Ike clean-up workers report wage theft
By MONICA RHOR Associated Press Writer © 2008 The Associated Press
Dec. 2, 2008, 4:33PMShare
Print Email Del.icio.usDiggTechnoratiYahoo! BuzzHOUSTON — First came Hurricane Ike, then came the abuse after the storm: hundreds of workers hired to clean up debris, repair damaged roofs and restore flood-soaked buildings say they were robbed of wages, stranded with nowhere to stay and injured on the job.

The pattern, first seen after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, is now being repeated in Houston and other Texas Gulf Coast cities ravaged by Ike, say Houston worker advocates.

In some cases, the same employers cited for worker abuse in Katrina have also turned up in worker complaints in Texas, according to the Houston Interfaith Worker Justice Center.

The complaints range from workers brought in from other cities and promised housing, then forced to sleep outdoors on concrete sidewalks to others who contracted skin infections, eye infections and rashes from working in contaminated buildings with no protective gear.

In addition, many workers say they have been victimized by employers who refused to pay wages or paid less than promised, said Laura Boston, an organizer with the Interfaith Worker Justice Center.

"These workers helped clean up the city, and helped it get back on its feet. For two or three weeks, they waded through contaminated water, or through flooded buildings, then they were abandoned," said Francisco Arguelles, the center's training coordinator.

"We have seen people who are desperate. They couldn't buy food, or medicine for their kids or parents. They are going to be evicted from apartments and sometimes have to decide between buying food or paying rent."

The Interfaith Worker Justice Center, which works for the rights of low-wage workers, said it can take months to recover stolen wages in successful cases. In nine out of 10 cases, however, the wages are not recovered.

The center cited six post-Ike cases in which workers were denied hundreds of thousands of dollars in pay or left without lodging.

One Florida-based company, Timberwood Carpentry, recruited 1,000 workers from Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia and Texas for clean-up work in Port Arthur, Galveston and Texas. They offered lodging, food, transportation and months of work, Boston said.

However, once workers got to Port Arthur, there were no hotel rooms. Instead, they had to sleep outside or in cars. About 160 workers reported wage theft, with a total of $121,681 in pay withheld from workers, according to the Interfaith Worker Justice Center. Of that, only $35,770 has been recovered.

A message left with Timberwood Carpentry was not immediately returned on Tuesday.

In another case, Reyna Martinez, a 30-year-old Honduran immigrant, said she got a job from Timberwood cleaning storm-damaged schools in Galveston. For four weeks, she was transported by bus from her Houston home to the island, and worked 15 hours a day repairing roofs, bailing water, and clearing debris from school property.

She was promised $11 an hour, but after the first week, the owner reneged on paying workers. Martinez said many of her co-workers, who came from other parts of the country, had no place to live and no meals, even though the employer had promised to provide both.

Martinez also had an allergic reaction to the mold and bacteria rampant in the damaged school. The workers were provided with gloves and masks, but no protective clothing. Her employer refused to pay for medical treatment, she said.

Martinez eventually got most of her pay, although the contractor still owes her about $170 for a day's work. Most of her co-workers, however, had to leave without a penny.

"That's lost money. I have no hope of ever seeing it again," said Martinez, who now works cleaning house.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6143389.html