Somos Un Pueblo Unido			Santa Fe Living Wage Network
1205 Parkway Dr, Suite B Sante Fe, NM   87507 505-424-7832 somos@rt66.com www.somosunpueblounido.org				PO Box 23764 Sante Fe, NM   87502 505-983-9563 info@santafelivingwage.org www.santafelivingwage.org

Today five former employees of the Pacheco Street McDonald's announced that they would file a lawsuit against Andres Zamora, owner of all local McDonaId's franchises. They are suing over claims of "wrongful termination" and "intentional infliction of emotional distress." All five women had heen working at the restaurant for at least three years when they walked off the job, unable to tolerate retaliation against them for earning a living wage, which in the City of Santa Fe is set at $8.50 an hour.

"We were humiliated everyday on the job, and finally we had enough," said Gabriela Romero, one of the five women. 'The conditions were so degrading that we felt forced to leave our jobs." Zamora is alleged to have told the women that they were not worth the money, to have cut their break times stating that they would have to work twice as hard to earn the pay increase, and to have threatened to transfer them to the Santa Fe County restaurant where they would not be covered by the City law.

A press conference to announce the lawsuit was co-sponsored Thursday morning by Somos Un Pueblo Unido, a local immigrant advocacy organization, and the Santa Fe Living Wage Network. Present were representatives of the plaintiffs, both organizations, and representatives of the law firm Youtz & Valdez, P.C., which is filing the suit.

A spokesperson for the Santa Fe Living Wage Network said, "While McDonalds did begin to pay $8.50 an hour, the management instituted working conditions so intolerable that five working mothers, the majority single mothers, gave up their jobs of many years and risked great financial hardship to stand up for their rights and walk off the job."

Under the ordinance adopted by the Santa Fe City Council, any employee who asserts their right to a Living Wage is legally protected from retaliation by their employers. The City holds the official responsibility to protect the rights of workers, but in cases such as these where the city chooses not to take action on a worker's behalf, an individual has the right to private action.

"This a very brave act," said Marcela Diaz of Somos Un Pueblo Unido, also a member of the Living Wage Network. "It is important for workers to know that they are protected from retaliation in the ordinance and they can contact the Living Wage Network for support when their rights are being violated at their place of employment."