Worker advocates said there is not one definitive solution that would fix the issues they see in the temp industry, including wage theft, racial discrimination and a lack of movement toward permanent positions. Solutions to these problems, they said, will have to be as complex and ever-evolving as the problems themselves. Instead, they offered multiple ideas that could help, from organizing workers, to holding companies accountable to enforcing and strengthening current laws. 

INFORM WORKERS AND SUPPORT WORKER CENTERS

Many temp workers don’t know that they have a right to organize at work, to be paid for all the hours worked and to work in a safe and healthy environment. This is where worker centers come in. Some, like Arise Chicago, have created worker-rights manuals in multiple languages. Others like Warehouse Workers for Justice focus on organizing workers and holding companies accountable for the well-being of temp workers. 

That relationship with workers makes worker centers pivotal, as they often are the first to learn when staffing agencies or contracting companies are breaking the law. Some worker centers have banded together to push the state to enforce labor laws and to funnel tips and information to state officials.

“Worker centers are our eyes and ears on the ground,” said Mark Birhanu, an attorney with Raise the Floor Alliance, a coalition of Chicago-area worker centers. “They're telling us whether these laws are being actualized or if they just exist on paper, and when they tell us that something egregious is going on … we look at it, and we work on enforcing those laws.”

Marina Faz-Huppert, director of fair labor standards at the Illinois Department of Labor, said it is key for the department to have community partnerships. 

“We understand that problems are there and we can better utilize our resources when we know who is doing something wrong,”  Faz-Huppert said.

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