follow wage and hour laws and respect immigrant worker rights.  The confidential settlement is also a significant win for the RWDSU’s Retail Action Project (RAP), an organization that is dedicated to improving wages and working conditions for retail workers.

Madou Kone (above), a former Scoop NYC security supervisor said “this is a great victory for all the workers and for RAP. I really appreciate the support we got from RAP and the community in this fight for justice.”

In late 2008, 17 Scoop NYC workers joined RAP and filed complaints and launched a campaign against the company.

Scoop NYC, a high-end clothier that operates 11 stores nationwide, allegedly required stock and security workers to labor 60 or more hours per week for over six years without paying the legal overtime rate. Some workers contend they were discriminated against on the basis of their national origin because Scoop refused to accept their legal work authorization papers.

With the help of RAP, and the workers’ rights law firm of Cary Kane LLP, workers filed two complaints against Scoop NYC, one seeking paid overtime and the second, which was filed at the U.S. Department of Justice, alleging discrimination based on national origin.  The settlement with the company covers both cases.

This win for Scoop NYC workers is just part of a continuing campaign to fight wage theft.

“Because many retail workers are not properly paid and many others suffer from poverty wages, we have joined the fight to pass the Wage Theft Prevention Act at the State level and the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act in New York City,” said Jeff Eichler, the lead New York City organizer for the RWDSU.

“Not only must we ensure that legal wages are paid retail workers but we must lift the wage floor for retail workers by making sure they are paid a living wage,” Eichler added.

Activists rally last July 

In July 2009, RAP organized a large demonstration outside Scoop NYC’s flagship store in SoHo to announce the lawsuit against the trendy clothing retailer. Then in February 2010, workers participated in the March of Hearts up Broadway in which they again marched on Scoop NYC’s SoHo retail location. RAP members from Mystique Boutique and Shoe Mania also participated in the march.