Editorial: Marine Work Environment Coming Under Fire

It was reported by ABC on March 7 that more than 100 workers recruited and brought to the United States from India by Signal Corporation, Pascagoula, Miss., rebelled against what they called “slave treatment” and staged a protest at the Mississippi shipyard. The workers charge that the company’s recruiter in India promised them green cards and permanent U.S. residency in exchange for fees ranging up to $20,000.

On Monday of the following week, it was reported that more than 500 workers had filed a class-action anti-racketeering suit against Signal International and various recruiters, including a New Orleans attorney. The workers’ complaint alleges that some 500 Indian welders and pipefitters were brought to the Gulf Coast to work for Signal, a Northrup Grumman subcontractor. They said they did not get the green cards and were given 10-month guest-worker visas instead. The 10-month time was just enough to pay off their recruitment fees.

The activity, they said, began in 2006 when recruiters in New Orleans and Bombay, together with Signal, took advantage of the labor shortage following Hurricane Katrina to create “a trafficking racket” with the guest worker program. Workers said they were forced to live in substandard housing, 24 men per small room, and charged $1,000 a month for company housing.

According to reports, the workers have reported their circumstances to the U.S. Department of Justice and have asked that Signal International be prosecuted. The Indian press has reported the incident.

Now for the rest of the story:

Signal has denied the allegations. A company statement said that a few workers sponsored by Signal for H2B visas and recruited “have made baseless and unfounded allegations against Signal concerning their employment and living conditions at Signal.” The company said its housing is state-of-the-art and found during government inspections to be “fully compliant with the law.”

Despite the workers’ claims and Signal’s denial, the class-action suit apparently has been filed and the perception is that a great wrong has been committed. It is not the first nor the last in a series of complaints related to the guest worker programs.

In the wake of Katrina, it was reported that many shipyard workers along the Gulf abandoned their jobs to take advantage of debris-cleanup jobs offered under the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) programs. At that time, immigrant workers were being brought to Gulf yards from Mexico and from Florida. Those arrangements were reported as being not too pure either, as far as workers were concerned. Mishandling of contracts was a common focus, with some companies skimming off huge profits, and then subcontracting work to smaller and less-capable companies. A most recent complaint involved trailers in which hurricane victims have lived; they were found to contain formaldehyde at unacceptable levels. The trailers were built by smaller companies, which got the nod after larger contractors couldn’t get all of the materials they needed.

Many conditions necessary to make the marine industry healthy exist today. Container-on-barge activity is gradually expanding. Reports are that there is a shortage of barges for transporting ethanol. Shipyard activity seems to be booming. Vessel construction seems to be progressing at a healthy clip.

Why then are various firms unable to fill the jobs with Americans? One can accept the notion that not enough trained workers are available. In that case, bringing in guest workers is permissable under the law. One can also conclude that it is a battle for a lower bottom line, and that many companies are hiring foreign labor cheaper than they could hire American workers. Ironically, both notions might be correct.

Many companies—far too many, we think—outsource business to India and other countries, thus lowering labor costs and depriving Americans of jobs. Many retailers have switched almost entirely to buying foreign imports to reduce costs. Trying to find Made-in-USA items in many stores is virtually impossible.

One reason is today’s competitive climate. A firm that faces competition from other area firms that import products or have cheaper local sources must do something to eliminate its disadvantage. In the long run, wages go down across the board and more and more foreign workers find their way to American soil. The United States cannot survive as a nation that only tries to provide technological services to the world. Too many other countries are good at it.

We will hear more in coming days about the guest-worker charges being made against Signal. But the U.S. Congress should spend time on legislation to level the playing field for American companies so they can compete against free-trade arrangements and guest-worker programs that put them at a disadvantage. It is a Catch-22 situation. People with low-paying jobs or out of work entirely must rely on cheaper goods to survive.

The U.S. marine industry has continuing challenges as it is with the imposition of unnecessary regulations from the Coast Guard and the department of Homeland Security. It certainly does not need scandal.

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