Do you know what is the reality now, whatever we did for our dignity in the US. it is right….but New Orleans workers Center is making money in our name. They collected a huge amount from the public and govt grants in our name. and spent nothing for us. They purchase a big office building with the money they collected from the public in our name. When we asked for the account details,New Orleans Workers Center fueled in between the Indian Workers to fight each other. Blamed their Leaders. Later Our Legal Team expelled New Orleans Worker Center and its Greedy lawyer from our Federal Court Case. New Orleans Workers Center disclosed the confidential court details to the media without our permission. Collected Huge attorney fee for filing our T visa (dependent) application. realize the real frauds…New Orleans Workers Center. Do a research on this too.Thanks.Sabulal

======================== Mike
Mississippi Treatment Centers

“Indeed, as to many of the workers who had signed green card contracts, the contracts had been signed before Signal even began the process of seeking foreign workers. All Signal knew was that it was told it was lawfully getting workers into this country on H-2B temporary visas.”

The guilty party seems to be Michael Pol, president of defendant Global Resources, Inc. who approached Signal, with a proposal to provide the skilled labor needed by Signal, from lawful foreign sources.

“As time passed, some of the foreign workers began to leave Signal, apparently for a variety of reasons. Most of the workers who left Signal absconded, i.e., they left Signal but did not thereupon return to India, in violation of the terms of their H-2B status. Apparently some left because of the cross claim defendants’ failure to provide them with the promised employment based green cards. Others apparently left because they had no intention of honoring the terms of their H-2B visas to start with, having come into the country on false pretenses. And others left because cross claim defendant Burnett, despite his duty of loyalty to his client Signal, was seeking employment-based green cards for some of the workers under the sponsorship of a different client of his (in concert with the other cross claim defendants and third party defendant); these workers left Signal when they had to go to work for the sponsor/client in order to obtain their employment-based green cards. Other workers were told, by parties other than Signal, that if they left Signal they could obtain green cards without pursuing the employment based process, or by claiming that they were victims of trafficking. Most of the reasons that the workers left Signal prior to the expiration of their H-2B visas with Signal were the result of the wrongdoings and broken promises of the other cross claim defendants.”

Thanks Taz, for the post.

And their story is great.

I’m sure this has been referenced before but This American Life did an interesting story about this issue. Here is the synopsis from the show. This one is centered on a businessman John Pickle (great name):

sunil, thanks for putting that link up — this is one of my favorite TAL broadcasts. i really recommend it.

Link to the TAL site where you can listen to the episode for free: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1220 (click the “full episode” link)

With respect to the s/he said issue, the numbers check out — $35/day, over a month, is over $1000 (sans February), as the workers described. With respect to the conditions of the housing, I, like Salil, tend to believe the little guy.

I think this whole issue underscores the various serious areas for abuse in the guestworker program. By bringing attention to this issue, these folks are illustrating the very real harm that a misguided policy, coupled with poor enforcement, exacts on folks.

Inv, I’m not surprised the ambassador refused to face (or advocate for) these workers. We see similar trends for guestworkers in other countries, especially in countries that receive a large amount of these workers’ wages back in remittances.