The arena is the California State Assembly, and, for once, the traditional combatants — labor advocates and the state Chamber of Commerce — came together in agreement rather than as adversaries.

The subject? Wage theft.

Labor unions in particular have mobilized across the country to go after companies who steal money from their workers in several ways: paying less than minimum wage; withholding overtime pay; keeping tips that belong to the employees; and/or denying rest breaks. In California, the unions are trying to get lawmakers to pass bills giving regulators more authority to pursue law-breaking employers.

The chamber isn’t necessarily holding union hands in that effort, but it does agree that wage theft is a legitimate concern, especially for low-wage earners. A couple of weeks ago, representatives of the chamber, the California Federation of Labor  and the state Labor Commissioner jointly launched a public campaign to raise awareness of the problem and to educate workers and employers.

Read the whole story on LATimes.com.