See our Year At a Glance, a summary of our accomplishments for 2007, 2008, and 2009.
Leopoldo’s’s Story: In 2006, with a guestworker visa in hand, Leopoldo boarded a plane to North Carolina, where he believed he had secured a high-wage job planting pine trees for a U.S. company. Upon his arrival, however, the contractor forced Leopoldo and fellow workers into a van and drove them to the northeast. The contractor confiscated his passport and warned him not to leave the hovel-like apartment. Not knowing where to turn, Leopoldo was forced to work for paltry wages well under what was promised before he left Guatemala. At his wit’s end, he begged the employer to let him return to Guatemala. Once home, he contacted Global Workers for help. Within 48 hours, Global Workers assembled a top-level legal team, and facilitated the liberation of the remaining workers. Ultimately, the trafficked workers recovered a significant monetary victory and secured visas to remain in the United States permanently.
To read more about this story, click here for Nina Bernstein's New York Times article, "Suit to Charge That Nursery Mistreated Laborers", from February 8, 2007.
Eric’s Story: While in the United States working as a landscaper with the H-2 guestworker program in 2006, Eric suffered a debilitating knee injury. After various delays, the company eventually complied with the law and provided him medical care. When Eric’s visa expired he followed the law and went home. Once back in Guatemala the insurance company refused to provide him continuing coverage. Eric was barley able to sustain his family with a poor paying construction job that only worsened his condition. Then Eric found Global Workers and things dramatically changed. Global Workers secured medical care, and placed the case with a law school clinic. Legally, workers compensation coverage does not end when a worker migrates beyond state borders. Especially for H-2 guestworkers, it is urgent to establish the precedent that they are not punished for complying with the law while their employers evade it.
Global Workers Justice Alliance. 789 Washington Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11238