By Jeremy Schwartz
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Statesman.com - Antonio Melo thought he had a good gig going, putting up drywall and cinder block at a construction site for some stylish East Austin condos. But then the checks stopped arriving. After going without pay for three weeks, Melo and 10 others halted work at Cobra Studios at the end of November and embarked on a tortuous six-month battle to get their back wages from the subcontractor who had hired them: about $20,000 for the 11-man crew.

"We had had enough," Melo said. "We know there are many others who are owed money, but sometimes because of fear or because they don't want to lose time, they don't fight. There's a lot of theft going on."

As the recession churns on, a growing number of Austin workers are getting stiffed by their employers, especially immigrant workers in the hard-hit construction industry, local worker advocates say.

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