Temp workers face harsh conditions in flood cleanup

By Fred Love
Lee Newspapers

DES MOINES n Some temporary workers sent to the Cedar Rapids area to help with flood cleanup have faced deplorable working conditions and abuse from their employers, Christian leaders said today.

A panel of clergy and church leaders said during a telephone conference call that groups of workers slept under and on the buses that brought them to the area until employers found hotels and apartments for them.

The Rev. Catherine Quehl-Engel, chaplain of Cornell College in Mount Vernon, said around 30 workers were left on a bus for 14 hours without food.

Quehl-Engel said employers gave some of the workers debit cards worth $15 a day to cover food and expenses, but the cards didn’t work for several days.

“I am appalled by the mistreatment of these workers,â€