Francisco Dominguez Sanchez estimates he earned about $4 an hour – well below the minimum wage – while washing dishes and preparing food at a Minneapolis restaurant. And he’s probably not alone.
Members of the Workers Interfaith Network joined Dominguez Sanchez for a protest recently outside Peninsula Malaysian Cuisine on the “Eat Street” section of Nicollet Avenue. They carried signs and chanted, “What do we want? Fair wages! When do we want it? Now!” in both English and Spanish.

“They weren’t paying the fair wages that we’re owed and we demand justice,” Dominguez Sanchez explained. “This is happening in lots of other places and we want to make sure it stops.”
In April 2009, he and another employee, Raymundo Espinosa Moreno, together with WIN, filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Labor, alleging that the company did not pay them federal minimum wage and overtime pay. According to the complaint, workers earned about $750 twice per month while working about 140 hours every two weeks, which would come to about $4 an hour, well below the federal minimum wage of $6.55 at the time.
In April 2009, he and another employee, Raymundo Espinosa Moreno, together with WIN, filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Labor, alleging that the company did not pay them federal minimum wage and overtime pay. According to the complaint, workers earned about $750 twice per month while working about 140 hours every two weeks, which would come to about $4 an hour, well below the federal minimum wage of $6.55 at the time.
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