In the aftermath of Hurricane's Katrina and Ike federal money was set aside for the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast. What you may not know is that the Bush administration, at the same time, suspended regulations guaranteeing that federal employees receive a minimum wage. According to Kim Bobo, the author of Wage Theft in America, billions of dollars are stolen from workers every year, not only in times of crisis. And there are few incentives for employers to obey the law.

Roughly 2 million American workers are not paid a minimum wage. And some 3 million are mis-classified as independent contractors instead of employees and millions more are illegally denied overtime pay. As the recession deepens and the government pledges to create jobs will they be jobs that pay a livable wage? 

GRITtv speaks to Kim Bobo, Cathy Ruckelshaus, Litigation Director for the National Employment Law Project, Terri Gerstein, Deputy Commissioner for Wages and Immigrants at the New York State Department of Labor, and Deborah Axt of Make the Road New York.  

Then Michael Lux, founder and CEO of Progressive Strategies and the author of The Progressive Revolution: How the Best in America Came to Be, on how grassroots organizations can influence politics in Washington. There has long been a tension between pro-business and populist Democrats, with the former holding sway during the Clinton years. Many of those same faces are back now and the battle is already shaping up as the Obama administration plans to set aside more money for banks with few strings attached. Will progressive voices be heard?