Migrant workers finally getting paid

I haven't mentioned it before (though jobsanger has), but I love the Southern Poverty Law Center. The wonderful people in this organization work tirelessly to help those who need it the most, in this case, forestry workers who were cheated out of money they had earned by their employers.

These workers, here as part of the HB-2 "guest worker" program, "were paid less than minimum wage, didn't receive overtime pay and worked upward of 70 hours a week planting trees."

"The abuses were not limited to violations of federal wage and hour laws. The company also threatened workers in an attempt to intimidate them into withdrawing from the suit, which was given class-action certification in February."

Some of these workers had to pay several thousand dollars to secure these jobs to begin with. This is sickening. How do their employers sleep at night?

As many as 300 migrant workers will now (once the court approves it) receive a settlement of $200,000, after getting help from the SPLC's Immigrant Justice Project. The SPLC will not keep one penny of this money (they work entirely off of donations, never keeping money from settlements won in the cases they take on - another reason I love this organization).

I'm happy to see these workers finally get some justice. As someone who makes only pennies above this country's pitiful minimum wage, I understand how hard it can be to get the bills paid. I can't possibly imagine what it feels like to be cheated out of money earned in a foreign land, where I'd be a lot less likely to know that country's wage laws. I'm glad that these workers found help in such an admirable organization.

SPLC, I raise my glass to you! Cheers!