Posted on 08/06/2010 6:47:30 AM PDT by La Lydia
NEW ORLEANS Soon after the oil from the Deepwater Horizon began gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, business at the Ramada Plaza Beach Resort in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., dried up and so did the jobs of five Mexican housekeepers who were guest workers at the hotel under contracts guaranteeing them work until Nov. 1. On June 30, they told us our jobs were over, and that we had to leave our housing and go back to Mexico, Salvador Luna Espinoza, one of the housekeepers, said in a telephone interview conducted with a translator. Im staying with friends now, but I dont know how long theyll put up with me...
With the help of ( Alliance of Guestworkers for Dignity) Luna Espinoza filed a BP claim for lost wages of $5,498.63, backed up by a letter from Ramada saying that his layoff was due to the oil spill. He has not yet received compensation, though. On July 9, the alliance filed a petition with the Labor Department, asking that it issue a formal policy directing those in the spill zone who employ guest workers to pay all the wages due under the contract, as well as the guest workers fare home... While thousands have lost their jobs as a result of the oil spill, the layoffs present special hardships for guest workers, mostly hotel workers and those working in shellfish processing.
Under their H-2B visas, they are allowed to work only for the employer who arranged their visa, and they must leave the United States within 10 days of losing their job...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
they will stay with no visa’s and become illegals
Since they were legit guest workers, and working under contract, I’d say they are owed their money.
And more to the point, why are we importing foreigners to do this work? There are tons of unemployed Americans who can and should get first dibs on these jobs!
Send the bill to the hotel. They made the guarantee....which I have some doubts about.
They are here legally. They are in the same situation as a US citizen who loses their job. Ramada has a contract. They can pay off the contract and get reimbursed by BP. Either way, BP must pay up............
Let’s read the contract.
With a 9.6 percent unemployment rate, you would think that they could bring workers in from other parts of our country to perform these tasks, instead of foreigners. Our laws and our government give preference to foreigners over American citizens.
Nice to see the Slimes so sympathetic to the American worker. Especially on a day when the unemployment numbers again, unexpectedly were horrible
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The one-term Obama solved all this oil leak problem by telling BP to 'just bring a check.'
Then there is the tip factor, I always leave $2, per night in a motel??
If unemployment American won't work at these places, no unemployment paychecks should be granted???
BP is liable for any damages. As for responsibility for the disaster, that is one individual’s. The man who gave the orders to begin the sequence of events that caused the explosion is responsible. Note that the Left hates individualism, in favor of a group. In this case, BP is the “group” that is demagogued. The investigation will reveal who gave the orders and what his name is. He should be charged with negligent homicide for the deaths of eleven people............
THEY ARE ILLEGALS.
This DOL web page explains basic requirements, employee rights and other information regarding the H2B temp visa which states that early termination requires the employer pay return transportation costs.
OTOH, under the the H2A ag worker temp visa there is a provision called the 3/4 rule that requires the employer to pay the early terminated guest worker 3/4 of the wages the worker would have earned thru the life of the contract.
I’ve never seen a list of those killed and what their jobs were. Is it possible that the list of the dead include the one responsible?............
I have no problem with them being paid what they are entitled to under their contract. They shouldn’t be cheated. I do have a problem with them staying in the US after their employment has ended, and I have a problem with the way H2B is written for several different reasons.
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