I agree that Upper Crust and its owner and senior management need to be held to account if the allegations turn out to be true.
<
p>However, it seems as though Martha is focused on making sure that Upper Crust paid all the wages, overtime, taxes, etc. that it should have pursuant to state laws. That is a good start, but she needs to go much further. She needs to either target UC for hiring employees in the state illegally or coordinate with the federal government to pursue such a prosecution on criminal, not civil, grounds.
<
p>The ability of UC to allegedly underpay its employees to such a degree was enhanced by the purported immigration status of the employees. The employees lack of immigration status as spelled out in the Globe stories, appear to have enabled UC and its management to take advantage of these very hard workers for years in a seemingly systematic scheme to enrich themselves.
<
p>I would like to think that there would be something that could be done under immigration laws, fair labor act laws and, given the organized nature to systematically defraud its employees of their rightful wages, RICO statutes.
<
p>If Martha is not willing do coordinate an effective prosecution to the fullest extent of the law then it will be time for MA to rely on the Feds once again.
<
p>If the allegations are true, UC management deserves to spend a considerable amount of time behind bars.
kirthsays
Your stop-the-illegal-alien-menace agenda seems to be blinding you to the blatant criminality of the pizzeria owner’s actions, even after Striker repeatedly pointed it out. The man is a thief, a blatant thief, and should be prosecuted for the thievery. That he used the immigration status of his workers to steal their money is not the central issue, and trying to make it that is a distraction. He probably would have stolen their money even were they all citizens. By all means, prosecute him for additional charges of hiring undocumented immigrants, but that is not his worst crime.
consephsays
The immigration status of the employees is central to his approach to taking back that which the government ordered him to pay them in compensation for unpaid overtime. It is not the hiring it is how he treated them after he hired them, blatantly taking advantage of them:
<
p>
But Upper Crust demanded the immigrants surrender the government-ordered checks or lose their jobs, according to interviews with nine former employees. Two former cooks, in a lawsuit filed in Suffolk Superior Court, have accused the Boston pizzeria of taking back thousands of dollars in overtime payments by slashing their wages.
<
p>The story does not refer to others against whom he purportedly took this brazen and illegal action. He and others will continue to take advantage of the immigration status of their workers until they are not only fined but forced to spend time in jail for their actions. The payment of fines from the corporate coffers does little to nothing to stop their behavior as this story shows so they need to be prosecuted personally for criminal violations. Its not about the hiring of illegal immigrants, its how he treated them after they were hired that is where his crimes became heinous.
p>I thought long and hard about the idea of a boycott. I finally came down on the side of the issue that says in this economy I don’t want to take a position that costs workers jobs while attempting to stand up for them.
<
p>My alternatiive is for customers to request to speak with a manager and demand that Tobins respect it workers and to tell any worker delivering or working in a store that you support their rights. Empower them as much as possible.
<
p>Not a satisfactory solution in my mind but . . . open to suggestions.
stomvsays
You’d deprive Tobins and also provide honest and fair wages to employees. In this way you’re net-neutral on jobs — if you’re costing one at UC you’re creating one elsewhere.
somervilletomsays
Now that I live in Somerville, it’s EASY for me to join this particular political action — my family has already commented on how much we prefer Pini’s Pizza (On Broadway in Somerville) to Upper Crust. Thicker, but not too thick, family-style crust. Zesty, plentiful, and delicious sauce and wonderful toppings. Oh, and so much more affordable — $15.00 delivered, large pizza with three toppings.
<
p>We have felt, for years, that Upper Crust was going downhill. The sauce became more and more bland and there was less and less of it. The once-marvelous Upper Crust signature crust became like tasteless cardboard.
<
p>I know it sounds corny, but I am somehow not surprised by the news of this apparent mistreatment of workers by UC management. Not surprised because I think the marked decline in their product quality betrays a change in attitude towards excellence, and their treatment of these workers is consistent with that change.
consephsays
You have nailed it. Pini’s has a great thick crust that beats UC hands down. For a thinner crust I am partial to Emma’s in Kendall Square.
<
p>You also make a good point that their quality has gone down over the last few years. Well until a couple of years ago at least since I stopped eating their pizzas due to the high cost and descending quality.
hrs-kevinsays
First, I doubt all that many people actually living in JP patronize Upper Crust very often since there isn’t a store there and there are plenty of other good places to get pizza in JP.
<
p>However, I now live in Roslindale very close to the West Roxbury store, and we have not patronized Upper Crust since this article came out when previously we would have gone 3 or 4 times a month. I don’t think we will be going back anytime soon.
The reality is that employers walk on these crimes while the workers suffer. AG Coakley has never made immigrant status an issue when a worker files a wage compliant. If she did few undocumented workers would come forward and employers would act without any checks and balances.
<
p>I believe going after UC management is a federal jurisdiction not the state AG but welcome any actions against Tobins.
hesterprynnesays
8 USC 1324a(h)(2): Preemption. The provisions of this section preempt
any State or local law imposing civil or criminal sanctions (other than
through licensing and similar laws) upon those who employ, or recuir or
refer for a fee for employment, unauthorized aliens.
hesterprynnesays
Striker57 is right on both counts. If the Attorney General inquired about the immigration status of workers claiming violations of the wage laws, fewer workers would come forward and the power of employers over them would increase as a result.
<
p>Also, the feds have exclusive jurisdiction over employers in this area. I pasted in the statute in my first post.
The restaurant industry has notoriously small ROIs. I don’t care how much he overcharges for his pizza, it’s not that good and people have a gazillion other choices. As they read this stuff and realize how much of a schmuck he is, they’re going to choose to go elsewhere… and probably save money.
<
p>I used to go to Upper Crust from time to time, but I definitely won’t be going back.
<
p>Finally, this is precisely why we need immigration reform. Even people who are not documented to be here deserve basic labor protections from their employers — at the very least, anyone who abuses their relationship with undocumented residents — taking them hostage to the system because, if they don’t do what the other person says, they could be deported — should go to prison, and not for a short time either. Minimum 2 years, IMO.
<
p>For all the stupid and ridiculous reasons we send people to prison, and send them for the lengths of time that we do, for someone like that not to be locked up, for years, is absurd. It would sure make others who are just like him think long and hard before they a) actively seek out undocumented workers over others, and b) threaten them with deportation in order to get them to work more for less.
consephsays
But I would raise the ante well past two year to a decade or more.
<
p>He and his management team allegedly targeted illegal immigrants from a specific village in Brazil. In doing so he and his team allegedly operated a corrupt enterprise with many violations of federal and state laws.
<
p>I like RICO with some trafficking in illegal aliens, wire fraud, tax fraud, and many more that I am sure that lawyers can find. I also think that the employees were wrong to be in this country illegally, but once they started working for him they need to be treated fairly like any other employee. We cannot pick and choose which laws apply to them. So just as immigration laws would apply so to do employment laws in terms of overtime, minimum wage, etc.
<
p>Until companies that employee illegal immigrants in schemes to defraud them and the government of their just compensation are faced with severe penalties, not just monetary penalties for the companies, but jail time for its officers we will continue to face the issue of people being taken advantage of for their immigration status. The company’s money alone is not enough to deter this activity, we need to send violators to JAIL.
if convicted, he’d obviously have to face a lot more, because of the sheer scale in which he did it.
<
p>But, yes, you’re right: people in the corporations can’t be let go, unaccountable to the process. If the Supreme Court is going to say that corporations are essentially people, then at least such things should be applied evenly.
I agree that Upper Crust and its owner and senior management need to be held to account if the allegations turn out to be true.
<
p>However, it seems as though Martha is focused on making sure that Upper Crust paid all the wages, overtime, taxes, etc. that it should have pursuant to state laws. That is a good start, but she needs to go much further. She needs to either target UC for hiring employees in the state illegally or coordinate with the federal government to pursue such a prosecution on criminal, not civil, grounds.
<
p>The ability of UC to allegedly underpay its employees to such a degree was enhanced by the purported immigration status of the employees. The employees lack of immigration status as spelled out in the Globe stories, appear to have enabled UC and its management to take advantage of these very hard workers for years in a seemingly systematic scheme to enrich themselves.
<
p>I would like to think that there would be something that could be done under immigration laws, fair labor act laws and, given the organized nature to systematically defraud its employees of their rightful wages, RICO statutes.
<
p>If Martha is not willing do coordinate an effective prosecution to the fullest extent of the law then it will be time for MA to rely on the Feds once again.
<
p>If the allegations are true, UC management deserves to spend a considerable amount of time behind bars.
Your stop-the-illegal-alien-menace agenda seems to be blinding you to the blatant criminality of the pizzeria owner’s actions, even after Striker repeatedly pointed it out. The man is a thief, a blatant thief, and should be prosecuted for the thievery. That he used the immigration status of his workers to steal their money is not the central issue, and trying to make it that is a distraction. He probably would have stolen their money even were they all citizens. By all means, prosecute him for additional charges of hiring undocumented immigrants, but that is not his worst crime.
The immigration status of the employees is central to his approach to taking back that which the government ordered him to pay them in compensation for unpaid overtime. It is not the hiring it is how he treated them after he hired them, blatantly taking advantage of them:
<
p>
<
p>The story does not refer to others against whom he purportedly took this brazen and illegal action. He and others will continue to take advantage of the immigration status of their workers until they are not only fined but forced to spend time in jail for their actions. The payment of fines from the corporate coffers does little to nothing to stop their behavior as this story shows so they need to be prosecuted personally for criminal violations. Its not about the hiring of illegal immigrants, its how he treated them after they were hired that is where his crimes became heinous.
Just wondering?
Judy:
<
p>I thought long and hard about the idea of a boycott. I finally came down on the side of the issue that says in this economy I don’t want to take a position that costs workers jobs while attempting to stand up for them.
<
p>My alternatiive is for customers to request to speak with a manager and demand that Tobins respect it workers and to tell any worker delivering or working in a store that you support their rights. Empower them as much as possible.
<
p>Not a satisfactory solution in my mind but . . . open to suggestions.
You’d deprive Tobins and also provide honest and fair wages to employees. In this way you’re net-neutral on jobs — if you’re costing one at UC you’re creating one elsewhere.
Now that I live in Somerville, it’s EASY for me to join this particular political action — my family has already commented on how much we prefer Pini’s Pizza (On Broadway in Somerville) to Upper Crust. Thicker, but not too thick, family-style crust. Zesty, plentiful, and delicious sauce and wonderful toppings. Oh, and so much more affordable — $15.00 delivered, large pizza with three toppings.
<
p>We have felt, for years, that Upper Crust was going downhill. The sauce became more and more bland and there was less and less of it. The once-marvelous Upper Crust signature crust became like tasteless cardboard.
<
p>I know it sounds corny, but I am somehow not surprised by the news of this apparent mistreatment of workers by UC management. Not surprised because I think the marked decline in their product quality betrays a change in attitude towards excellence, and their treatment of these workers is consistent with that change.
You have nailed it. Pini’s has a great thick crust that beats UC hands down. For a thinner crust I am partial to Emma’s in Kendall Square.
<
p>You also make a good point that their quality has gone down over the last few years. Well until a couple of years ago at least since I stopped eating their pizzas due to the high cost and descending quality.
First, I doubt all that many people actually living in JP patronize Upper Crust very often since there isn’t a store there and there are plenty of other good places to get pizza in JP.
<
p>However, I now live in Roslindale very close to the West Roxbury store, and we have not patronized Upper Crust since this article came out when previously we would have gone 3 or 4 times a month. I don’t think we will be going back anytime soon.
<
p>
The reality is that employers walk on these crimes while the workers suffer. AG Coakley has never made immigrant status an issue when a worker files a wage compliant. If she did few undocumented workers would come forward and employers would act without any checks and balances.
<
p>I believe going after UC management is a federal jurisdiction not the state AG but welcome any actions against Tobins.
8 USC 1324a(h)(2): Preemption. The provisions of this section preempt
any State or local law imposing civil or criminal sanctions (other than
through licensing and similar laws) upon those who employ, or recuir or
refer for a fee for employment, unauthorized aliens.
Striker57 is right on both counts. If the Attorney General inquired about the immigration status of workers claiming violations of the wage laws, fewer workers would come forward and the power of employers over them would increase as a result.
<
p>Also, the feds have exclusive jurisdiction over employers in this area. I pasted in the statute in my first post.
The restaurant industry has notoriously small ROIs. I don’t care how much he overcharges for his pizza, it’s not that good and people have a gazillion other choices. As they read this stuff and realize how much of a schmuck he is, they’re going to choose to go elsewhere… and probably save money.
<
p>I used to go to Upper Crust from time to time, but I definitely won’t be going back.
<
p>Finally, this is precisely why we need immigration reform. Even people who are not documented to be here deserve basic labor protections from their employers — at the very least, anyone who abuses their relationship with undocumented residents — taking them hostage to the system because, if they don’t do what the other person says, they could be deported — should go to prison, and not for a short time either. Minimum 2 years, IMO.
<
p>For all the stupid and ridiculous reasons we send people to prison, and send them for the lengths of time that we do, for someone like that not to be locked up, for years, is absurd. It would sure make others who are just like him think long and hard before they a) actively seek out undocumented workers over others, and b) threaten them with deportation in order to get them to work more for less.
But I would raise the ante well past two year to a decade or more.
<
p>He and his management team allegedly targeted illegal immigrants from a specific village in Brazil. In doing so he and his team allegedly operated a corrupt enterprise with many violations of federal and state laws.
<
p>I like RICO with some trafficking in illegal aliens, wire fraud, tax fraud, and many more that I am sure that lawyers can find. I also think that the employees were wrong to be in this country illegally, but once they started working for him they need to be treated fairly like any other employee. We cannot pick and choose which laws apply to them. So just as immigration laws would apply so to do employment laws in terms of overtime, minimum wage, etc.
<
p>Until companies that employee illegal immigrants in schemes to defraud them and the government of their just compensation are faced with severe penalties, not just monetary penalties for the companies, but jail time for its officers we will continue to face the issue of people being taken advantage of for their immigration status. The company’s money alone is not enough to deter this activity, we need to send violators to JAIL.
if convicted, he’d obviously have to face a lot more, because of the sheer scale in which he did it.
<
p>But, yes, you’re right: people in the corporations can’t be let go, unaccountable to the process. If the Supreme Court is going to say that corporations are essentially people, then at least such things should be applied evenly.