Justice at last for Indian workers 'treated like pigs' by US company?

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Hindustan Times

Justice at last for Indian workers 'treated like pigs' by US company?
Yashwant Raj, Hindustan Times
Washington, April 23, 2011

US authorities are taking action against a marine fabrication company three years after it was found to be mistreating around 500 guest workers from India, forcing them to live in cramped, fenced-off trailers near its plant in Mississippi. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EECO) filed a suit against Signal International on Wednesday saying it "violated federal law by subjecting a class of approximately 500 Indian employees to human labour trafficking and a hostile work environment".

The commission said Signal subjected "the Indian employees as a class to abuse based on national origin (Indian) and/or race (Asian)".

It listed out what it meant.

· Indian employees lived in modular trailers called "man camps," enclosed by fences, built for the Indian employees.
· Indian employees were charged more than $30 daily for housing and food.
· Worse, the commission that the employees were each assigned a number and "used these numbers as a form of identification and reference rather than using the employee's name".



Read more: http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/americas/Justice-at-last-for-Indian-workers-treated-like-pigs-by-US-company/Article1-688639.aspx

[AtheistCrusader]

1. Scumbags.

http://www.manta.com/c/mm3jhky/signal-international

[Incitatus]

2. They help build ships for defense contractor Northrop Grumman.

Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding - LPD 22 and 23

Client:
Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding
Scope:
Fabricating 187 ship modules, approximately 60% of the total ship

The project entailed fabrication, outfitting, painting, shrink wrap and loadout of the units. Signal outfitted the units with pipe, HVAC and electrical. Piping system was composed of carbon steel, titanium, copper-nickel and stainless steel. Units ranged from single-level units weighing up to 8 short tons to multilevel units approximately 45 feet in height and weighing up to 204 short tons. Most units were fabricated under roof and out of the weather elements.
Challenges:
Extremely tight tolerances, as small as 5 millimeters across the entire width of the ship. Material used was very light structure thickness.
Duration:
36 months
Facility:
Orange Yard (Texas) and Pascagoula (Miss.) East Yard
Details:
Large indoor fabrication facilities provided efficient and productive work environment. Implementation of Continuous Flow Manufacturing supported project success. Signal's expert craftsmen performed within the tight dimensional specifications for hull and steel outfitting set forth in US MIL-SPEC Standards.
Value:
$237 million

http://www.signalint.com/about/case_studies/us_navy_ship_lpd_modules

[Citizen Worker]

3. This is but one example of why Unions are so important. I thought we fought a war about 150 years

ago to end slavery? It looks like the south did win the war after all.

[Incitatus]

4. This happens a lot with other companies, to a lesser extent.

Companies will help them get visas to come here and work. They will accept lower wages and more abuse because they don't have much of a choice.

[kywildcat]

7. ah no-the do not experience 'more abuse'

here. Indian culture is steeped in corruption and abuse. Women and children hold no value, their standard of living is horrific in their own country. Many come here and experience an incredible shock in what Americans waste and the space and rights they take for granted. Getting or keeping a job, let alone daily services in their own country involves bribes-bribes that are widely expected and add to the cost of living for the very poorest. I find it hard to have sympathy frankly-I think they should work a little harder to clean up their own country before they come here and bitch about ours. But as long as companies send 10k's of jobs there and do not demand progess or changes, then it will continue to be.

If you question the level of corruption in India-google the 5th Pillar.

[Incitatus]

13. I don't question corruption in India and I do not mean they accept more abuse than in their country

They accept more abuse than American workers. That is one reason companies will rather recruit them than hire Americans to do the same job.

[fasttense]

5. Just another abusive consequence of "free" trade and globalization. n/t

[ElsewheresDaughter]

6. Reading this all I could think of were the labor camps in The Grapes of Wrath

[trud]

8. they're taking US workers' jobs

If they don't like being treated that way, let them go home.

[Trajan]

9. Egads ...

Your's is a pig headed response ...

The problem has NOTHING to do with their alien status, per se .... It has to do with an AMERICAN corporation imposing EXTREME workplace rules - rules that have been declared illegal in most states of the union - on a people who were essentially acquired from India to be exploited here ....

NO American workers WOULD or SHOULD be treated in this manner, and the same applies to those workers who come here from other countries.

They are workers; working in the United States, where labor laws do still exist .... Employers need to be held to minimum standards ....

US companies hired them ... They didn't 'take US workers jobs' .... They were brought here by an exploiting employer for the purpose of placing them in American jobs ...

That isn't their fault ....

[Gormy Cuss]

11. No, their employer gave them American jobs

because the company knew that they could get away with this abusive treatment of foreign nationals. Americans would've told them to go screw.

[Incitatus]

14. Exactly!

This poster is misdirecting their anger.

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. If this marine company were forced to raise the level of humane treatment,

would it no longer consider hiring Indian guests cost effective and begin hiring Americans?

[madokie]

12. John Pickle Company was busted for this several years ago

They were an oil industry parts manufacturer in Tulsa Ok. They no longer exist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Pickle_Company

Scumbags comes to mind. They not only lied to these guys but enslaved them, some for years best I remember

[fliersky]

15. No Justice Either Way

My company has outsourced much of its IT workforce to India. 
My California co-worker will be let go shortly and is being
replaced permanently with someone flying in on a work visa
from India.  Did I say permanently.  Since India workers get
paid pennies on the dollar versus American workers, I don't
understand how this could be legal and also given the minimum
wage.  Why aren't our lawmakers putting a stop to these sweat
shop labor practices?  If this is allowed in California with
their strict labor laws, it can happen in any state.  I'm not
holding my breath before finding Chinese sweat labor camps
setup on American soil and even longer unemployment lines for
Americans.  

[bobthedrummer]

16. Welcome to DU fliersky-consider the level of corruption and the reduction of competition...

consider the myth of global free markets and the reality of 21st century feudal empires...