A Cultural Exchange Program or a Ticket to Sweatshop Labor in the US?

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.civilbeat.com/2015/04/a-cultural-exchange-program-or-a-ticket-to-sweatshop-labor/

APRIL 7, 2015·By RUI KANEYA

A Japanese woman's poor working conditions as a Waikiki pastry chef illustrate the dark side of a visa program that brings thousands of temporary foreign workers to Hawaii each year.

It didn’t take long for the 30-year-old Japanese pastry chef to realize that she was getting the raw end of the deal.

She had arrived in Hawaii only days before, lured by a promise of pastry training as part of a cultural exchange program run by the U.S. State Department. The terms of her stay, under a visa known as J-1, were to spend the next 18 months working in the kitchen of a Waikiki restaurant — six days a week on 8-hour shifts beginning at 6:30 a.m.

But she found herself toiling inside the kitchen in a shift that began at 5:30 a.m. and stretched to 12 hours — without any breaks or overtime pay.

FULL story at link.



In 2012, a Japanese pastry chef arrived in Hawaii on a J-1 visa, only to find herself working at a Waikiki restaurant in sweatshop conditions. She requested her name and the name of the restaurant not be used.

[jwirr]

1. I think I have told this story before but it is worth telling again. I was living in a very union

community. One summer one of the resorts in our area brought in a bunch of kids on this program to work for them. The company rented a house and "let" all the workers live in it. I said let but in truth the rent was taken out of their paychecks. It was exorbitant. They were also worked long hours for little pay and in the end these children would have had nothing to take home with them.

The company made a mistake - on Sunday they let the kids who were not working go to church and in our friendly community it was plain that they were new. People made it a point to welcome them and find out where they came from and what they were doing here. When the kids told them what was going on the community led by union workers looked into it. Very bad conditions.

But then came the surprise. The Union and the churches "stold" the workers. They found them places to live in friendly conditions. They found them jobs that paid real wages and allowed these young people to really learn about our culture. And the company was helpless because it was made clear to them that if they ever tried that again the same thing would happen.

Problem solved in one area at least. Thanks to the Union and the liberal churches.

[marym625]

3. That's a great story. at least the end

Good for you guys!

[marym625]

2. abhorrent that our government is still doing this

Way back when I was in school, we learned how wrong indentured servitude was. And here we are in 2015 still doing it.

[jwirr]

4. Yes, one of the things I left out of my story was working to end that program.

[marym625]

5. Good for you!

I hate to admit, I didn't even know about it before this OS post

[Hell Hath No Fury]

6. Up in Lake Tahoe --

many of the casinos/resorts use these workers. My Mom does volunteer tax work there where she has met many J-1 workers -- she has concluded this program is really just a way for businesses to get cheap, compliant labor.

[jwirr]

7. Exactly. And apparently a favorite of areas like that.