In response to protests by foreign students exploited in a factory subcontracted by the Hershey Company and advocacy by the AFL-CIO and our allies, this week U.S. State Department announced that it will make major revisions to a guest-worker and cultural exchange visa program and barred participation by a major player in the program, the Council for Educational Travel, USA (CETUSA).
I hope this sends a clear message to other recruiters like CETUSA, that we will not be your captive workers.
As we reported last summer, students recruited for a cultural exchange program found themselves instead all but indentured to a factory in Palmyra, Penn., where they were made to perform dangerous work loading Hershey products with no safety protection for less than the minimum wage. In addition, the students stayed in housing provided by the Hershey contractor, for which it overcharged. Rents were deducted from the students' pay.
The 99 percent won over the 1 percent Republican leaders in the House when lawmakers finally decided to extend unemployment insurance for a brief period for America's jobless workers. But with more than 4 jobless workers for every one available job, America's jobs crisis continues.
Text WORK to AFLCIO (235246) to get action alerts.
CORPORATE $$$FLOODING POLITICS
Two years ago, the Supreme Court undermined our democracy when it struck down restrictions on independent campaign spending by corporations and their supporters. Says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka: “The Citizens United ruling further tilted the playing field in favor of the 1% and against the 99%.
