Workers protest outside American Waste Services in Raynham
American Waste Services workers and supporters march in protest of years of wages owed to them during a protest at Raynham Park Saturday afternoon.
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RAYNHAM —
More than 50 workers and former workers of American Waste Services, a company specializing in commercial, residential and industrial waste removal, staged a protest at Raynham Park on Saturday afternoon.
The protest was designed to address years of missing wages, which have not been paid to American Waste Services. The total of missing wages is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to Fuerza-Laboral, an organization that is helping organize the workers.
American Waste Services, founded by Mike Galvin and Chris Carney, is based out of the Raynham Taunton Dog Track, which is owned by Carney’s father, George Carney.
No longer a greyhound track, Raynham Park has remained opened as a simulcast betting parlor.
American Waste Services, according to an employee, had contacts with the towns of Wrentham, Foxboro, Medway, and Franklin. Workers there earned an average of $26.98 and hour.
An employee, who wished to be unnamed, said anywhere from $150 to $300 dollars a week were missing from their paychecks.
Carney and Galvin sold the company in 2011. The new owner assumed control on January 1, 2012. When the new owners assumed control, workers began to see the money in their paychecks.
In order to receive their missing wages, the workers decided to stage a public action in protest.
The public action was planned with help from Fuerza-Laboral, a Central Falls, R.I.-based organization of workers who organize other workers to end labor exploitation. Phoebe Gardener, community organizer for Fuerza-Laboral, said American Waste Services workers contacted them first.
As the workers marched along Route 138 near the Raynham Park entrance, Gardener lead them in cheers of protest, “Ain’t no power like the power of the people, because the power of the people don’t stop!”
The workers, mostly from Guatemala and Ecuador, held homemade cards made to look like checks showing how much they say Carney and Galvin owed workers. The amounts ranged from $3.35 to $9 an hour for anywhere from 4.5 to 8 years.
Twenty minutes into the protest Raynham police arrived to monitor the demonstration. Lt. Brian Carr spoke to Gardener and the group about where they can peacefully march and not interfere with traffic.
Cars that drove by on Route 138 honked their horns in support of the demonstration.
During the hour-long protest, Gardner had workers give their own testimonials via a bullhorn. Because most of the workers could only speak Spanish, Will Lambek, a supporter of Fuerza-Laboral since 2007, translated for them.
Chris Carney could not be reached for comment.
The protest was designed to address years of missing wages, which have not been paid to American Waste Services. The total of missing wages is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to Fuerza-Laboral, an organization that is helping organize the workers.
American Waste Services, founded by Mike Galvin and Chris Carney, is based out of the Raynham Taunton Dog Track, which is owned by Carney’s father, George Carney.
No longer a greyhound track, Raynham Park has remained opened as a simulcast betting parlor.
American Waste Services, according to an employee, had contacts with the towns of Wrentham, Foxboro, Medway, and Franklin. Workers there earned an average of $26.98 and hour.
An employee, who wished to be unnamed, said anywhere from $150 to $300 dollars a week were missing from their paychecks.
Carney and Galvin sold the company in 2011. The new owner assumed control on January 1, 2012. When the new owners assumed control, workers began to see the money in their paychecks.
In order to receive their missing wages, the workers decided to stage a public action in protest.
The public action was planned with help from Fuerza-Laboral, a Central Falls, R.I.-based organization of workers who organize other workers to end labor exploitation. Phoebe Gardener, community organizer for Fuerza-Laboral, said American Waste Services workers contacted them first.
As the workers marched along Route 138 near the Raynham Park entrance, Gardener lead them in cheers of protest, “Ain’t no power like the power of the people, because the power of the people don’t stop!”
The workers, mostly from Guatemala and Ecuador, held homemade cards made to look like checks showing how much they say Carney and Galvin owed workers. The amounts ranged from $3.35 to $9 an hour for anywhere from 4.5 to 8 years.
Twenty minutes into the protest Raynham police arrived to monitor the demonstration. Lt. Brian Carr spoke to Gardener and the group about where they can peacefully march and not interfere with traffic.
Cars that drove by on Route 138 honked their horns in support of the demonstration.
During the hour-long protest, Gardner had workers give their own testimonials via a bullhorn. Because most of the workers could only speak Spanish, Will Lambek, a supporter of Fuerza-Laboral since 2007, translated for them.
Chris Carney could not be reached for comment.
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