[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 144 (Wednesday, September 26, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12143-S12145]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SANDERS:
  S. 2094. A bill to increase the wages and benefits of blue collar 
workers by strengthening labor provisions in the H-2B program, to 
provide for labor recruiter accountability, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Increasing 
American Wages and Benefits Act of 2007.
  Since 2000, key economic indicators confirm that the economic 
security of Americans is moving in the wrong direction: nearly 5 
million more Americans are living in poverty; nonelderly household 
income has declined by nearly $2,500; over 3 million manufacturing jobs 
have been lost; and 8.6 million more Americans are without health 
insurance. While the rich have gotten richer, every other income group 
over the past 7 years has lost ground economically, with the middle 
class and working families losing the most.
  The Increasing American Wages and Benefits Act would begin to reverse 
this downward economic trend for workers employed in construction, 
forestry, ski resorts, stone quarries, asphalt paving, hotels, 
restaurants, landscaping, housekeeping and many other industries by 
reforming the H-2B guest-worker program.
  Under current law and existing Federal regulations, employers 
applying for H-2B visas must first certify that capable U.S. workers 
are not available, efforts were made to recruit U.S. workers for these 
positions first, and the employment of guest workers will not adversely 
affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. 
workers.
  As documented by the AFL-CIO, Change to Win, the Southern Poverty Law 
Center and other groups, the H-2B program is frequently used by 
employers to drive down the wages and benefits of U.S. workers, while 
cheating H-2B workers out of earned benefits. These abuses have clearly 
undermined the legislative and regulatory intent of this temporary 
guest-worker program.
  The Increasing American Wages and Benefits Act would reform the H-2B 
program to ensure that workers receive the wages and benefits they 
deserve and prevent employers from abusing the system.
  Specifically, this legislation: requires employers to do a much 
better job at recruiting American workers first at higher wages before 
being able to hire H-2B guest-workers; provides the Department of Labor 
with the explicit authority to enforce labor law violations pertaining 
to the H-2B program; allows workers who have been directly and 
adversely affected by the H-2B program

[[Page S12144]]

to have their day in court against unscrupulous employers; prohibits 
companies that have announced mass lay-offs within the past year from 
hiring H-2B guest-workers. Allows the Legal Services Corporation to 
provide the same legal services to H-2B workers as it provides to H-2A 
workers; requires employers to pay for the transportation expenses for 
H-2B guest workers both to the United States and back to their country 
of origin once the employment period ends; and provides other important 
protections for H-2B guest-workers.

  This legislation improves and strengthens the H-2B program so that it 
can be used by employers during emergency labor shortages, while 
increasing the wages and benefits for both American workers and guest-
workers.
  I am proud that the Increasing American Wages and Benefits Act has 
the strong support of the AFL-CIO; the Service Employees International 
Union, SEIU; the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; the Southern 
Poverty Law Center; the Building and Construction Trades Department; 
the Laborers' International Union of North America; the United Food and 
Commercial Workers; the International Brotherhood of Electrical 
Workers; the Alliance of Forest Workers and Harvesters; the United 
Farmworkers of America; and the Farmworkers Support Committee.
  I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record letters of 
support.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

         American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial 
           Organizations,
                               Washington, DC, September 19, 2007.
     Hon. Bernard Sanders,
     Dirksen Senate Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Sanders: The AFL-CIO strongly supports the 
     ``Increasing American Wages and Benefits Act of 2007,'' which 
     would strengthen necessary labor protections within the H-2B 
     seasonal non-agricultural guest worker program.
       As demonstrated by a recent report issued by the Southern 
     Poverty Law Center, ``Close to Slavery,'' employers and 
     recruiters who seek to import seasonal workers through this 
     program have all too often engaged in questionable tactics 
     and subjected workers to exploitation. This exploitation 
     often goes undetected because the investigative and 
     enforcement mechanisms of the H-2B program are largely non-
     existent.
       Adequate enforcement of labor standards within the H-2B 
     seasonal guest worker program would not only help deter the 
     abuse of an imported foreign workforce, but would also 
     protect the wages and benefits offered to American workers, 
     who are unfairly forced to compete for jobs by employers who 
     appreciate the benefits of filling vacancies with a more 
     vulnerable workforce.
       The suffering of one segment of our workforce has an 
     inevitable and damaging impact on every worker. We must stop 
     unscrupulous employers from padding their profit margins by 
     endangering workers and driving down wages and workplace 
     standards. We applaud your efforts to protect the living 
     standards of all who labor within our borders.
           Sincerely,
                                                   William Samuel,
     Director, Department of Legislation.
                                  ____

                                        Immigrant Justice Project,


                                  Southern Poverty Law Center,

                               Montgomery, AL, September 17, 2007.
     Hon. Bernie Sanders,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Sanders: I write on behalf of the Southern 
     Poverty Law Center in support of the legislation you recently 
     introduced to reform the H-2B guestworker program. The bill, 
     ``The Increasing American Wages and Benefits Act,'' would 
     substantially improve the legal protections available to H-2B 
     workers and to American workers laboring in industries that 
     rely heavily on guestworkers.
       Founded in 1971, the Southern Poverty Law Center is a civil 
     rights organization dedicated to advancing and protecting the 
     rights of minorities, the poor and victims of injustice in 
     significant civil rights and social justice matters. Our 
     Immigrant Justice Project represents low-income immigrant 
     workers in litigation across the Southeast.
       During my legal career, I have represented and spoken with 
     literally thousands of H-2 guestworkers in many states. 
     Currently, the Southern Poverty Law Center is representing 
     workers in seven class action lawsuits on behalf of 
     guestworkers. We have also recently published a report about 
     the H-2 guestworker program in the United States entitled 
     ``Close to Slavery,'' which can be accessed at http://
www.splcenter.org/pdf/static/SPLCguestworker.pdf.
       Our report, which discusses in detail the abuses suffered 
     by guestworkers, is based upon thousands of interviews with 
     workers as well as a review of the research on guestworker 
     programs, scores of legal cases and the experience of legal 
     experts from around the country. As the report reflects, 
     guestworkers are systematically exploited because the very 
     structure of the program places them at the mercy of a single 
     employer and provides no realistic means for workers to 
     exercise the few rights they have.
       The H-2B guestworker program permits U.S. employers to 
     import human beings on a temporary basis from other nations 
     to perform work when the employer certifies that ``qualified 
     persons in the United States are not available and . . . the 
     terms of employment will not adversely affect the wages and 
     working conditions of workers in the U.S. similarly 
     employed.'' Those workers generally cannot bring with them 
     their immediate family members, and their status provides 
     them no route to permanent residency in the United States.
       The program is rife with abuses. The abuses typically start 
     long before the worker has arrived in the United States, with 
     the recruitment process, and they continue through and even 
     after his or her employment here. Unlike U.S. citizens, guest 
     workers do not enjoy the most fundamental protection of a 
     competitive labor market--the ability to change jobs if they 
     are mistreated. If guestworkers complain about abuses, they 
     face deportation, blacklisting or other retaliation.
       Our report documents rampant wage violations, recruitment 
     abuses, seizure of identity documents and squalid living 
     conditions, among other things. H-2B workers simply have very 
     few legal protections under our current law.
       In addition, H-2B workers cannot reasonably enforce the few 
     rights they have under our current system. Providing workers 
     a way to enforce promises made to them by employers and 
     giving them access to legal services attorneys are important 
     steps in helping workers combat abuse and protect their 
     rights.
       In conclusion, current guestworker programs for low-skilled 
     workers in the United States lack adequate worker protections 
     and lack any real means to enforce the protections that do 
     exist under federal law. Vulnerable workers desperately need 
     Congress to take the lead in demanding reform of this system. 
     Passage of this bill would go a long way toward remedying the 
     abuses that vulnerable workers experience in U.S. guestworker 
     programs.
           Sincerely,
                                                       Mary Bauer,
     Director.
                                  ____

                                          United Food & Commercial


                             Workers International Union, CLC,

                               Washington, DC, September 21, 2007.
     Hon. Bernard Sanders,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Sanders: On behalf of the 1.3 million members 
     of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union 
     (UFCW), I am writing to thank you for introducing the 
     ``Increasing American Wages and Benefits Act of 2007.'' UFCW 
     supports this legislation that will improve the legal 
     protections to H-2B seasonal non-agricultural workers.
       It is clear that the current temporary non-immigrant 
     programs have not worked as intended and it is long past the 
     time for reform. UFCW has long advocated for reform of 
     existing guestworker programs. Many employers and recruiters 
     who recruit and hire workers through this program have 
     engaged in questionable tactics, and many of the workers have 
     been subjected to exploitation.
       In addition, we believe that many of these jobs could and 
     would be filled by American workers, especially if the 
     employers offer appropriate wages and working conditions to 
     attract domestic workers. The ``Increasing American Wages and 
     Benefits Act'' will increase the enforcement for the program, 
     deter abuse of guestworkers, and would improve the wages, 
     benefits, and working conditions offered to these workers and 
     all American workers, who are unfairly forced to compete for 
     these jobs.
       UFCW has been a long-time proponent of reforming 
     guestworker programs because, in spite of the theory, the 
     real world impact is that they have created an underclass of 
     workers, have held down wages, discouraged reporting of 
     workplace complaints, and reduced workers' ability to 
     organize and collectively bargain. In addition, the result of 
     the existing programs is that they have engendered 
     discriminatory attitudes toward individuals who are afforded 
     neither full rights nor benefits on the job, nor 
     participation in our society. Our experience is that no 
     matter how many worker protections have been written into 
     temporary worker programs, the approach inherently provides 
     employers with the opportunity to exploit workers and turn 
     permanent jobs into low-wage, no-benefit, and no-future jobs.
       UFCW supports your reform efforts and we look forward to 
     working with you to enact this important legislation.
           Sincerely,
     Michael J. Wilson,
       International Vice President, Director, Legislative and 
     Political Action Department.

[[Page S12145]]

     
                                  ____
                                           Farmworker Justice,

                               Washington, DC, September 19, 2007.
     Re reform of the H-2B Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
     Senator Bernard Sanders,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Sanders: Thank you for introducing the 
     Increasing American Wages and Benefits Act to reform the H-2B 
     guestworker program for seasonal employment Farmworker 
     Justice, a national advocacy and litigation organization for 
     agricultural workers, has had substantial experience helping 
     U.S. and foreign workers affected by the H-2B program as well 
     as the H-2A agricultural guestworker program. Our research 
     and direct experience cause us to conclude that substantial 
     reforms of the program are needed. We support the legislation 
     and hope that Congress enacts it immediately.
       Currently, the H-2B law instructs the Department of Labor 
     to prevent employers that hire H-2B guestworkers based on 
     claimed labor shortages from displacing United States workers 
     and from adversely affecting their wages and working 
     conditions. The law's provisions fail to achieve these 
     objectives. The law also fails to prevent exploitation of 
     foreign citizens who, due to their poverty and the temporary, 
     nonimmigrant status of the H-2B visa, are vulnerable to 
     accepting substandard and often illegal employment 
     conditions. Further, the Department of Labor's policies and 
     actions fail to meet the statutory goals. The H-2B law must 
     be improved and your legislation would do so.
       The need for strong protections in guestworker programs has 
     been demonstrated time and time again, in the hiring of 
     Chinese workers in the 1860's to 1870's, in the employment of 
     Mexican workers in the Bracero guestworker program in the 
     1940's to 1960's, and in the H-2A and H-2B guestworker 
     programs. Many employers find guestworkers advantageous 
     because they usually come from poor countries, where wages 
     are a small fraction of those in the U.S., and often will 
     work at very high productivity rates for significantly lower 
     wages than will U.S. workers. Guestworker programs have 
     displaced U.S. workers and depressed wage rates.
       Your legislation is also important because it would begin a 
     process of regulating the international recruitment of 
     guestworkers by labor contracting firms that are hired by 
     employers in the United States. The guestworker recruitment 
     system often enables the ultimate employers to escape 
     responsibility for the mistreatment of the foreign citizens.
       While we support reform of the H-2B program, we remain 
     skeptical that any guestworker program is consistent with 
     America's economic and democratic freedoms. We are a nation 
     of immigrants, not a nation of guestworkers. In America, 
     workers should have the freedom to switch employers, demand 
     better wages and working conditions, join unions and become 
     citizens with the right to vote. Although reform is one 
     critical step to protect U.S. workers from displacement and 
     wage depression and guestworkers from exploitation, 
     ultimately Congress should consider abolishing the program 
     and replacing it with a system based on a true immigration 
     status for workers who are needed in this country.
       Thank you very much for introducing the Increasing American 
     Wages and Benefits Act.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Bruce Goldstein,
     Excecutive Director.
                                  ____

         Comite de Apoyo a los Transbajadores Agricolas--
           Farmworkers Support Committee,
                                Glassboro, NJ, September 19, 2007.
     Re endorsement for the increasing American Wages and Benefits 
         Act.
     Senator Sanders,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington DC.
       Dear Senator Sanders: CATA--El Comite de Apoyo a los 
     Trabajadores Agricolas, The Farmworker Support Committee, is 
     a grassroots migrant and immigrant worker organization whose 
     mission is to educate and empower workers so they are able to 
     defend their rights.
       We at CATA acknowledge that the H-2B reform bill you have 
     prepared would provide greater protection to workers. Thank 
     you for your support in combating the abuse of current H-2B 
     workers.
       We believe that maintaining equivalent wages between 
     American workers and guestworkers is critical for sustaining 
     appropriate working conditions and preventing the creation of 
     an underclass. We at CATA remain adamant that enforcement of 
     any legislation is key to its effectiveness at protecting 
     workers' rights.
       We at CATA recommend further legislation to address the 
     portability of jobs to eliminate worker vulnerability under 
     the current law. We also insist on developing a mechanism for 
     H-2B workers to achieve permanent residence. Despite not 
     addressing these critical concerns that CATA has, the 
     Increasing American Wages and Benefits Act is a decisive step 
     forward for human rights.
           Sincerely,
                                              Nelson Carrasquillo,
                                               Executive Director.
                                 ______