Opinion: Immigrants’ hunger strike ends
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
After four weeks without food, Indian guest workers ended their strike on Wednesday (we blogged about it at the start).
The workers, who came to the U.S. on H-2B visas, had alleged poor working conditions and false promises of residency. They end their strike without a resolution to their demands -- it’s unclear whether they’ll be allowed to remain in the U.S. while the Justice Department investigates and while allies in Congress (including a trio of California representatives) try to help them. The Times’ Nicole Gaouette explains why the visa holders don’t have more protection:
The Labor Department monitors how employers hire and house farm workers, but Congress gave it no direct authority to supervise H-2B visa holders. The Department of Homeland Security watches over the immigration aspects of the H-2B program, but ‘it’s not our job to check whether they have overcrowded living situations or health situations,’ said spokeswoman Sharon Rummery.Lawmakers who support the Indian laborers complain that H-2B visa holders do not get protections given to foreign farm workers, who carry an H-2A visa. Those workers get free housing and workers’ compensation benefits, must be reimbursed for the cost of travel after working a specified number of hours and must receive at least 75% of the payment promised in their contract. They also are eligible for federally funded legal services.None of those protections apply to H-2B workers.
Justice Department reps plan to meet with the workers next week.
*Quick update: I asked Kevin R. Johnson of the UC Davis School of Law (he blogs here) about the discrepancy between H-2B and H-2A visa holder protections. He responded by email, ‘There is no good reason in my view for the differential protections. Sorry but Congress responds to the lobbyists on this kind of thing.’ (I imagine that H-2B visa holders, scattered through various industries, don’t have the unified voice of agricultural workers.)