Unpaid: The Past, Present and Future of Wage Theft

Unpaid: The Past, Present and Future of Wage Theft - Paperback

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Unpaid: The Past, Present and Future of Wage Theft
  • Unpaid: The Past, Present and Future of Wage Theft
Unpaid: The Past, Present and Future of Wage Theft - Paperback

Unpaid: The Past, Present and Future of Wage Theft - Paperback

by Matthew Cole
$24.95
$24.95

Book Overview

Why work doesn't pay

Unpaid upends conventional wisdom about how we value work, exposing wage theft as one of capitalism's enduring open secrets. From unpaid overtime and under-the-table jobs to algorithmic exploitation, there are as many ways to steal wages as there are to pay them. But what if wage theft isn't a bug but a feature of capitalism itself?

Across the world, millions of workers exhaust themselves in billions of hours of free labour. As app-based gig work becomes increasingly common, ex­ploitation grows more sophisticated and harder to detect.

It doesn't have to be this way. Blending personal stories with a fresh, accessible take, Unpaid traces the long history of wage theft and reveals how employers continue to get away with it. Matthew Cole shows that wage theft is not just about broken laws but about the nature of property itself. He makes a powerful case for our collective right to reassert our labour-power.
ISBN9781804295663
Author Matthew Cole
PublisherVerso
GenreNews & politics, Education, Business, and Society & culture
FormatPaperback
PublishedMay 2026
LanguageENG- English
Pages288
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

Business & Economics Nonfiction Political Science Social Science

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About Matthew Cole

Matthew Cole is an investigative journalist. He has covered national security for more than two decades, much of it focused on America's clandestine wars and covert programs. He was previously an investigative producer for ABC and NBC News, and a longtime national security reporter for The Intercept. His other work has appeared in The New York Times, GQ, New York magazine, Salon, and ESPN. He has reported from more than 20 countries, across five continents. A Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism graduate, Cole lives in New York City.

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