By Nicole Breskin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
GREENWICH VILLAGE — Retail workers, activists and politicians turned out in droves to protest neighborhood business chains that are selling top-named brands but aren’t paying employees fair wages.
The Retail Action Project organized a march that culminated in a rally in front of Shoe Mania at 654 Broadway on Wednesday — one of New York’s most well-known shoe chains selling Michael Kors, Cole Haan and Lacoste — where current and former employees protested millions of dollars they were allegedly deprived in unpaid wages.
“The kind of local employment that steals wages from workers and doesn’t pay a sufficient wage and doesn’t follow the rules, that’s not real, true local retail,” said State Senator Daniel Squadron to a rousing cheer from the crowd. “That is retail that is sucking from the community”.
Ahmed Dalhatu, who worked for three years at the now closed Shoe Mania on 11 W. 34th St. as a stock worker, said he was barely compensated enough to pay rent, let alone support his unemployed wife and raise money to go to school.
“I would have left but it was too difficult to find another job with the hours I was working,” said Dalhatu, who clocked in more than 65 hours a week but allegedly never received any overtime pay.
Nearly 150 Shoe Mania employees banded together and filed a lawsuit against the store late last year for $3 million in unpaid wages.
Workers also rallied from SoHo-based Mystique Boutique, which has seven Manhattan locations, where employees are demanding $2 million in back wages — along with Scoop that has three Manhattan locations and sells Jimmy Choo shoes.
“With families struggling to make ends meet, it’s simply disgraceful that these two businesses won’t fairly compensate their employees,” said Borough President Scott Stringer in a statement. “Mystique Boutique and Shoe Mania need to do right by their hard-working employees and pay back wages.”
Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, added: “New Yorkers have zero tolerance for employer lawlessness and that retail workers deserve a living wage.”
According to the National Employment Law Project, workers lose more than $18.4 million per week in earned wages.
“We want good, paying jobs,” said City Councilwoman Margaret Chin at the rally. “Because if you want to do business in this city, you better support the workers.”
Shoe Mania also has location two locations by Union Square and one near Grand Central Station. The owner did not return calls for comment.
