Posted on 05/03/2010 2:30:22 PM PDT by Mila
On Sunday, U.S. District Court Judge Ginger Berrigan prevented oil giant BP from having ad hoc local workers sign agreements releasing the company from any liability in the cleanup efforts.
Shrimpers, oyster harvesters and others who work on the water, concerned about protecting their livelihoods, have asked BP to hire them as daily contractors to fight the spill from the company’s Deepwater Horizon operation.
When fisherman George Barasich learned that BP was “forcing” the workers to sign away certain rights and absolve the oil company of liability, he went to court.
“Several hundred” fishers, many non-English speaking Vietnamese, signed the BP contracts that also imposed strict confidentiality rules on the workers, said Val Exnicios, a lawyer representing fishers in Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes.
“They didn’t know what the hell they were signing,” Exnicios said in an interview. “They know these bayous and inlets better than anybody, so BP hired them but said they had to sign these contracts that release us from any liability past, present and future and also absolute confidentiality, meaning they couldn’t talk to anybody about anything they saw while out there doing the clean up.”
(Excerpt) Read more at thelensnola.org ...
Hate to agree with 0bama, but its BP’s mess and they should pay for cleaning it up. These agreements sound like BS CYA.
They’ll just have to hire boats from other countries instead.
As I recall, the cleanup for the Valdez did more harm than good.
Then don’t sign the agreement and don’t get hired.
Workers or Illegals? Just curious, non-English speaking low wage workers always sets off alarm bells. Of course, we can’t ask this question though...
I thought the whole reason to sue, and it’s a legit reason, is because BP ruined they’re livelyhood and took money from them. By hiring the fishermen, the fishermen don’t lose any money and haven’t really suffered any damages, they just aren’t making money fishing.
That area is pristine now and had no longterm effect on the environment.
Workers, these immigrants are Vietnamese.
There are over 160,000 illegal immigrants that are Vietnamese.
You make too much sense, and it was the same thing I was thinking. Sounds like entitlement mentality creeping in.
area is pristine now
You sure about that? Maybe we visited different LA. Oyster beds long contaminated with sewage, just to mention one item.
I was talking about Alaska, where the valdez crashed. It will take time but LA will be in pristine condition again someday.
MAy not be legal anyway, these guy MUST have a 40 hr HAZWOPR (http://www.osha.gov/html/faq-hazwoper.html) BEFORE they start working around crude.
Crude oil is very dangerous stuff, very easy to get hurt or sick.
Disgusting if BP is using these folks w/o proper training and w/o proper PPE.
A felony, in fact.
The real question WWJJ....What would Judge Judy have done?
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