Miami Condominium Workers’ Wages Near Poverty Level.

Miami condominium workers are routinely denied overtime and other benefits, are paid low wages, and most are not provided with access to affordable health insurance a new landmark study of condominium workers found. According to the study, 72 percent of condominium workers earn less than $20,000 a year, placing most of their families at or below the poverty level — in an area with one of the highest poverty rates in the nation.

“Condominium workers’ wages are so low that many have to hold two full-time jobs to make ends meet,” said Hiram Ruiz, Deputy Director of Service Employees International Union Local 11 in Miami. “Low wages also result in high turnover — and that’s not good for condo residents, workers, or for Miami.” Wages, benefits and training opportunities in Miami lag far behind other comparable cities. For example, workers in NYC condos and co-ops make $17.44/hour and in Chicago $15.78/hour.

The study also found numerous violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regarding pay and hours of work. For example, a slight majority works overtime hours, and over a quarter of these do not receive one and one half times their normal pay for this work.

The Center for Labor Research and Studies at Florida International University released these and other findings of a landmark study today at a news conference in Miami Beach. The study is based on surveys conducted with 696 condominium workers in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

The study’s author, Dr. Bruce Nissen, said, “The study finds that condominium workers in Miami-Dade County exemplify many of the problems endemic to low wage, and low wage service sector work, in the country today.”

Nissen observed, however, that “workers could improve their conditions considerably if they developed a unified voice and bargained collectively with employers through a union. Virtually all of the problematic conditions could be addressed, should the workers achieve a union.”

According to the report:

* 86 percent of the condominium workers in Miami-Dade are immigrants.

* Most respondents have a relatively short tenure at their present job. This is an indication that job turnover is high. A majority (57.5%) has worked for their present employer less than two years.

* Many condominium workers earn poverty wages. Seventy two percent have personal incomes of $20,000 or less. Over ten percent receive less than the minimum wage of $5.15 per hour.

* Benefit levels are quite low. Ninety two percent of respondents receive no pension plan from their employer. Only forty percent receive health insurance coverage, and when they do, less than a third of the insurance plans cover family members. Less than sixty percent receive paid vacation time. Less than sixty percent receive paid sick leave.

To download the full study CLICK below:

http://www.seiu11.org