Every year, millions of Americans are victims of wage theft: they’re paid below minimum wage, they don’t receive earned benefits, tips, overtime, or breaks, they’re misclassified as independent contractors, or simply not paid for their work. It’s a $50 billion dollar problem, even though most people have never heard of it! In this illuminating talk, anthropologist Rebecca Galemba explains why wage theft continues to happen & what we can do to protect workers across industries. Rebecca Galemba is an anthropologist and associate professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Her research focuses on Latin America, migration, borders, and the intersection between immigration & labor rights in the U.S. Her first book, Contraband Corridor: Making a Living at the Mexico-Guatemala Border, was published in 2017. She is currently writing a new book, Unjust Wages: Day Laborers and Advocates Fighting Wage Theft from a Mile High, based on her experience leading the Just Wages Project. She lives in Denver with her husband Dan, daughters Lanie and Lexi, and two dogs, Oscar and Rosie. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx