By Joey Getty and Barb Kucera, Workday Minnesota
February 22, 2016
MINNEAPOLIS – Simply passing more laws will not stop wage theft. This complex problem requires a network of solutions, including greater education on workplace rights, more organizing by workers themselves and improved government enforcement.
Many of the workers, community activists, union representatives and public officials interviewed for this series had suggestions for strengthening a system that is letting too many victims of wage theft fall through the cracks.
Education and awareness
Wage theft is a largely hidden problem.
People “sometimes feel like there’s something wrong, but they don’t know exactly what it is and they don’t know what to call it,” said Ernesto Velez, director of Centro Campesino, which does organizing among farm workers.