Taking on wage theft in downtown

Boston, MA – On December 19th, members of our community joined forces with the Chinese Progressive Association for a rally in support of passing “An Act to Prevent Wage Theft and Promote Employer Accountability”.

Several elected officials were present at the rally including Boston City Councilor-Elect Kim Janey, Boston City Councilor-Elect Ed Flynn, and Representative Michlewitz. These legislators marched with attendees and voiced the importance of passing the bill during the current legislative session.

Speaking out against wage theft in the Chinese-American community, Wei Min Zheng, a Quincy resident who has been affected by wage theft stated, “We have to use worker and community power to stop wage theft. People need to be paid for the work they do. When people don’t get paid, they can’t support their families or live a healthy life.”

Similarly Karen Y. Chen of the Chinese Progressive Association highlighted the importance of passing wage theft protections, telling the energized crowd, “Our workers center has been around for 30 years. Wage theft is the most common problem that we have seen among workers. These builders are making huge profits from renovations but are paying their workers nothing. We have to stand up to stop wage theft.”

Want to help put wage theft to an end in Massachusetts?

Spread the word on this important bill immediately by contacting lawmakers and sharing this video with friends and family!