By Luis Uribe

LOS ANGELES – The $8.5 million settlement of a class action lawsuit on behalf of mainly Hispanic construction workers in California will set a precedent, the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund said.

“For us, it’s been very important to get this arrangement for more than 3,000 workers,” MALDEF attorney Gladys Limon told Efe.

The accord, approved last week by U.S. District Court Judge Dale Fischer, includes all employees who worked for Western Insulation, L.P., and Schmid Insulation Contractors, Inc., at any time between Oct. 13, 2002, and Sept. 30, 2008, as well as anyone employed by Masco Contractor Services of California, Inc., at any point between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2008.

Although they do not have exact figures, Limon said that there are undocumented workers among the almost 3,100 employees who will begin to receive their checks starting next month.

“We know that in this industry many of the employees do not provide (residency) documents and the employer doesn’t ask for them, but that’s not a reason not to respect their rights. The labor laws protect all workers without regard to their immigration status,” she said.

“I’m very happy with the result. I feel that some justice was achieved, although they aren’t paying us for all the hours we worked,” plaintiff Daniel Gutierrez told Efe.

“We worked an average of between 10 and 12 hours each day and they noted it down day by day, and at the end of the week we gave them to the supervisor to be approved. When we received our pay, it was only seven or eight hours’ worth that they paid us for,” he said.

With the support of MALDEF and two law offices, many workers decided to file a complaint.

“This accord represents one of the largest lawsuits presented in the state of California on the part of Latino workers and especially in the area of construction,” said Joel Villaseñor, a lawyer with Sullivan Taketa, who had the first contact with the plaintiffs.

“It’s very important to give credit to Ivan Gonzalez, who was the first worker who came to our offices looking for a lawyer who spoke Spanish to handle his case,” Villaseñor said.

Then, Gonzalez, “brought Daniel (Gutierrez) and Arturo (Navarrete) and two or three others who formed the group of the first plaintiffs” in October 2006.

Villaseñor said that when his office saw the number of workers involved was growing rapidly, it got in contact with the law offices of Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker & Jackson and with MALDEF to get more help on the case.

He said that the workers did their jobs under difficult conditions, out in the sun or working until 8 p.m. by the headlights of vehicles and, then, at the end of the week they did not receive their full pay.

He also confirmed on Thursday that the people benefitted by the accord will receive their checks by mail in late April without having to make any other request or do anything else.

“It’s very important to stress that the checks must be cashed as soon as possible, because they are valid only for 120 days” after being sent, Limon added.

“Since this is a class action suit, we’re inviting all workers who have questions or who believe they are part of the group and have not been notified to contact us at 888-546-7439,” she said.

Although there has been no trial and no verdict has been issued in the matter, and the firms have not acknowledged their guilt, this constitutes a great triumph in defending workers, especially Latinos, said the attorneys.

“It’s terrible to think that there are workers who have spent up to 20 years working for these firms and suffering these injustices because ‘there’s nothing else and my family must be fed,’ as they say,” added Villaseñor, urging everyone who believes that their rights have been violated at work to contact a lawyer.

“Silence is what allows exploitation,” concluded MALDEF’s Limon. EFE