Indian Immigrants Revolt in Mississippi...........

[ylexot]

As far as housing goes, they were living in dormitories and may not have had their own means of transportation outside of what the company provided. More info needed to draw any conclusion.

I did a quick search for apartments in Pascagoula, Mississippi and found several in the $400-$600 range. $400/month can get you a car. :shrug:

 

[vegmom]

I did a quick search for apartments in Pascagoula, Mississippi and found several in the $400-$600 range. $400/month can get you a car. :shrug:

Driver's licenses?

And with what leftover money would they get security deposits to rent said places if they were paying off a $20,000 debt and $1,000 a month for their current place?

And you are also thinking like an American who knows how our system works. This isn't the first set of immigrants in history to claim to have been duped. Remember the recent to-do over those Russian college students working at local McDonalds?

 

[ylexot]

Driver's licenses?

What about them? Yes, they need them, but they are obtainable. :shrug:

And with what leftover money would they get security deposits to rent said places if they were paying off a $20,000 debt and $1,000 a month for their current place?

Band together. One gets the apartment. The other gets the car. Easy peasy.

And you are also thinking like an American who knows how our system works.

They don't know how the system works, but are seeking a federal investigation

This isn't the first set of immigrants in history to claim to have been duped. Remember the recent to-do over those Russian college students working at local McDonalds?

Never heard of it. :shrug:

 

[vegmom]

What about them? Yes, they need them, but they are obtainable. :shrug:

Band together. One gets the apartment. The other gets the car. Easy peasy.

They don't know how the system works, but are seeking a federal investigation Never heard of it. :shrug:

Do the math: if they are being charged $1,000 a month plus loan repayments in the space of 1 year that would leave the top earners ($18/hr) with less than $6k, not including any taxes they'd have to pay. Did these folks have bank accounts? or were these payments taken out of their wages before they even saw their check?

Asking for a government investigation and protesting? They do that type of think in India- quite often.

 

[This_person]

Do the math: if they are being charged $1,000 a month plus loan repayments in the space of 1 year that would leave the top earners ($18/hr) with less than $6k, not including any taxes they'd have to pay. Did these folks have bank accounts? or were these payments taken out of their wages before they even saw their check?

Asking for a government investigation and protesting? They do that type of think in India- quite often.

My guess is (because of the intentionally few details in the story) that the GROUP of them were charged $1,000/month for the room. Usually, with stories like this, the fewer details there are, the more likely the screwing is significantly less than the impression made.

I do think they jumped ahead. They're here, others trying are not. They may not be here the way they want to be, or thought they'd be, but I'll bet none of them are saying "screw this, let me go back home".

 

[RadioPatrol]

"The workers claim they were defrauded by a Signal International recruiter in India who promised them green cards and permanent residency in the U.S. in exchange for a $20,000 fee. The workers allege that they instead received 10-month work visas, which was only enough time for them to pay off their recruitment fees.

It def sounds fishy ....... they should all be sent back to India, the company investigated and if there was Fraud, the company should be fined, and made to pay restitution to those defrauded ........

Signal called its housing complex "state of the art" and said government inspections have "found that Signal's practices and facilities are fully compliant with the law."

For India or the USA ......... In the Army we had more than 24 to a room, I wonder what the def of small is .......

How many houses have been found in Fairfax Va, that had 50 or more Mexicans living stacked up bunks in all rooms of the house .....

The Mississippi Gulf Coast has faced a severe labor shortage in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and many companies have replenished their workforce with overseas labor brought in under a guest worker plan. Human rights groups, however, charge that many foreign workers have been exploited by their employers.

Where the hell did everyone go that we need to Import Foreigners to work the gulf coast.

:shrug:

The nature of their visas prevented them from working for any other company, leaving the constant threat of deportation hanging over their heads.

They could not have been to pissed off to work there a yr ......... or the conditions that ####ty

although I think a $ 1000 per worker a month for company housing is a bit steep especially given the cost of local housing

 

[vegmom]

http://forums.somd.com/chit-chat/112241-mcdonalds-pf.html

Here's the old thread about the local McDonald's/Immigration debacle

 

[theArtistFormerlyKnownAs]

My guess is (because of the intentionally few details in the story) that the GROUP of them were charged $1,000/month for the room. Usually, with stories like this, the fewer details there are, the more likely the screwing is significantly less than the impression made.

I do think they jumped ahead. They're here, others trying are not. They may not be here the way they want to be, or thought they'd be, but I'll bet none of them are saying "screw this, let me go back home".

Can't be too bad if they are just trying to get restitution...instead of just asking for a ride home

It def sounds fishy ....... they should all be sent back to India, the company investigated and if there was Fraud, the company should be fined, and made to pay restitution to those defrauded ........

I don't think it is fraud...is it? Since when is it a crime to lie? There is a rule to never sign a contract until you read the fine print....so...was their even a contract in place?? What did it say? If these immigrants did not even sign a contract then what sort of case do they have that they should get paid for the BS they encountered? It was a choice :shrug:

 

[vegmom]

My guess is (because of the intentionally few details in the story) that the GROUP of them were charged $1,000/month for the room. Usually, with stories like this, the fewer details there are, the more likely the screwing is significantly less than the impression made.

I do think they jumped ahead. They're here, others trying are not. They may not be here the way they want to be, or thought they'd be, but I'll bet none of them are saying "screw this, let me go back home".

Being here on a work visa does not even put you in line to get a green card. H1Bs are a bit tougher, but the temp work visas they had are a dime a dozen.

 

[vegmom]

Can't be too bad if they are just trying to get restitution...instead of just asking for a ride home



I don't think it is fraud...is it? Since when is it a crime to lie? There is a rule to never sign a contract until you read the fine print....so...was their even a contract in place?? What did it say? If these immigrants did not even sign a contract then what sort of case do they have that they should get paid for the BS they encountered? It was a choice :shrug:

Ever heard the term "bait and switch"? The only reason this is getting media attention is because a group of workers organized together to say "enough". They are not as bad off as others who have been victims of human trafficing, but they have been taken advantage of nonetheless.

I believe they are asking for restitution from those that did the defrauding, not Joe Taxpayer.

Besides- who knows what type of people disreputable companies like this (if that is truely the case) could be bringing in to the country.

 

[RadioPatrol]

Can't be too bad if they are just trying to get restitution...instead of just asking for a ride home



I don't think it is fraud...is it? Since when is it a crime to lie? There is a rule to never sign a contract until you read the fine print....so...was their even a contract in place?? What did it say? If these immigrants did not even sign a contract then what sort of case do they have that they should get paid for the BS they encountered? It was a choice :shrug:

Are you serious ........ lying in a contract makes it fraud Pinhead ..........

and no, there have been no details released about contract or no contract ...... what if anything might have been stipulated ........ it is all just speculation right now

 

[theArtistFormerlyKnownAs]

Are you serious ........ lying in a contract makes it fraud Pinhead ..........

and no, there have been no details released about contract or no contract ...... what if anything might have been stipulated ........ it is all just speculation right now

duh?

I'm saying....

If the company JUST lied (NOT in a contract) to the people...

OR

If the company said one thing, the people believed it and signed a contract that happened to have different conditions in it...then the contract is what matters, not what they were told.



we're agreeing...if there was a contract..all thats in that is what matters...if there was no contract then I don't believe the company is legally held to the orally agreed upon terms, are they?

 

[RadioPatrol]

duh?

I'm saying....

If the company JUST lied (NOT in a contract) to the people...

OR

If the company said one thing, the people believed it and signed a contract that happened to have different conditions in it...then the contract is what matters, not what they were told.


we're agreeing...if there was a contract..all thats in that is what matters...if there was no contract then I don't believe the company is legally held to the orally agreed upon terms, are they?

Yeah probably not ........ it depends on how the State of MS handles Verbal Contracts ......... or Maybe on a federal level since the State Dept. and Labor will probably get involved .........

I believe in MD a verbal agreement is binding .... of course you probably should have witnesses to that as well

 

[chernmax]

Revolt in Mississippi: Indian Workers Claim 'Slave Treatment'

"Rebelling against alleged "slave treatment," some 100 workers recruited from India staged a dramatic protest at a Mississippi shipyard Thursday, claiming they had been tricked into coming to the United States.

The workers, brought from India to work as welders and pipe-fitters at Signal International shipyard in Pascagoula, hurled their hard hats at company gates and demanded a federal investigation."

"The Mississippi Gulf Coast has faced a severe labor shortage in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and many companies have replenished their workforce with overseas labor brought in under a guest worker plan. Human rights groups, however, charge that many foreign workers have been exploited by their employers."

ABC News: Revolt in Mississippi: Indian Workers Claim 'Slave Treatment'

Wait till the Mexicans get a hold of this info...