The WRLC Community Legal Education Project:

The Community Legal Education Project of the WRLC contributes to the empowerment of workers in the Hudson Valley by educating workers about their labor and civil rights.

The WRLC's "know your rights" workshops are held in church basements, union halls, community centers, and other easily-reachable locations. They are held at night or on weekends and are conducted in languages understood by the workers who attend. In the workshops, WRLC trainers present information in a way that allows for maximum participation, involving workers in discussions about their experiences in the workplace.

The WRLC has also developed literature explaining employment laws and civil rights law, and distribute these materials to workers and community groups throughout the region. Click the following links to view some of these materials:

The WRLC's Worker Advocacy Projects:

The WRLC is involved in several legislative and advocacy campaigns designed to improve the rights of New York's workers. Among these campaigns are the following:

Campaign to End Wage Theft

As part of a campaign organized by the New York Immigration Coalition, the WRLC and other advocacy organizations have developed recommendations to improve the New York DOL's wage and hour enforcement practices.

Click Here to read the executive summary.

Click Here to read the full report.

Combating Human Trafficking

The WRLC is conducting a campaign to eliminate modern-day slavery in the United States. This campaign consists of four fronts:

-The WRLC is engaged in extensive community education to assure that workers in the Hudson Valley are informed about legal protections for victims of human trafficking. This outreach is funded in part through a grant from Safe Horizon as part of their New York Collaborative Against Trafficking and Slavery.
-The WRLC provides legal representation to victims of human trafficking. This includes two lawsuits that are currently in federal court.
-The WRLC is campaigning with other advocates to assure that the New York State Legislature passes comprehensive protections for victims of human trafficking, including the right of victims to file suit against their traffickers. The WRLC supports Assemby Bill 1898-C, which was introduced by Assemblymember Dinowitz in 2006.
-WRLC Legal Director Dan Werner has co-authored Civil Litigation on Behalf of Victims of Human Trafficking. This guide, which was published by the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles with a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement, provides attorneys with critical information for representing victims of human trafficking in civil lawsuits. UPDATE (March 18, 2007): The Southern Poverty Law Center has given the WRLC a grant to update the civil litigation manual. We are grateful to the SPLC, and honored that an organization that has played such a critical role in the struggle for racial and economic justice has recognized our work. We expect the update to be completed in Spring 2007. Click here download the civil litigation manual..

Supporting Mobilization for Immigrant and Worker Justice

The WRLC supports the efforts of community groups, labor unions, students, and NGOs to mobilize immigrants and workers in their struggles for justice. The WRLC attends and supports labor pickets, sends speakers to marches, rallies, and "teach-ins", and organizes legal observer teams for demonstrations. Check out our write-up about the May 1 "Day Without an Immigrant" rally and march from 2006.

Reforming the New York Department of Motor Vehicles to Allow Immigrants to Obtain Drivers' Licenses and to Register Vehicles

The WRLC is working as part of a state-wide campaign to change the DMV's identification requirements for obtaining a drivers license and for registering vehicles. Under current identity document requirements, many immigrants, including several classes of immigrants who are lawfully residing in the United States, are forced to drive without licenses and often attempt register vehicles through unscrupulous "brokers". Amy Sugimori of the National Employment Law Project has prepared a list of recommendations to the New York Department of Motor Vehicles on immigrants' access to driver's licenses.