JANESVILLE, Wis. -- A Wisconsin city that has seen its share of manufacturing jobs leave is experiencing pain again, prompting workers and financial-reform advocates to speak out about the impact of private equity firms.

Janesville-based Hufcor, which was acquired by OpenGate Capital in 2017, is scheduled to close its plant in the near future. OpenGate is moving the operations to Mexico, where workers will build specialty room dividers that have been made locally for many years.

Kathy Pawluck, one of the nearly 150 workers affected by the move, said she was close to retirement when she found out, but pointed out it will be much harder for other staff who really need the stable pay and benefits.

"When we were Hufcor and owned by Mike Gordon, it was a wonderful family-oriented company to work for," Pawluck recounted. "That all changed when we were bought out by investors."

Those calling attention to the situation acknowledged not all private equity firms are bad, but argued there are too many examples of profits being placed ahead of affected communities. OpenGate did not respond to a request for comment before deadline.

A bill in Congress, co-sponsored by Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., would boost regulation of private equity funds.

Carter Dougherty, communications director at Americans for Financial Reform, said there are scenarios where it makes sense for an outside firm to come in and take over, because of its expertise, however, he contended the Hufcor situation is not a good example.

"It's about buying this company, squeezing it for cash, and then moving on to the next deal," Dougherty asserted.

He pointed to another case involving OpenGate, when it closed Golden Guernsey Dairy near Milwaukee, in 2013. As for Janesville, the Hufcor closing comes more than a decade after it saw General Motors shutter its assembly plant there.

Restaurant workers have been fleeing the industry throughout the Great Resignation. To reverse the trend, advocates in Minnesota and elsewhere argued employees need better working conditions, and they hope pending policy will help.

The Restaurant Opportunities Centers United has been working to develop the Restaurant Workers Bill of Rights. It seeks to provide livable wages, better access to health care, a safe work environment and participation in governance.

Justin Taylor, a committee member for the Minnesota chapter of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United and a restaurant worker, feels it's a comprehensive approach to long-standing issues.

"I definitely, definitely think this will be a fantastic way to fight the injustices that the restaurant workers have seen for a real long time now," Taylor asserted.

The proposal will be introduced to Congress in September, and organizers say months of outreach to restaurant workers across the U.S. helped determine what should go into the bill. Minnesota has seen nearly 20,000 people leave their establishments for different jobs, according to a report from the University of California-Berkeley's Food Labor Research Center.

The exodus was due in part to the combination of low wages and rising prices during the pandemic. Taylor added the turnover has had a major effect, with those still working at restaurants having to pick up the slack. Some employers have improved their pay and benefits, but issues remain.

"Every restaurant right now is just chronically understaffed, and we're not getting paid for the work that we're doing," Taylor contended. "There's very few places that offer paid sick leave."

Aside from pay, Taylor said the governance factor in the legislative proposal, such as having more say in scheduling shifts, could be another important tool in improving the well-being of restaurant workers.

Restaurant workers have been fleeing the industry throughout the Great Resignation, with no end in sight.

In order to codify necessities for better working conditions, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United has been working to develop the Restaurant Workers Bill of Rights. The set of rights seeks to provide restaurant workers with livable wages, better access to health care, a safe work environment and participation in governance.

Teo Reyes, chief program officer at Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, believes there's a need for this bill.

"The fundamental impetus for this is for us to bring workers together to build power," Reyes explained. "One of the milestones will be getting these bills introduced at a federal level in Congress, at the state level, and at a municipal level, and then advancing components of those as the opportunity presents itself."

This bill of rights will be introduced to Congress in September. Months of outreach to restaurant workers across the U.S. helped determine what should go into the bill.

New York's own restaurant industry has seen 120,000 people leaving for different jobs, according to a report from the University of California-Berkeley's Food Labor Research Center, due in part to low wages and rising prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In New York City, workers from any sector can see what they are entitled to under the city's Workers Bill of Rights.

Reyes believes the document will need to be updated to reflect the most current needs of restaurant workers. He shared some gripes workers had, providing a clear path on what changes should be made.

"It breeds a lot of unhealthy behaviors like excessive drinking and late-night eating," Reyes pointed out. "I'm not as healthy, and I miss large parts of the next day catching up on sleep. I think that restaurants should provide health care and dental care. People complained about rude customers, people complained about scheduling; like two weeks' notice to schedule even in a small business."

Not all the survey's answers were negative. Many of those surveyed praised their co-workers, and others felt it could be a highly lucrative industry, something Reyes hopes to maintain through establishing the bill of rights.

Too many Latinos are stuck in low-wage occupations, according to a new report, and some with darker skin face discrimination and an even steeper climb to the middle class.

Statistics show that about one-third of Nevada's population is Latino.

Jessica Vela, research assistant in tax and budget policy at the Center for American Progress, said many Latino workers, particularly those of Mexican, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Salvadoran descent, toil in low-paying industries such as hospitality or caregiving that are rife with labor violations.

"Hispanic and Latino workers make up a large part of the tipped worker population," she said. "Latinos are 17% of the overall workforce, but represent 24% of tipped employees."

The report noted that tipped workers often make sub-minimum wages, are at the mercy of the economy and were laid off by the millions during the pandemic. It also found that Hispanic men had the highest unemployment rate during COVID, followed by Hispanic women.

Vela noted that home care is one of the most common occupations for Mexican, Guatemalan, Honduran, Salvadoran and Dominican women. She contended that all states should step in to require better working conditions.

"California signed a statewide agreement with Childcare Providers United to increase wage rates," she said. "They subsidized child-care slots, which can be incredibly helpful with many families needing to work."

Advocates are calling for a higher federal minimum wage and more grants to help people afford to go to college or a trade school. A report from Georgetown University found that Latinos make up about 37% of Nevada's college-age population but only about 29% of students at four-year colleges and 36% at community colleges.


Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.