It’s a new year, and a new crop of measures is already out there on the streets, prompting Our Oregon to send out an early warning to would-be signature gatherers about shady payment practices.
Patty Wentz, with Our Oregon, a policy watchdog group, says poor and homeless people, lured by the appeal of quick, easy cash, are taken advantage of by companies that violate state wage requirements.
Measure 26, which was approved by Oregon voters in 2002, prohibits companies contracted to circulate petitions from paying signature gatherers by the signature. As a result, companies now offer hourly wages. However, some are promising more than they deliver, according to Wentz, promising a per-hour wage and then crediting them with fewer hours and less money.
“Good companies have accountability built in,” says Wentz. “A company with no oversight, watch out.”
Last year, three employees of B&P Campaign Management filed complaints against the company claiming they were not paid for the hours they worked. The three said they were denied their promised hourly wage when the company claimed they didn’t gather enough signatures to justify the time. In June, the Multnomah County Circuit Court ordered B&P to pay $15,000 in damages.
“It can be very disheartening to people. It’s miserable work,” Wentz said.
The number of people who file complaints with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries is small, Wentz said, but it represents a population of workers more desperate for money than justice. Some petition firms have even been seen paying signature gatherers from among the people standing in line at missions.
“They know they’re getting ripped off but they need the cash so quickly, they can’t do anything about it.”
Those who have filed complaints reveal a pattern of promises and rip offs. “It represents the way people are getting ripped off, not the scope,” Wentz said.
Wentz said ultimately the chief petitioner is responsible for the wage violation, but that the actual signature gatherers could be fined for violating Measure 26, up to $100 per every petition sheet turned in.
Wentz said people looking to get a job as a signature gatherer should make sure the company hiring them requires they keep time sheets and has some management over the petitioners when they’re out working. Even if a company fires a signature gatherer for poor performance, the worker is still entitled to payment for the hours worked. The company should also make sure the signature gatherer receives training and is knowledgeable about the petitions they’re circulating.
And as enticing as it can be, beware of companies that pay in cash.
“It’s not illegal,” Wentz said, “But no recordkeeping means it’s a shady company.”
