Union Takes Pay Case to County

[Michael Hoover <hooverm@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Marin Independent Journal (Marin, CA)
June 8, 2005 Wednesday
Union takes pay case to county
Mark Prado

Cintas accused of breaking Marin's living-wage law

Laundry-worker representatives asked the Board of Supervisors yesterday to
look into allegations that Cincinnati-based Cintas Corp. is violating
Marin's living wage law.

Cintas - which earns $3 billion annually and has 30,000 employees nationwide - has a
contract valued at more than $70,000 a year with the county to wash uniforms
for the health and public works departments.

Unite Here, a union that represents laundry workers, alleges Cintas pays
Northern California workers between $7.50 and $8.25 an hour, below the $9
per hour required by Marin's living wage law, passed in 2001. The law
mandates $10.25 for workers without benefits. The state's minimum wage is
$6.75.

"I urge you to launch an investigation," Jason Oringer of Unite Here told
supervisors. "You should enforce your local standards."

The item was discussed during open time and was not on the agenda, so the
supervisors could not take any action.

Cintas spokesman Wade Gates said from his Ohio office that his company does
not believe it is bound by Marin's living wage law because the laundry work
is done outside Marin, in Santa Rosa and Sacramento.

The uniforms are not Marin County's, but leased from Cintas.

"We believe the living wage does not apply to this contract," Gates said. He
also said Cintas has been under attack from unions because the company did
not agree to have all employees become union members.

The supervisors were informed yesterday the Cintas contract runs out at the
end of the month and that they could find a new laundry service provider.

But Oringer said the issue is to make Cintas obey the Marin law.

"There are back wages that are due to these workers," Oringer said.
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