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Guest Worker Settlement Could Affect Landscapers10-22-08 | News

Guest Worker Settlement Could Affect Landscapers

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In October a major settlement was awarded to Hispanic guest workers in a ruling that could alter the US immigration debate, have a major impact on the landscaping industry and potentially offer new jobs to Americans.

An Atlanta federal judge ruled that 3,000 pineros, the ?EUR??,,????'?????<

The rulings offer troubling insights into how US industries, especially in the South, exploit foreign guest workers under the loosely regulated H-2B visa program.

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The Federal District Judge Clarence Cooper ruled that the CEO of one of the largest labor contractors, Eller & Sons of Franklin, Ga., is personally liable for breaking contracts with workers by paying them lower wages than promised and charging them for long van transportation from rundown motels to the far-flung forests where they work.

The ruling, which could cost Eller & Sons $5 million in back wages, could present a major problem for both the forest and landscaping industries. For one, the workers have set new standards for productivity. American workers used to plant 800 trees a day. The Guatemalan workers often plant 2,500, sometimes 4,000, trees a day. Meanwhile, they make about half what the American workers did even in the 1990s.

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Source: csmonitor.com.