Activists Celebrate New Police Procedure for Reporting Wage Theft
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)DC workers who have been victims of wage theft
by unscrupulous employers can now report the
crime to police just as they would any robbery.
“Many of us work long hours to make ends
meet,” said local day laborer Carlos Diaz.
“But frequently contractors refuse to pay
what we are owed at the end of the day.” Diaz
is a member of La Unión de Trabajadores de DC
(DC Workers' Union), which, with DC Jobs with
Justice, established a partnership with the
Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to involve
police officers in documenting and
investigating wage theft cases. Wage theft is
when workers do not get paid for work performed
or are laid off without being paid their
salary; the new MPD procedure defines the role
of the police in supplementing existing
institutions by creating a standard protocol
and training for officers when responding to
wage theft claims. “We are happy that the
D.C. police will now get involved in assisting
us to recover our wages” added Diaz. - report by DC
JwJ’s Rachel Sier; photo: La Union de
Trabajadores members and DC JwJ staffers
celebrate MPD wage theft agreement victory;
photo courtesy DC JwJ
