Iveth Martinez poses for a photo outside the office of the Work Center for Economic Justice, in Lynn last Wednesday. Martinez is the new head of the center, which aims to fight immigrant discrimination and mistreatment in the workplace. (Item Photo / Angela Owens)

 

LYNN — Iveth Martinez gets tears in her eyes when she recalls her experience as an illegal immigrant working as a waitress in suburban Boston.

The Colombian native sprained her leg on the job four years ago and, believing she had no rights because of her immigration status, didn’t fight her employer when the company refused her workers compensation.

But under federal law, Martinez did have the right to compensation, along with every other entitlement the law affords American citizens in the workplace, according to the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health, part of a national workers’ advocacy nonprofit.

Read a fact sheet on basic workers' rights from a national coalition of workers' advocacy groups.

With the help of a MassCOSH branch in Dorchester, Martinez took her case to court and won damages.

Now she runs the Workers Center for Economic Justice in Lynn, a similar but smaller nonprofit that aims to educate North Shore employers and employees that everyone, regardless of citizenship status, has the right to a safe job and legal wages.

“There is no way you can fight for your rights if you don’t know what your rights are,” Martinez said over coffee on a recent weekday.

The center opened in the basement of the non-profit New Lynn Coalition this June with a $13,000 grant from the national Episcopal Church.

Martinez holds educational seminars and handles dozens of cases of worker abuse, mostly from immigrants working for companies from New Hampshire to East Boston.

She said abuse of illegal immigrant workers is rampant in the area, part of a pervasive culture in America that equates rights with citizenship.

Martinez knows many of the people she represents are working in the country illegally. But when it comes to worker abuse, she said none of that matters to her or the law.

“It’s about justice,” she said. “... A long as they’re workers, they are workers.”

Unfortunately, Martinez said, many employers don’t see it that way.

She said she handles cases of day laborers who were never paid after they finished their jobs and have no point of contact to track down the wages they earned. Or others who were injured on the job because they didn’t receive proper training in their native language — a requirement for Massachusetts workplaces.

When Martinez receives a complaint of worker abuse, she said she first tries to settle with the employer outside of court.

But sometimes she brings a complaint to the state Attorney General’s office, which approves the case for court. Pro-bono lawyers in Boston who specialize in workers’ rights help her file a small claim.

So far, she’s recovered more than $11,000 in stolen wages.

Several Lynn officials support the center, though they are quick to point out Martinez helps all workers who feel they have been mistreated.

“It’s not about immigrants, it’s about workers,” said School Committee member Maria Carrasco, who serves on the center’s board.

Carrasco said Martinez is empowering employees and employers by informing them of laws governing worker treatment.

She said she hopes that knowledge will translate into better training and less accidents for the city’s landscapers, roof repairmen, cleaners and people working similar dangerous jobs.

“More than anything else we want people to be informed,” she said.

Ward 6 City Councilor Pete Capano said the center provides an outlet for workers in a job where there is no union.

The center gives many North Shore employees a voice they didn’t previously have, said Capano, who is also the vice president for the union representing local workers at the General Electric plant in Lynn.

“If you work every day, you should make enough to feed your family and make a decent living for yourself,” he said.

Martinez agreed. She said when people enter the workplace and her office, they leave their immigration status at the door.

“They’re humans,” she said.

Amber Parcher can be reached at aparcher@itemlive.com.

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