Three import warehouses in Otay Mesa paid more than a hundred workers who crossed the border daily from Tijuana wages of $2.50 per hour, paid in pesos in Mexico without overtime.
The data comes from an investigation by the Department of Labor and the Mexican consulate in San Diego presented Friday at a press conference.The three companies will have to pay a combined $2 million in underpaid and overtime wages owed to 108 workers, plus fines for violating labor laws.
Lawyer Adriana Ahumada, from the Department of Labor said that "these companies paid workers well below the salary established by the United States, and they paid them in pesos and Mexico, as if they had worked in Mexico, when in fact they worked in the United States."
The three warehouse or warehouse companies are A.G.A. Investments, which used Columbia Export Group in Mexico, OMG Freight Forwarders, which used OGM Global Logistics in Mexico, and Atlas Freight Forwarding, which used the Atlas Customs Services Coordinator in Mexico.
Lawyer Adriana Ahumada, from the Department of Labor, said that the message of the investigation is for both workers and employers, that if the work is in the United States, the wages are applied. This is because the United States laws protect U.S. employees and workers who cross the border every day.
She said that the Department of Labor protects workers' rights regardless of their immigration status.
The Mexican consul and the consulate in San Diego helped contact the workers and connect them with the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division to present their testimonies.The consul asked Mexicans if they find themselves in situations of similar wage irregularities or if they know of cases like those of those companies in Otay Mesa, they would contact the Mexican consulate or the Department of Labor.
The Department of Labor reported that it would continue its investigation to see if the same pattern occurs in other border areas with Mexico.
California's minimum wage is between $13 and $14 an hour, depending on the number of people working at each company.
