Thread: 9 Workers Found Living In Storage Shed

9 Workers Found Living In Storage Shed

By CHRIS ECHEGARAYGONZALO PAEZ and GERALDINE PEREZ-COOK The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jul 2, 2006

TAMPA - Nine men lived in a moldy, 12-by-15-foot converted storage shed behind 818 Orient St. They shared six side-by-side mattresses on the floor, a set of bunk beds, one bathroom, and electric portable burners and coolers for cooking.

For the shelter, they paid $40 each a week - $1,440 monthly to the landlord, enough for a three-bedroom, two-bath apartment in south Tampa.

The landlord was hit April 19 with a code enforcement violation for operating an illegal rooming house.

Nanak's Landscaping, which is based in Longwood and lists exclusive clients such as Disney's Swan Resort and Harbour Island, brought workers here from San Martin, in Zacatecas, Mexico. The men came legally on work visas but had to pay their own travel expenses from Mexico. They earned $7.28 an hour.

A Nanak's representative said the Mexicans chose to live in one room, ignoring advice to spread out.

The account some Mexican men gave of their experience is a common one. Lured by dreams of better-paying jobs in the United States, immigrants apply for work visas and agree to contracts stipulating wages and hours of work.

The reality that follows is often grim.
Unhonored Promises

There is little left in the paycheck after deductions to pay for poor living conditions, to pay against money borrowed to make the trip and after employers trim the promised hours.

When employers don't honor their promises, there are no government agencies that verify they do, said Tirso Moreno, president of the Farmworker Association of Florida, based in Apopka.

"Regularly, half of the workers that come under those programs escape because they find the promises made to them are not going to be honored," Moreno said. "The only advantage is that they don't have to risk their lives crossing the desert."

The H2B visa program allows employers to hire foreign workers and bring them to the United States to perform temporary assignments. Under Department of Labor guidelines, Nanak's is able to get workers under the forestry category and based on a high demand for workers.

There were 704,000 temporary workers in the United States in 2004, according to Department of Homeland Security figures, the majority on H2B visas. The other temporary worker visa, H2A, carries educational requirements.

Temporary visas have broad parameters, and employers tailor them to the shortage in their occupations, said Bill Flynn, a Tampa immigration lawyer specializing in labor issues. Some employers misrepresent the jobs, leaving their workers surprised.

"Once they enter and see they are being sweatshopped, they say screw it and take off," Flynn said. "They go underground. They gravitate to the other industries."

Once the workers abandon their jobs, they are violating the conditions of the visa and the contract, and they are considered illegal immigrants.

This was the first time Jesus Alcalá, 38, his brother, Jose Suarez Alcalá, 44, and his nephew had made the trip to the United States. With six other men, they slept in the converted shed.

They left their hometown June 12 and arrived in Monterrey, where they applied for the visas. They signed a contract with LLS Mexico, a staffing firm for U.S. companies such as Nanak's.

"They invited us to work here, under good working conditions, but unfortunately it hasn't been like that," Jesus Alcalá said.

Nanak's Landscaping has more than 500 employees and offices throughout Florida.

To get foreign workers, Nanak's recruits through Mid-Atlantic Solutions, a Virginia-based company that works with a labor provider in Mexico.
'More Comfortable'

Nanak's provided the workers with all they needed so they could "live comfortably," said Beau Bohannon, regional director of Nanak's.

Initially two workers lived in the converted shed while the rest lived in the main house, Bohannon said, but they decided on their own to move to the smaller building.

"What happens is that they like to hang out together, it's part of their traditions, their lifestyles," he said. "They chose to do it because that way they felt more comfortable. When we told them they should move to the rooms in the house because they had space there, they said they all came from the same town and wanted to remain together so they could talk at night."

"We don't dictate how people should live," said Bohannon, mentioning the company rents four homes in the Tampa Bay area where their temporary workers can live.

As of Friday, one man remained in the converted shed. Eight others, including the Alcalás, no longer work for Nanak's. Under the terms of the citation, all Mexican workers at the 818 Orient St. property had to leave by Saturday.

Records show the home is owned by Máximo Mendoza. Reached by a reporter, Mendoza denied the property was his.

http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGB5G2TT4PE.html

To get foreign workers, Nanak's recruits through Mid-Atlantic Solutions, a Virginia-based company that works with a labor provider in Mexico.

This is just the way things are going to be from now on.

Better get used to it.

I think they could have squeezed a few more in if they tried. Over $1400 a month for a shed! Sounds like a great way to make some extra income.

I guess they actually like being crammed in all together. Amazing!