Rhode Island’s Fuerza Laboral pursues employers who don’t pay their workers
"Around the country, a network of grassroots groups –– including Fuerza Laboral –– is pursuing employers who fail to pay their workers, a practice that Kim Bobo, author of Wage Theft in America, and other experts say costs billions every year.
Frustrated by lack of government enforcement and woefully understaffed labor departments, they first attempt to negotiate with employers. If that doesn’t work, they pursue a last resort: demonstrating outside employers’ homes, offices, and even country clubs, churches and charitable organizations to which they belong.
Some employers give in and immediately write a check. Some threaten to call out the dogs, or worse. Often, they call the police."
KAREN LEE ZINER in the Providence Journal.