Tired of being exploited by a clothing factory that produced materials for well-known brands, Zoila Puma and Rosa Sánchez, who are originally from Ecuador, filed suit against their former bosses and several companies for the recuperation of thousands of dollars in unpaid wages during the course of a number of years.

Puma and Sánchez stated in the suit that they were victims not only of wage exploitation – they were not paid the minimum wage mandated by law for regular and overtime work – but also for having had to work under unhealthy conditions that caused them to become ill.

“For more than three years, I was paid only $50 a week for working 12 hours a day, and now I want justice to be done,” said Puma, 50, who added that she put up with the abuse by the Gala Fashion factory purely out of necessity.

Sánchez, 53, who worked in the same place for five years, said that thanks to the assistance of the Movilizacion Nacional contra Talleres de Explotacion (National Mobilization Against Sweatshops) she took legal measures. Sánchez hopes to receive, along with her companion in the suit, a compensation of close to $100,000.

Elissa Devins, of Legal Aid Society of New York’s Jobs for Justice Project, which is bringing the suit, said that since the factory cited closed its doors in 2004, the suit is being filed against the former owners of Gala Fashion, Anna Ryabichenko and Mark Firdman, and against Pretty Girl, Kids Can't Miss, Victor Levy and Rachel Rachel companies.

Activist Joanna Lum said that any victim of exploitation in the work place is empowered under the law to demand his or her rights, regardless of immigration status.