Like thousands of activists around the country who are protesting the ever-mounting gap between the extremely rich and those of us who are the 99 percent, UUSC's economic-justice partner based in Springdale, Ark., is supporting the Occupy Northwest Arkansas movement. Meanwhile, rooted in its core mission to organize and advocate for workers to obtain a safe workplace and a fair wage, worker members of the Northwest Arkansas Workers' Justice Center (NWAWJC) continue to deal with day-to-day, firsthand experiences of wage theft, otherwise known as "the crime wave no one talks about."

NWAWJC has been a leader in bringing public attention to the enormity of the nationwide wage-theft issue, and I was especially pleased to see that their latest public activism caught the attention of radio and television outlets in Fayetteville, Ark.

The media coverage included a major feature story on KUAF-FM, the National Public Radio station in Fayetteville. You can listen to the nine-minute segment, "Restaurant Involved in Wage Theft Picketed," which aired as the lead in the daily Ozarks at Large program on Friday, November 18, 2011.

Click play button to listen or download the MP3 file.

The forum and rally also was featured in a two-minute video segment on KNWA-TV, a Fox Network affiliate, also based in Fayetteville.   

The news stories focused on events organized by the workers' justice center in Fayetteville. The forum spotlighted and urged support for an anti-wage theft bill pending in the Arkansas state legislature. The forum was followed by picketing in front of Celi's Restaurant on Center Street in Fayetteville for allegedly withholding wages from a former employee.  

"Wage theft takes a toll in our communities as wages are stolen from millions of workers in the United States every year," said Fernando Garcia, the center's campaign director. "Wage theft too often forces workers to make tough decisions between feeding their families and providing them shelter. Workers should not have to go through these difficult times because some greedy employer decides to not pay wages."

Ana Aguayo, the center's communications director, pointed out that unscrupulous employers often use threats and other pressures to dissuade workers, many of whom are recent immigrants and do not speak English, from reporting wage-theft abuses.

"Wage theft includes violations of minimum-wage laws, not paying time-and-a-half overtime pay, forcing workers to work off the clock, workers not receiving their final paychecks, and stealing tips," said Aguayo. "Even the Economic Policy Foundation, a business-funded think tank, estimated that companies annually steal 19 billion dollars in unpaid overtime. The scope of these abuses is staggering."

Last year, at the urging of NWAWJC, the mayor of Fayetteville issued a proclamation condemning wage theft as an illegal practice that causes irreparable harm to low-income workers and ethical businesses. Fayetteville was the first city in the United States to issue such a public pronouncement and to promise strong action to combat wage theft.

Halloween is a scarily successful time for selling chocolate in the United States. With 42.5 percent of the market, Hershey — the maker of Hershey's Bars, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and Hershey's Kisses — is a leader on sales but not on human rights. In the last 10 years, they have lagged behind their competitors in ensuring that that child labor is not used and that the rights of workers and farmers are respected in the production process. Tell Hershey today that child labor is unacceptable.

UUSC supporters across the country have practiced compassionate consumption by promoting fair trade and ethical eating. And almost 1,200 supporters have signed UUSC's Choose Compassionate Consumption pledge, furthering their commitment to make value-driven purchasing decisions.

Today, we ask you to join with over 50,000 consumers nationwide who have signed petitions asking Hershey to "raise the bar" and go fair trade. Through this campaign led by UUSC's collaborative partners Green America and Global Exchange, send a message to Hershey that it is time for the company to live up to its commitment to end forced and child labor!

Thank you for helping to make the launch of UUSC's Choose Compassionate Consumption (CCC) initiative a success! More than 1,100 UUSC supporters have signed the CCC pledge.

We are so thankful that so many of you have taken the pledge to choose compassionate consumption and shop with your values in mind!

We hope that you use this pledge to support the compassionate choices you already make and influence your future purchases. By working with our partners and allies, we will continue to provide you with opportunities to use your power as consumers to create a just economy.   

For more information about this initiative, please visit our CCC campaign online.

If you haven't taken action yet, sign the pledge today!

Each time we make a purchase, we have a choice — and that choice makes a statement. As consumers, we have the power to educate ourselves as well as decide which businesses to support and which goods to buy. We can choose compassionate consumption.

UUSC is launching a new consumer advocacy initiative called Choose Compassionate Consumption (CCC) — and I want you to join us!

Through the CCC initiative, you and other UUSC supporters can form a powerful consumer block promoting workers’ rights, fair trade, and a living wage. Together with UUSC, you can act on your commitment to a fair economy by spending wisely, in alignment with your values.

Take the first step today. Sign the Choose Compassionate Consumption pledge.

When you sign the pledge, we will send you one of the new CCC credit-card sleeves. These free credit-card sleeves include a tip guide and questions to consider in making a values-driven purchase. The sleeves have been produced by a socially responsible vendor that provides employment opportunities to at-risk adults. These sleeves are available for free to the first 1,500 people to sign the CCC pledge

Join the grassroots network of consumer advocates who will advance workers’ rights, fair trade, and a living wage. Sign the pledge today.