Blog 4: Immigrant Worker Abuse

Abuse of Immigrant Workers
    Obama and Congress have been trying to give citizenship to undocumented workers and make border security more secure. However, there attempts do not offer concrete solutions for better protection of immigrant workers. These workers are being abused and exploited. Employers are hiring and underpaying them so they can save money by having cheap labor. They lower wages and standards for the workplace for all of their employees. Some employers get their way by threatening to have workers deported and it ensures that they remain silent about working conditions. This misuse of power is harmful to workers who are forced to keep quiet about how bad it is for them. The system that is supposed to employ temporary workers legally is not ideal either and has its share of problems. It is possible that this system might actually make the problem worse. A recent report discussed the commonality of abuse among these worker programs. These programs each have their own regulations/rules with very little in common. The only thing this report said these programs had in common was, "fraud, discrimination, severe economic coercion, retaliation, blacklisting and, in some cases, forced labor, indentured servitude, debt bondage and human trafficking.” Unfortunately, the abuse of these people starts before they even come to the US for work. Workers end up paying recruiters fees so they can start their lives and because of these payments they start their lives in very bad debt. Because of their inability to get away from employees who are abusive or legal systems access, they remain quiet and continue working. If one should speak out they are fired, deported, threatened, or blacklisted. They do not have the option (very often) to complain about conditions, sue, or be given their right to take time off and overtime. This report concluded with a discussion of the importance of programs that "ensure workers' rights." There are also benefits for American workers if immigrant workers can exercise their rights to work together to put a stop to abusive employers.
    This is a prevailing problem globally. Employers continue to take advantage of immigrant workers in many ways. In order to have cheap labor they force workers to work in bad conditions, without rights, and with terrible pay. This is bad for both immigrant workers and American workers. Immigrants have to work in terrible conditions with barely anything to show for it. American workers then have a harder time getting jobs because employers are hiring others for cheap labor. These employers need to be held responsible for their unethical use of power and unfair treatment of workers. This is one of the ways that the rich continue to get richer while the poor continue to get poorer. Forcing people to work in terrible conditions for hardly any pay (and threats for speaking out) are all violations of human rights. They do not work in safe environments, are not given enough income to survive on, work long hours, and live in fear of their employers. No human being should be subjected to this. All individuals should be able to earn a reasonable income in a good environment. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/21/opinion/immigration-reform-and-workers-rights.html

Molly Winfree
2/22/13
3:01 pm