Dive Summary:
- 57 sanitation employees working at Potomac Disposal in Montgomery County, Maryland have gone on strike after seeking health benefits from their employer, who the workers say is using scare tactics to force them to back down from the request.
- The recently unionized, predominantly Latino workers assert that in response to the benefits request, the company issued I-9 forms, documents to verify the identity of all workers across the United States.
- While the workers view the forms as a threat, contractors are required by law to verify the immigration status of employees.
From the article:
The company, one of three that Montgomery uses for trash service, has a $5 million annual contract with the county government for a total service area of about 40,000 homes.
Patrick Lacefield, spokesman for County Executive Isiah Leggett (D), said county contractors are required under the law to affirm the immigration status of workers. “I guess the question would be, did they not do that prior to this? We need to know a little more information about it.”
Brian Petruska, an attorney for the union, said the law requires employers to obtain I-9 forms from workers when they are first hired. The law does not prohibit companies from distributing them again, he said, but there had to be a legitimate reason.
