Free BART, Free Labor

Free BART, Free Labor

On December 4, 2003 ING Direct sponsored a free morning commute on BART to promote their banking services. I was one of dozens hired to hand out promotional materials in the BART stations that morning. I was hired by Coast To Coast, a Los Angeles based promotion firm who was running the promotion for ING.

The job required a 2 hour training at $13/hour and 3 to 5 hours of work at $15/hour. None of us were paid. While Coast To Coast has made promises of payment, we have recently discovered that ING is refusing to give them the money to pay us because of an alleged missing uniform.

There are dozens of us in this situation who are organizing to take legal action against ING Direct and Coast To Coast, and many more who we are not yet in contact with. I plan to file a claim in small claims court, and am encouraging all involved to do the same.

This letter is being forwarded to representatives at both companies, people who were hired for the job and many local media outlets who ran stories about the promotion in December. I request that anyone do what they can to help this problem be resolved and to get the owed money to the workers.