In the winter of 2007, Ricardo Perez was hired to work at a Christmas tree lot helping to trim and prepare the trees for purchase. He worked for two months, laboring from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., but he was never paid for the over time.

"The owner gave me a check for 40 hours only, but I was never paid for the over time," said the 66-year-old man who looks for work at the North Hollywood Day Labor Center. "When I asked him to pay me for over time, he said he didn't have any money."

Perez said he filed a claim for the unpaid hours with the National Labor Relations Board [NLRB], but has never received a response.

Alfredo Bautista, another day laborer from the San Fernando Valley, hasn't fared any better.

Two years ago, he and 84 other workers hired by the Alpha Company for two weeks never received payment for their efforts.

"The company just filed for bankruptcy to avoid paying us," he said.

He and the rest of the workers also filed a lawsuit with the NLRB against Alpha's parent company and were recently granted a $300,000 award but it has yet to be paid.

"The owner of that company said he didn't have money," said Bautista. "This affects us a lot. I have a family to support. We hope they [authorities] hear our voices."

City Councilman Richard Alarcon has apparently heard them. This week, he introduced a motion directing the city attorney's office to draft an ordinance that would criminalize "wage theft" or the nonpayment of salaries to day laborers and other workers—a problem that is reaching crisis proportions according to a recent UCLA study.
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