Ruth Silver Taube
"There is an epidemic of wage theft in the country. Wage theft is a public health problem because if you don't get paid, you can't afford to eat, you can't afford housing, you can't afford to take care of your family, and we spend quite a long time trying to convince governments that it was that kind of problem.”
WHAT TO EXPECT
Ruth provides a thorough description of “wage theft” including examples of what she refers to as a “pandemic”. Ruth describes the short-comings of enforcement agencies such as the Labor Commission which are understaffed and do little for collection. Thus, workers are either cheated out of their pay or having to fight and wait for up to 4 years to gain what is rightfully theirs. Ruth speaks about the benefits of being in a union including the right to a grievance, a contract, and the support of a union-representative. Lastly, Ruth highlights the start and progression of the Wage Theft Coalition which began with 5 workers (from fast-food, day labor, and home-care) over 10 years ago. With passion, intelligence, hope, organizing, and a push for worker’s rights, they have been successful in getting wage theft ordinances enacted throughout the greater Bay.
BIO
Ruth Silver Taube is the Supervising Attorney of the Employment Law Clinic at the Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center at Santa Clara University School of Law and an Adjunct Professor at the law school. She is Legal Services Chair of the South Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking, a delegate to the Santa Clara County’s Human Trafficking Commission, Coordinator of the Santa Clara County Wage Theft Coalition, an Advisory Member to the Santa Clara County Hate Crimes Task Force, a founding member of the Bay Area Equal Pay Collaborative, and a member of the Santa Clara County Office of Labor Standards Enforcement’s Retail Food Advisory Council.
Ms. Silver Taube is also the Supervising Attorney of the Santa Clara County Office of Labor Standards Legal Advice Line. After law school, Ms. Silver Taube served as a law clerk for the Honorable Ronald M. Whyte, District Court Judge for the Northern District of California, as a Federal Mediator at the EEOC, as a panel mediator at the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, and a partner at the Law Office of Silver and Taube.
She received the Unsung Hero Award from the Santa Clara County Victim Support Network for her workers' rights and human trafficking work. She received the Pro Bono Service Award from the California State Bar and the Pro Bono Recognition Award from the Santa Clara County Bar Association. She also received the Wonder Woman of the Year Award from the Santa Clara County Commission on the Status of Women and was a co-recipient of the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Award from Freedom Network, USA for her human trafficking work. She received the Modern Day Abolitionist Award for Outstanding Policy and Legal Work from the San Francisco Collaborative Against Human Trafficking, the Trailblazer Award from the Filipino Bar Association of North America, and the Legal Impact Award from the Asian Law Alliance.
