Thread by @kierafeldman

1/Former Sanitation Salvage workers are protesting this morning. Many say they worked years off-the-books for shifts as long as 21 hours, paid $80/night. Their co-worker Mouctar Diallo died on the job in Nov 2017. His death was covered up. The company said he was a homeless man

2/Their protest in the bitter cold winds on MLK day invokes those who've come before them. On Feb 1, 1968 Memphis sanitation workers Echol Cole & Robert Walker were crushed to death by a garbage truck. Memphis workers went on strike in protest of dangerous conditions & low pay

3/MLK delivered "I've Been to the Mountaintop" while in Memphis supporting the black sanitation workers who were on strike.

4/So today the former workers of Sanitation Salvage are gathering on Manida Street in Hunts Point, the company's now-former headquarters. The company surrendered its license and in doing so, workers say, ducked out of paying them years of unpaid wages. Photos: @rcjonesphoto

5/ In 2015, after an investigation, the federal Department of Labor concluded that Sanitation Salvage owed workers $385,000 in unpaid overtime accumulated over the previous three years alone. The dollar figure would've been about double with damages.

The company never paid it.

6/ "I urge the Business Integrity Commission to ensure that this private company pays any wages it owns to current and former employees," said City Council speaker @CoreyinNYC following the Nov 27th news that Sanitation Salvage had surrendered its license propublica.org/article/sanita…

7/ In August, after the city suspended Sanitation Salvage's license, Bronx politicians Jeff Klein, Mark Gjonaj, Nathalia Fernandez & Michael Benedetto wrote a letter of support: “Sanitation Salvage has been an exemplary example of a good corporate citizen” propublica.org/article/sanita…

8/ “How has this been under the radar for so many years?” asked a former Sanitation Salvage worker. “How is it that somebody has to fucking die for people to notice?” features.propublica.org/sanitation-sal…

9/ Campaign donations from Sanitation Salvage owners and their companies to:

- Jeff Klein: $120,000+
- Ruben Diaz Jr.: $40,000+
- Mark Gjonaj: $45,000+
- Bronx Democratic County Committee: $30,000+

features.propublica.org/sanitation-sal…

10/ Sanitation Salvage was a funder of an industry group fighting the city's reform plan. The owners were recently in business with Bronx city councilman Mark Gjonaj, who's sponsoring anti-reform legislation. They've donated over $45,000 to his campaigns propublica.org/article/how-th…

11/ Sanitation Salvage's owners co-owned a restaurant w/CM Mark Gjonaj's brother. I found a long paper trail showing Gjonaj himself was involved. But it wasn't on any of his assembly/council disclosures. He put $100K+ of campaign cash into the restaurant propublica.org/article/how-th…