Thread: Illegal workers face hardship in Big Easy

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/14754625.htm










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Posted on Tue, Jun. 06, 2006



Illegal workers face hardship in Big Easy

RUKMINI CALLIMACHI
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS - Illegal immigrants helping to rebuild this shattered city are working in hazardous conditions without protective gear and earning far less than their legal counterparts, a study says.

Nearly one-third of the illegal immigrants interviewed by researchers reported working with harmful substances and in dangerous conditions, while 19 percent said they were not given any protective equipment, according to the study by professors at Tulane University and the University of California at Berkeley.

Illegal immigrants also were paid significantly less - if at all - earning on average $10 per hour, compared with $16.50 for documented workers, the study said.

"What is fundamentally unfair is these are workers who have responded to a national priority to rebuild this city and yet whose rights are being violated," said Laurel Fletcher, director of Berkeley's International Human Rights Law Clinic and one of the study's co-authors.

Under federal labor law, illegal immigrants are afforded the same health and safety protections as documented workers. And regardless of their legal status, laborers can sue most employers under the Fair Labor Standards Act for violation of the minimum wage law and overtime regulations, according to the researchers.

The U.S. Department of Labor had no immediate comment on the report.

Before last year's hurricane, Louisiana had one of the smallest Hispanic populations in the country - 2.5 percent of residents compared with 12.5 percent nationally.

Census data indicates nearly 100,000 Hispanics moved to the Gulf Coast region following Hurricane Katrina, lured by promises of high wages and plentiful work. It is unclear precisely how many have come to New Orleans, though the study estimates one-quarter of the construction workers in New Orleans are illegal immigrants.

They are now the backbone of the reconstruction, converging at dawn on the city, waiting to be picked up for 14-hour shifts hauling debris, ripping out drywall and nailing walls. Because so many are here illegally, the study says, they are especially vulnerable to exploitation.

To make his point, Alberto Mendoza holds up his lined, calloused hands, proof of the hard and unprotected work he has been performing. "No gloves, no goggles - no nothing," said the 40-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico City.

In his pocket, he keeps a jagged piece of paper inscribed with the word "Pam" and a cell phone number, his only lifeline to the woman who hired him.

"She took me to the house and said: 'Do this. Do that.' Then she left us there. We worked all day. She never came back to pay us," said Mendoza, sitting in a traffic median Monday, waiting for another job.

Twenty-eight percent of illegal immigrants interviewed said they had problems getting their pay, compared with 13 percent of those here legally. More than a third said they were paid less than they were promised, and few said they were paid for more than 40 hours in one week.

While 83 percent of documented workers interviewed by the researchers said they received medical attention when needed, only 38 percent of illegal immigrants did.

Around one-third of illegal immigrants said they understood the hazards of removing asbestos or mold, compared with more than 65 percent of documented laborers.

Some of those waiting for work said they are afraid of complaining.

"It's too dangerous for my body," said 29-year-old Saul Linan, an illegal immigrant from Guanajuato, Mexico. "But I don't say anything. If I do, the boss says, `Hey, if you don't work hard, I'll take you to immigration.'"






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© 2006 AP Wire and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.charlotte.com

Ok, so take the "documented worker" @ $16.50 per hr., take out his taxes...what is his hourly wage then?

As for masks and things, most are expected to provide those themselves.

As for not getting paid.....in my area, we had two different construction companies going down there....they weren't paid either, and returned home.

Also my husband was sent there last year with the guards....he said one construction companies from up North, told him he paid $20,000 of his money just to get his equipment down there, then found he wasn't getting paid either, as well as the illegals taking jobs.

So.....the media sends out the sob stories, wanting everyone to feel sorry for them...when the media isn't covering the stories of American's that weren't paid either.....BUT THEY MUST NOT HAVE COMPLAINED AND WENT TO THE PAPERS AND MEDIA!

Too bad........that's what you get. Afterall.......it's all about the money isn't it? Sell yourself cheap and illegally........well.......there's a price. Like as if the working conditions and pay is so much better at home? That's what we have LAWS for and that's why you should obey them. They may be difficult to abide by in one sense but they cover your butt in others. They are there for a reason. Why is this so hard to understand?

As for masks and things, most are expected to provide those themselves.

As for not getting paid.....in my area, we had two different construction companies going down there....they weren't paid either, and returned home.

Also my husband was sent there last year with the guards....he said one construction companies from up North, told him he paid $20,000 of his money just to get his equipment down there, then found he wasn't getting paid either, as well as the illegals taking jobs.

That's terrible they are doing that to these people. What excuses do they give? I know there was a time when businesses supplied things. Like the masks and uniforms etc. Not any more!! You end up spending your first couple weeks wages for your "special outfits" and all the gear to do the job you were hired for. Can't even deduct alot of it anymore. They must have some pretty corrupt business people down there to do that.

And these "mistreated" illegals just murdered a woman in cold blood in New Orleans.

I don't know who is in control down there....but that guy that spent $20,000 to get his equipment down there, the local officials also told him he would have to license his equipment in Louisiana.....taxes!

He told them NO, and after not getting paid, and the illegals, then this, he just went back North.

No, companies don't seem to be providing much in terms of masks, etc. Where my husband works, he only gets $20 allowance to buy hard toed boots....but guess that's better than nothing.

No, companies don't seem to be providing much in terms of masks, etc. Where my husband works, he only gets $20 allowance to buy hard toed boots....but guess that's better than nothing

Really. It's RARE and I don't even think you can pick up plastic steel toed boots for 20.00. When was the last time they went out shopping? There's hardley compensation for anything that many businesses require. I know for me it's a good month before there's any money for bills after what I'd have to put out for "special outfits".

Illegal workers face hardship in Big Easy


Simple solution..............

GO HOME!

"What is fundamentally unfair is these are workers who have responded to a national priority to rebuild this city and yet whose rights are being violated," said Laurel Fletcher, director of Berkeley's International Human Rights Law Clinic and one of the study's co-authors.

THEIR rights are being violated? What rights? They aren't legal citizens.

Under federal labor law, illegal immigrants are afforded the same health and safety protections as documented workers. And regardless of their legal status, laborers can sue most employers under the Fair Labor Standards Act for violation of the minimum wage law and overtime regulations, according to the researchers.

wait a minute....federal labor law addresses the work conditions of illegal aliens? Assuming this is true, the federal government has condoned employers violating immigration law all along. No wonder hardly any of them have been fined for the practice. This is shocking. I never knew federal labor law actually states how illegal aliens are to be treated by American employers!

Originally Posted by ForFutureGens

Under federal labor law, illegal immigrants are afforded the same health and safety protections as documented workers. And regardless of their legal status, laborers can sue most employers under the Fair Labor Standards Act for violation of the minimum wage law and overtime regulations, according to the researchers.

wait a minute....federal labor law addresses the work conditions of illegal aliens? Assuming this is true, the federal government has condoned employers violating immigration law all along. No wonder hardly any of them have been fined for the practice. This is shocking. I never knew federal labor law actually states how illegal aliens are to be treated by American employers!

Why don't you do a little research on it, ForFuture, and let us know what you're able to verify. Should be very interesting, don't you think?