US citizens scramble for food aid - 11 Feb 09

The number of unemployed Americans continues to rise and some are now struggling to put food on the table, becoming increasingly dependent on food stamps to help them get by.

Food stamps are a state-subsidised programme that helps people with a low income buy food at lower prices. But for many US citizens it may not be enough to help them weather the economic crisis, as Lucy Keating discovers in the US town of Knoxville in Tennessee.

H2A More vulnerability for Farmworkers.

The long anticipated regulation changes to slash wages and reduce worker protections under the H-2A agricultural guestworker program are out. The changes, proposed by the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were revealed on the DOL website late Monday evening but have not yet been officially published in the Federal Register.
The changes are horrible. At a time when the jobless rate is at a 15 year high, they reduce obligations for growers to effectively recruit U.S. workers before applying to bring in guestworkers for these jobs. They lower the wage rates for all farmworkers by changing the program's wage formula and, in an industry known for labor abuses, they eliminate or reduce government oversight.

This parting gift on behalf of the Bush Administration to our nation's farmworkers is irresponsible and completely unacceptable. The H-2A guestworker program is already rife with abuse. These changes will only make a bad program worse. That's why today, Farmworker Justice is releasing a special report, Litany of Abuses: Why more -not fewer-labor protections are needed in the H-2A program. This report explains the current protections within the program and highlights some recent court cases illustrating the harm caused to both U.S. farmworkers and guestworkers alike. We urge you to take a look at the report then act now to urge Congress to take action to stop the Bush Administration from formally issuing the regulations. There are reasonable alternatives to solve the farm labor crisis that have won bipartisan support. The Bush Administration's harmful changes are completely unnecessary.

These midnight regulations will put farmworkers in this country back more than 60 years. During this holiday season, with so many families facing overwhelming economic burdens, we must think about the people toiling to put food on our tables. They deserve fair wages and decent working conditions. Bush's legacy to farmworkers must be undone.

Want a French Fries and a Plain Hamburger at Burger King?

You be the judge.!!!!!!!!Some workers at Burger King in Greene Country (Ohio) are in big trouble after one of their employees decided to take a bubble bath in the restaurant sink.
They posted a four-minute video on Myspace. The employee in the video describes himself as Mr. Unstable while he sits naked bathing in a large stainless sink while other employees watch.

The video has been circulating over the Internet since yesterday. One of people who saw the video was Green County Health Commissioner, Mark McDonnell. "My first thought was oh my god," said McDonnell.

McDonnell immediately dispatched his staff to the location to investigate the health code violation. He said the restaurant was aware of the incident and had already taken steps to clean up, including disposing of all the utensils and sanitizing the sink twice.

All of the employees involved were fired

Six times for promotion and someone else taking away from me.

Los Angeles, CA: Alice, an African-American, says she was overlooked for promotion on six occasions and believes she was discriminated against—a California Labor Law violation. "Each time I was up for promotion my employer hired young, white males," she says, "and they were much less qualified than me."

Being promised a promotion and then overlooked six times has taken its toll on Alice. Not only has she suffered from anxiety and depression, she has also suffered physically. "I’ve been living with chronic stomach pains and debilitating fatigue," she says, all of which were documented by her physician. And no wonder: for the past two years, Alice has also been harassed and humiliated by co-workers and her manager. When she complained to the HR manager, Alice was told that she might want to consider "finding someplace else to work."

In 2006 Alice was hired as a sales representative for a start up Internet company. "I was the fourth sales rep hired and we had this great, diverse team," says Alice. "It was exciting and I learned a lot; it was a very progressive company."

Fast forward one year. "My boss, who was phenomenal, finally quit. She had so much pressure because she was a lesbian: someone at work Googled her name and pulled up some background information. They found out that she was involved in a lawsuit years ago—she was suing the company for wrongful dismissal and now she was being forced to quit. She was the best boss I ever had and interestingly, the only female in a managerial position—there are about 200 or 250 employees in this company and I think that really says something…

They treated her so badly; she wasn't involved in any decisions and was given more than the cold shoulder. And they brought in a younger white male to replace her—seems like a pattern here because I was treated the same way.

Her quotas were exceeded every month; she did above and beyond what she was asked to do. At this time I was an account manager and ready to be promoted to a higher sales position. When I pursued it, the VP said I should stay in my role for a few months until the new director was acclimated.

So I waited.

The new guy promoted two younger white males ahead of me. Then a third white male was hired: all three had less experience than me and poor performance records. I excelled in my job and there was no reason not to get promoted. In retrospect I am a little naïve because I kept thinking that my turn was coming. Meanwhile, the new director and I were not getting along. I had to change my work hours to suit his schedule and he treated me like his assistant.

I guess it all came to a head when we had a meeting one day and the new director referred to me as 'Mmmhmmm girlfriend,' and snapped his fingers. He was treating me like I was from the ghetto, like a second-class citizen. He doesn't say that to white girls. I went to HR about it and filed a complaint.

A few days later the HR manager called me into his office and said if I was unhappy I should work somewhere else. 'You have a new boss now and I think you are giving him a hard time because you miss J (who quit).' I was so stressed out that I ran to the bathroom and threw up. Plus I was having anxiety attacks. My doctor advised me to leave my job but I thought my doctor didn't understand--the guys on the team still needed me and I wanted to be there for them.

Next morning at 8am, the new director made us chant, 'I am a believer.' It was humiliating, like some tacky evangelist. I'd break out in a sweat; I would freak out having to do this. Everybody else felt like me, nobody wanted to do it.

I couldn't take it anymore. I went to the CRO (corporate revenue officer) and he promised to make some changes but three months go by and no change. Instead, I was ostracized.

A position was posted on the website looking for a sales person. I told the VP I was going to apply but he told me not to—they weren't hiring for another 90 days. I applied anyway. One week later a new rep was hired: wait for it—a young, white male.

Two more males were hired ahead of me. It was a repetitive pattern—the same treatment as J. I filed a complaint with the equal opportunity commission (EOC) which is tied to the civil rights act and I told the VP that I was being overlooked for promotion. I sent the VP an email saying: ' I know you aren't hiring based on experience, Is it because I am a woman?

'We aren't passing you over because you are black,' she replied. I had never even mentioned the color of my skin. She wanted me to rescind the complaint.
And here is another slap in the face: I made the largest monetary deal in the company, ever. They decide to have an award ceremony every month. The guy who brought in $30,000 got a trophy and my deal was $1.7 million. I didn't even get a Timex watch.

It was time for me to go. Since leaving my health has improved, no more nightmares, no night sweats. Even though I haven't found another position yet, my self-esteem is back.
I want them to admit they were wrong. I was the only African-American female not in a subordinate position: this is LA, it's a melting pot. Obviously they had a preference for young white males."

THE PERMANENT LABOR CERTIFICATION PROCESS:




A Broken and Dysfunctional System that Serves Neither American Employers Nor American Workers neither applicants.


THE ISSUE:

Current law requires most employers seeking to permanently employ immigrants to obtain a certification from the Department of Labor (DOL) that there are no U.S. workers able, willing, qualified or available for the position offered to the foreign national before they are granted permanent residence (a "green card"). However, the system developed by DOL to meet this requirement has become inefficient and overly bureaucratic and goes far beyond the original statutory requirement. It neither meets the needs of employers looking to fill a position nor protects the U.S. workforce.

BACKGROUND:

From a single clause in the Immigration and Nationality Act, DOL has created 23 pages of regulations, innumerable policy directives, an entire Technical Assistance Guide, a Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals, a multimillion dollar bureaucracy and a system that is often completely unintelligible to employers. This system mandates a DOL-sponsored, supervised, and detailed recruitment process, separate from and conducted often much later than an employer's own unsuccessful domestic recruitment efforts.

The DOL, not the employer, dictates the appropriate methods of recruitment, the correct description of the job, and the "normal" requirements for the job. DOL also receives and reviews all applications, and decides whether the ultimate selection or rejection of a candidate was acceptable.

The entire process can take two years or longer to complete in some areas of the country. Such an extended period of time requires employers and foreign nationals to put their businesses and lives on hold. Any change in the employer, the job, or the recruitment, requires that the process begin again.

CURRENT STATUS:

All parties involved in the system agree that it is dysfunctional. DOL has tried to "reengineer" the program over the last several years. However, inconsistent direction from policy-makers, and inconsistent implementation in the regions has stymied any effective change. Further, DOL's lack of resources to implement the program has led to unconscionable delays and backlogs in most areas of the country