The Gut-Wrenching Story Of Chicago's Homeless Restaurant Workers
By Sarah Gouda in News on Apr 18, 2016 10:02PM
Sunday, The Guardian published an unnerving story of Chinese employment agencies that exploit undocumented restaurant workers in Chicago, forcing many of them into homelessness. Illinois attorney general Lisa Madigan recently filed a complaint against three of such Midwestern agencies and two Illinois restaurants for subjecting Latino workers, especially, to dire working conditions, physical abuse and pay far below minimum wage.
The employment agencies, which cater to restaurants throughout the Midwest, require a commission for placing employees in jobs, the Guardian reports. This often leaves the worker making as little as $3 an hour, paid in cash under the table, once the commission is subtracted. To make ends meet, many workers live in a homeless encampment located between downtown and Chinatown.
"I like my job,” Mario, a Mexican restaurant worker, told the Guardian. “But I never thought I would be living under a bridge. If I die here, I die alone.”
Many city officials and local residents remain oblivious to this encampment's existence, the Guardian reports. One can only hope the publicity conjured by this piece and Madigan's complaint will bring improved conditions for these men, who expressed fear of deportation for coming forward. (For this reason, the Guardian only used their first names.)
Read the full Guardian story here.