Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (CTUL)

Gonzalo Monge is a long-time CTUL member who works in residential construction. He loves knowing that the painting and finishing he does helps make a new house or apartment a home, but Gonzalo is never sure whether he’ll be paid as promised when the job is done. Through CTUL, Gonzalo has recovered wages stolen from him by 3 different bosses, totaling more than $5,000. He has become an expert in setting up liens to recover unpaid wages, helping others through the process when they are not paid for their work.

Gonzalo is proud of this, but he’s also tired of having to fight so hard for the wages he’s already earned. He’s one of the founding members of CTUL’s Construction Campaign Committee, committed to mapping power in the industry and connecting with more workers and other stakeholders in order to raise labor standards throughout residential construction in the Twin Cities. Real justice, according to Gonzalo, will mean stopping wage theft and on-the-job injuries before they happen in the first place.

Every day at CTUL low-wage workers are developing their leadership and fighting back against wage theft, poverty wages, and other forms of injustice they face in the workplace. Together we have recovered over $2 million in stolen wages, money which is infused directly into the pockets of some of our region's poorest community members. We are also fighting for and winning lasting policy changes at the worksite level, the municipal level, and beyond through telling our stories in the media, serving on municipal commissions and task forces, and even testifying before Congress and the United Nations about the harm done to our families and communities by wage theft and poverty wages.

Your donation enables more workers to develop their leadership through CTUL and helps to keep truly independent, an organization by and for workers. Thank you for your support!