San Cristóbal de la Casas, Chiapas, México August 30, 2007
While in Chiapas, Global Workers needed to locate 8 migrants who had sued their employer to recover unpaid minimum wages for their labor picking tomatoes. Although the workers had won the law suit, they had lost contact with their lawyers and were at risk of never recovering their stolen wages. After calling numbers that no longer worked and having notices returned by the post office, the non-profit was on the verge of giving up when it called Global Workers. As Global Workers was meeting with the various human rights groups it was also enlisting their help to locate the workers. Many of the workers will likely still be in the United States. The process to win the trust of the family members so they inform their loved ones to contact the Florida non-profit about the lawsuit, is often a protracted process. Enlisting local, trusted organizations to support the process is key. For the three workers in the San Cristóbal area, the different parishes pledged to reach out to the families. Hopefully, Global Workers will have good news to report in a few months.