Did you know that every year $1 billion in workers’ wages go uncollected in Los Angeles and San Diego because of wage theft—and that 80 per cent of California workers who win their cases at the state labor board never collect what is due to them?

In some states, such as Wisconsin, where there are effective wage lien laws against recalcitrant employers, 80 per cent of workers get their wages paid. In addition, cities such as Seattle and Houston have passed similar ordinances.

This is why 200 low wage workers traveled to Sacramento Jan. 15 to lobby legislators on behalf of Assembly Bill 1164, the “Fair Paychek Act” that places a lien on property owners and businesses who fail to pay their employees.

Anita Herrera, a San Diego janitorial worker, told a rally on the state capitol steps that she never got paid for cleaning the offices of the San Diego Police Dept. Although the labor board awarded her $20,000 in back wages and penalties, the contractor she worked for changed the name of his company to escape the judgment.

“What did I get?” asked the diminutive woman with a loud voice. “I am without a job. I lost my house. I got vengeance from my employer. I don’t have the money I earned. I don’t have anything.”

Said Herrera, “What we need is better tools so that we can collect what our employer owes us in a more efficient way.”

Efren Resendiz, an Escondido stone mason, faced a similar quandary with a local construction contractor. He won a $9,500 judgment with the state labor board, but the contractor dissolved his corporation to avoid payment.

Resendiz has filed another grievance against the contractor as an individual, and he may get a judgment for less than $4,000 if he is lucky. Without a lien against the contractor, there are still no assurances that Resendiz will get paid.

“For many workers, these judgments are not worth the paper they are written on,” Assemblyman Roger Hernandez, (D-Glendora) told the crowd. “This concerns me as the chair of the labor committee, because if the worker can’t collect, it makes all the laws we pass meaningless.”

The rally broke into cheers when Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) said: “I am proud to be part of the California assembly, and to pass good bills. But I don’t think there is a more important bill than this one right here.”

One of the high points of the lobbying effort was a visit to the office of Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Long Beach). Several workers crowded into her office.

Garcia, whose family owns extensive property in Long Beach, initially opposed AB 1146. But once she was assured that amendments to the bill, including safeguards against frivolous liens, Garcia changed her position and now supports it.

That pleased Mike Garcia, president of the United Service Workers West, who attended the meeting. “Workers paychecks are already thin before they get them. Then they get ripped off on top of this? That’s robbery. We know what it takes to solve this problem: Assembly bill 1164.”

As this article goes to press, AB1164 has passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee. It will now go to the full assembly for a vote, then on to the state senate. If passed, it will reach Governor Jerry Brown’s desk for his signature.

On the bus trip back home, day laborer Nelson Gamio of San Diego summarized his feelings about the lobbying: “It was good to experience the solidarity of the workers in Sacramento. There is so much support for this law. I see it happening.”