Thread: Farm labor contractor faces suit over hiring

http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/217402
Business
Farm labor contractor faces suit over hiring
Firm schemed to avoid using U.S. workers, group says
By James Gilbert
Yuma Sun
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 12.22.2007
advertisementA Yuma legal group is suing an Arizona farm labor contractor, alleging that it hired foreign guest workers instead of re-hiring from an existing pool of U.S. farmworkers.
Community Legal Services alleges in its federal lawsuit that in 2006 the contractor, Servicios Agricolas Mex. Inc., with the support of grower Marlin Ranching Co., requested permission from the Department of Labor to hire 150 foreign guest workers to harvest citrus crops.
"Most of our clients loyally worked for Servicios year after year and expected to keep being rehired," said legal services attorney Pamela Bridge. "They felt betrayed that their employer chose to hire guest workers instead of them."
The suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix on Wednesday on behalf of 212 farmworkers from the Yuma County area, alleges the contractor discriminated against U.S. workers and violated the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.
A call made Friday to the Phoenix office of attorney Tom Crowe, who represents Servicios, was not returned.
According to the lawsuit, during the 2005-'06 citrus season, the contractor failed to follow its usual hiring practices in favor of hiring workers from Mexico.
"The contractor would traditionally contact the workers by letter, telephone, word-of-mouth or recruit them from parking lots in San Luis, Ariz., and inform them about the start of the harvest season," Bridge said. "That is the way it has always been done."
The lawsuit further states that, rather then rehiring the U.S. fieldworkers, the contractor sought permission from the Department of Labor to hire 150 foreign workers because it could not find qualified U.S. workers. The Labor Department approved the request in June 2006.
In its request, the contractor said it would provide housing in Dateland for the workers and pay them $8 an hour for 30 hours of work per week, according to the suit. By comparison, the prevailing wage and working hours of citrus harvesters in the San Luis, Ariz., area in the 2006-'07 season exceeded $8 per hour and 30 weekly hours of work, according to the lawsuit.
Bridge said this amounts to the contractor intentionally setting the wages and working hours below prevailing market conditions in an effort to make the jobs undesirable to U.S. workers.
To protect the wages and working conditions of the domestic agricultural work force, federal law requires employers to extend preferences to qualified U.S. farmworkers before turning to foreign labor.
"This case addresses serious abuses in the H-2a foreign guest worker program," said Marni Willenson, an attorney with Farmworker Justice in Washington, D.C. "Employers are not permitted to import foreign labor when U.S. workers are available. The law is supposed to protect the rights of U.S. workers first.
"Unfortunately, we have observed that this sort of displacement is becoming more common because foreign labor is cheap, and the Department of Labor will approve employer applications without any real scrutiny of the claim."
The suit seeks to award each plaintiff $500 for each violation of the agricultural-worker protection law for each citrus season and an admission.
"We want a declaratory statement from the employer that they admit they broke the law by not hiring our clients," Bridge said. "It's very important to us."

Love the comments!!!!

1. Comment by Gene M. (#5430) — December 22,2007 @ 7:57AM
Ratings: -0 +6

Ahh Yes!
The first shoe has hit the floor!
The ILLEGAL ALIEN Employer law is not ALL about "Legal" Employee Rights!!
The "Legal" workers will rise up and
SCUM SCAB Employers like this one will go to jail.

GOod Law!


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2. Comment by webster d. (TWTA The Way Things Are) — December 22,2007 @ 8:05AM
Ratings: -0 +3

Send them to prison, take away their right to do buisness in arizona and "confiscate" all their assets.


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This is what is really needed. I hope they take it all the way and these people lose their business. This one needs to be brought to the attention of Neal Cavuto, Glenn Beck and others. It could be a be boost for our side if the media get hold of this.