I Was A Student Worker Fighting For A $15 Wage. Now, I’m Facing A Criminal Record.
On Monday, February 4, I will have my day in court in New Brunswick, New Jersey. That’s not where I’d like to be spending my morning. I’d rather be at my office in DC working on getting back-pay for federal contract workers. But on Monday, 11 of my former classmates and I will march into the courtroom with our lawyer and defend ourselves against the charges brought upon us by our alma mater—Rutgers University. On December 12, 2017, dozens of students, workers, and activists of United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) staged a peaceful protest asking the Board of Trustees to give campus workers like me $15 an hour and a union contract.