Slaves, Sharecroppers, Now Immigrants

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/02/16/slaves-sharecroppers-now-immigrants/

by Tula Connell, Feb 16, 2008

This is a cross post from the Firedoglake blog.

There are many reasons economic immigrants come to this nation—driven out of their home countries by bad trade deals that fail to consider the impact on workers or because they are fleeing unfettered corporate greed that seeks out impoverished nations to pay the lowest possible wages. Last week in this spot, I took a look at why border crossings start in the boardroom.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-sun_guest1111nov11,0,2104357.story


Once in the United States, immigrants are ripe for employer exploitation—and many U.S. employers don’t hesitate to do so.

In the past several years, nine farm workers died working the tobacco fields of North Carolina. Thousands more suffer work-related sicknesses from heat and chemicals from the tobacco, according to the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC). Last fall, hundreds of tobacco workers rallied at the headquarters of tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds to demand safer working conditions and fair treatment.

This week, a six-part series in the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer describes the horrifying conditions of poultry workers, most of whom are immigrants. Reporters spent 22 months investigating the House of Raeford chicken and turkey processing plant and found the workers must endure long hours, painful injuries and are denied medical care.

Day after day, poultry workers are cut by knives, burned by chemicals or hurt by repetitive work, according to dozens of injury logs compiled by plants across the South.

Because many workers are illegal immigrants and can’t afford private care, their health rests largely with company medical workers.

Those in-house attendants are supposed to help workers heal. Instead, some have prevented workers from receiving medical care that would cost the company money, an Observer investigation has found. And in some instances, the treatments they provide can do more harm than good.

A 2005 AFL-CIO report found that the share of fatal occupational injuries for foreign-born workers increased by 43 percent between 1996 and 2000, even though employment for that group increased by 22 percent. Less than one-third of the costs of occupational illnesses and injuries are paid for by employer-funded workers’ compensation—with taxpayers picking up nearly 20 percent of the tab through Medicaid and Medicare. Injured workers and their families pay the largest share, according to Immigrant Workers at Risk: The Urgent Need for Improved Workplace Safety and Health Policies and Programs.

FULL story at link.