SPLC Fights for Guestworker Teachers Defrauded in International Labor Trafficking Scheme

[Starry Messenger]

http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/splc-fights-for-guestworker-teachers-defrauded-in-international-labor-trafficking?ondntsrc=MBQ100870FTQ&newsletter=newsgen-20100805

Hundreds of Filipino guestworkers lured to teach in Louisiana public schools were cheated out of tens of thousands of dollars and forced into exploitative contracts by an international trafficking ring run by labor contractors, according to a class action lawsuit filed today by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and Covington & Burling LLP.

The federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of more than 350 Filipino teachers working in Louisiana under the federal H-1B guestworker program. It accuses officials of two labor contractors – Universal Placement International, based in Los Angeles, and its sister organization, Manila-based PARS International Placement Agency – of human trafficking, racketeering and fraud. The suit also names the East Baton Rouge Public School System, several school district officials and a California lawyer, Robert Silverman, based on their roles in the fraudulent trafficking scheme.

"The outrageous conduct by the companies that recruited these teachers and those who assisted them in carrying out their scheme is part of a larger pattern of exploitation that we've documented in guestworker programs," said SPLC Legal Director Mary Bauer, author of the 2007 report Close to Slavery: Guestworker Programs in the United States. "It's clear that the very structure of the program lends itself to pervasive worker abuse. Guestworker programs should not be the model for immigration reform."

<snip>

Public schools across America are increasingly turning to the H-1B guestworker program to fill teaching positions. According to a recent report by the AFT, the number of overseas teachers brought to the United States increased by nearly 30 percent between 2002 and 2006, from 14,943 to 19,393. The five states with the most overseas teachers are Texas, New York, California, Maryland and Louisiana, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

<snip>

Nearly all the teachers had to borrow money to pay the recruiting fees; the recruiters referred them to private lenders who charged 3 to 5 percent interest per month. Teachers were forced to pay these exorbitant fees because they had already made substantial financial investments that would not be returned and because the recruiters confiscated their passports and visas until they paid. The teachers were also forced to sign away an additional 10 percent of the salaries they would earn during their second year of teaching. Teachers who resisted signing the contracts were threatened with being sent home and losing the thousands they had already paid. The recruiters also charged fees for arranging substandard housing and threatened teachers who complained or sought to move to a new location.

[Catshrink]

1. First they came for the IT workers...

then they came for the nurses....

then they came for the teachers...

[sandnsea]

2. all guestworker programs suck

Whether it's teachers or apple pickers in Wenatchee.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. We had a group of Filipino teachers here

Maybe 10 years ago?

The district gave them housing. Not sure what they were paid. But it sure didn't smell right at the time.

[Starry Messenger]

4. Randi's statement is interesting

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/04/25/10/pinoy-teachers-louisiana-knew-what-they-were-getting

I'm glad the union is taking this on. The only way to really cut down on this kind of crap is to make sure a third party can't rake off huge profits from selling jobs here. It sounds like the lawsuit is going after the school too. There have to be teachers who could fill these jobs without having to outsource.

Union: decision a warning vs abusive recruiters

But Randi Weingarten, AFT president, clearly signaled they will continue supporting the Filipino teachers.

“This decision is a victory for teachers and for fundamental human rights. We applaud the Filipino teachers themselves, who showed great courage in asserting their rights, banding together and challenging a company that sought to oppress them through fraud, threats and intimidation,” she averred.

“We also applaud the Louisiana Federation of Teachers and our local affiliates in Louisiana, who stood with – and stood up for – these teachers. The decision should give pause to other companies who would consider exploiting teachers or other workers,” Weingarten stressed.

She acknowledged the administrative court decision was just the start of a possibly protracted legal battle with UPI.

“With this first legal hurdle cleared, we are thrilled that the teachers can focus all their attention on what they love and what they are good at – teaching students,” the AFT chief added.

Fines, jail or both

The Louisiana labor tribunal ordered UPI to refund at least $1.8 million in “marketing fees” collected from the teachers.

The Filipino teachers allegedly paid at least $15,000 each to UPI and PARS. But in the court filings, it was estimated the teachers paid $5,000 each in “marketing fees.”

Judge Shelley Dick ordered UPI to refund the “placement fees” but did not put a precise dollar amount. “Scrutiny of these fees is not within the regulatory authority of this Commission,” the magistrate declared.

UPI was also directed to pay litigation expenses and a $500 fine for operating without a license in Louisiana.

The recruitment agency could face criminal prosecution (a misdemeanor punishable by a fine or 6 months imprisonment, or both) for operating without a license, and a possible federal indictment for compelling teachers to pay for their visa processing fees.

As the case grinds through the US justice system, the controversy merely highlights the travails of Filipino teachers who, put off by the lack of opportunities back home, are ready to live by the knife’s edge just to get a slice of the “American dream.”

[Hannah Bell]

6. sounds like randi doesn't care if they hire h1b's as long as they don't cheat them.

they laid off hundreds of teachers in new orleans & then hired filipinos?

wtf?

[Starry Messenger]

7. If I had any faith in Randi

I'd say she was allowing the union to shelter h1b workers in a spirit of international worker's rights. But...I don't. I wonder how this program got to the point it did without ringing any alarm bells before the Filipino teachers reported the crap they were being subjected to. I bet it would have stayed hush-hush if no one had complained.

New Orleans used a lot of contract foreign labor in the wake of Katrina. I'm sure it wasn't just the school privitizers who saw a golden opportunity to make a profit. Is there anything the neoliberals didn't wither with their touch after the hurricane??

[mzteris]

9. "privatizers"?

It's the East Baton Rouge Public School System - - - they do have three charter schools in their district - two elementary serving 298 students total, and an apprenticeship program school... somehow I don't think it was the "privatizers" who're the guilty parties here.

[Hannah Bell]

5. we need filipino teachers because we don't have enough in the US. lol.

what a corrupt fraud education deform is.

[tt_chatter]

8. ...

interesting...