Read on Twitter
BREAKING: The Salvation Army is one of the largest providers of drug rehab in the US. Its main method of treatment is "work therapy" at thrift stores that pull in $598 MILLION+ in annual sales. Now they& #39;re facing a lawsuit alleging labor law violations. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20702960-spillman-v-salvation-army-2021-complaint">https://www.documentcloud.org/documents...
Participants said they worked 40+ hrs per week picking up donations, hanging clothes, pricing housewares, matching shoes, manning machinery at the warehouse, etc.
In exchange, the org paid them as little as $1 per week or w/ "canteen cards" they could use to buy soda or chips.
In exchange, the org paid them as little as $1 per week or w/ "canteen cards" they could use to buy soda or chips.
This suit is significant because the Army has staved off labor department action for YEARS. Our reporting found that after the @USDOL found the rehabs violating labor law, the Army filed a lawsuit, lobbied federal lawmakers and got them to drop the case. https://revealnews.org/article/at-hundreds-of-rehabs-recovery-means-work-without-pay/">https://revealnews.org/article/a...
Not only that, but the @USDOL added a special exemption to their handbook, effectively preventing any investigations of minimum wage violations at the Salvation Army.
Here& #39;s an internal doc about the revision, showing DOL staffers admitting defeat:
Here& #39;s an internal doc about the revision, showing DOL staffers admitting defeat:
Here& #39;s why this matters.
Work has not been found to be an effective addiction treatment. In fact, participants told me that unpaid work had the opposite effect: it made them feel expendable & worthless. Yet it& #39;s one of the most widely available forms of "affordable" treatment.
Work has not been found to be an effective addiction treatment. In fact, participants told me that unpaid work had the opposite effect: it made them feel expendable & worthless. Yet it& #39;s one of the most widely available forms of "affordable" treatment.
We& #39;re in a devastating pandemic, but we& #39;re also in the middle of a drug overdose epidemic. People who need treatment are dying. Something is wrong here. Very very wrong. And it& #39;s one reason of precisely 10 gajillion why I& #39;m writing my book.
P.S. Reached out to Salvation Army for comment. Will post when I receive a response.
