Cultural exchange program or cheap labor?

[peejay 327]

Cultural exchange program or cheap labor?

'It is just work, work faster, work:' Foreign students on State Department program protest low wages, tough working conditions

By Julia Preston

updated 8/18/2011 5:13:30 AM ET

PALMYRA, Pa. — Hundreds of foreign students, waving their fists and shouting defiantly in many languages, walked off their jobs on Wednesday at a plant here that packs Hershey’s chocolates, saying a summer program that was supposed to be a cultural exchange had instead turned them into underpaid labor.

The students, from countries including China, Nigeria, Romania and Ukraine, came to the United States through a long-established State Department summer visa program that allows them to work for two months and then travel. They said they were expecting to practice their English, make some money and learn what life is like in the United States.

In a way, they did. About 400 foreign students were put to work lifting heavy boxes and packing Reese’s candies, Kit-Kats and Almond Joys on a fast-moving production line, many of them on a night shift. After paycheck deductions for fees associated with the program and for their rent, students said at a rally in front of the huge packing plant that many of them were not earning nearly enough to recover what they had spent in their home countries to obtain their visas.

Their experience of American society has been very different from what they expected.

“There is no cultural exchange, none, none,” said Zhao Huijiao, a 20-year-old undergraduate in international relations from Dalien, China. “It is just work, work faster, work.”

Each summer, the State Department brings many thousands of foreign students to the United States on the international work-travel program, with visas that are known as J-1. Over the years, the program has successfully given university students from distant countries a chance to be immersed in everyday America and to make lasting friends.

But in recent years, the program has drawn complaints from students about low wages and unexpectedly difficult work conditions. It appears, however, that the walkout at the Palmyra plant is the first time that foreign students have engaged in a strike to protest their employment.

John Fleming, a State Department spokesman, said officials were aware of the students’ protest and had sent staff members to Hershey, Pa., where the candy company is based, to investigate. “It is our job to ensure that all J-1 visa holders are accorded their rights under all provisions of the Summer Work Travel program,” Mr. Fleming said.

Contractor staffing agency

The arrangements that brought the foreign students to work at the Eastern Distribution Center III, a vast warehouse in a trim industrial park near Hershey, the American chocolate capital, involved layers of contractors.

The students said they mainly placed blame on the organization that manages the J-1 visa program for the State Department, the Council for Educational Travel, U.S.A., which is based in California.

Rick Anaya, chief executive of the council, said he had brought about 6,000 J-1 visa students to the United States this summer. Mr. Anaya said he had tried to respond to the Palmyra workers’ complaints. “We are not getting any cooperation,” he said. “We are trying to work with these kids. All this negativity is hurting an excellent program. We would go out of our way to help them, but it seems like someone is stirring them up out there.”

A spokesman for Hershey’s, Kirk Saville, said the chocolate company did not directly operate the Palmyra packing plant, which is managed by a company called Exel. A spokeswoman for Exel said it had found the student workers through another staffing company.

The spokeswoman, Lynn Anderson, said: “We contract with a staffing agency to provide temporary employees, some from the local work force and some J-1 visa holders. We don’t have a lot of influence over some of those issues that they’ve raised.”

The students said they were expecting to practice their English, make money and learn what life is like in the United States. A labor organization, the National Guestworker Alliance, which has been working with the students, presented a complaint on Wednesday to the State Department asking for the Council for Educational Travel, U.S.A. to be removed from its list of sponsoring organizations.

In the protest on Wednesday, about 200 students who were scheduled to start work on an evening shift at 3 p.m. walked into the plant and presented a petition with several hundred signatures to a management representative. Then, together with some students coming off the daytime shift, they marched out.

They came down the driveway to the plant, with semi-trailer trucks wheeling by, chanting, “We are the students, the mighty, mighty students!” and labor slogans in English as well as their own languages. The students said they believed that so many of them walking off their jobs would stop some production on their shifts.

“We want to own our rights,” Ms. Zhao said, speaking in English. She and three other Chinese students held out their arms, pointing to bruises they said they had from moving large boxes.

Representatives from two American labor unions participated in the rally at an intersection outside the plant. Three labor officials, including Rick Bloomingdale, president of the Pennsylvania State Federation of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., and Neal Bisno, president of a Pennsylvania branch of the Service Employees International Union, staged a brief sit-in at the plant entrance and were arrested.

'This is America'

Harika Duygu Ozer, 19, a second-year medical student from a university in Istanbul, said she had heard from friends that the summer exchange program would be fun and that she would earn enough money to pay for her medical school tuition.

“I said, ‘Why not?’ This is America,” Ms. Ozer said.

When she was offered a contract for a job at a plant with Hershey’s chocolates, she said, she was excited. “We have all seen Charlie’s chocolate factory,” she said. “We thought, ‘This is good.’ ”

Like many other students, Ms. Ozer said she invested about $3,500, which included the program costs, to obtain the J-1 visa and travel to the United States.

Several Chinese students, including Ms. Zhao, said they had paid more than $6,000 in the process of securing visas.

Ms. Ozer said she worked an eight-hour shift that began at 11 p.m.

“You stand for the entire eight hours,” she said. “It is the worst thing for your fingers and hands and your back; you are standing at an angle.”

At one of the sites where she worked, she said, cameras were trained on her, and supervisors told her that if she did not want to maintain the pace of work, she should leave.

Godwin Efobi, 26, a third-year medical student from Nigeria who is studying at a university in Ukraine, said his job was moving boxes. “Since I came here, I have a permanent ache in my back,” Mr. Efobi said. “Holding a pen is now a big task for me; my muscles ache.”

The students said they decided to protest when they learned that neighbors in the apartments and houses where they were staying were paying significantly less rent.

“The tipping point was when we found out about the rent,” Mr. Efobi said.

Ms. Ozer and other students said they were paid $8.35 an hour. After fees are deducted from her paychecks as well as $400 a month for rent, she said, she often takes home less than $200 a week. “We are supposed to be here for cultural exchange and education, but we are just cheap laborers,” Ms. Ozer said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44185832/ns/us_news-the_new_york_times/

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

You stand 8 hours on the job and get paid $8.35 and hour while having to pay $400.00 rent a month? What can I say? Welcome to America!

[natty bumppo 297]

You stand 8 hours on the job and get paid $8.35 and hour while having to pay $400.00 rent a month? What can I say? Welcome to America!

$400/ month for rent !!!

Outrageous !!!!

[The_Dude 1,142]

You can't even rent a dorito bag for $400 a month in a decent sized city.

[nane1104 146]

Ms. Ozer and other students said they were paid $8.35 an hour. After fees are deducted from her paychecks as well as $400 a month for rent, she said, she often takes home less than $200 a week. "We are supposed to be here for cultural exchange and education, but we are just cheap laborers," Ms. Ozer said.

http://www.msnbc.msn...new_york_times/

America, the land where milk and honey flows, beautiful girls walk around and feed you sweet fruit and cold drinks, you are housed in your own dwelling and are givena nice little paycheck of, umh, let's say $1200 a week just because of your good looks...oh wait, that's Second Life.

[peejay 327]

You have to ask why our government is importing foreign workers with the economy in the toilet and chronic unemployment. Is this more of Obama's jobs program? Jobs for who?

It sounds like this J-1 visa program is nothing more than a gimme to connected labor pimps (aka: contractors) and corporations.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

It proves that employers want to save money and that they will hire employees that save them money. Why not offer them a savings to hire Americans and make it unfeasible to hire illegal aliens?

The idea is so simple, so obvious, and clearly so potentially effective that NO ONE in politics will even suggest it. Obviously they have no intention of doing anything about illegal aliens.

I have heard similar complaints here where many resorts hire J1 exchange labor and do not end up giving the hours promised and the young people do not even make back what they paid to get here. On the one hand this seems unfair but on the other most are students who are here to get experience with English and are not necessarily supposed to make a ton of money. Many come from countries where our minimum wage sounds pretty lofty, but they find out all things are relative. Being that it is basically a work/study program some of their expectations may be unreasonable. Most of life's dissapointments are caused by unreasonable expectations.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

It just gets worse.

[Zero Sum 305]

They should be paid a fair wage, not be exploited by companies that could otherwise move the labor force overseas.

But I am sure the outrage at that would die down a bit.

[nane1104 146]

Well, how much do the other workers at the same factory earn? And what exactly were the students promised? The article only reports what they THOUGHT they were going to do (Charlie's Chocolate Factory? Seriously?).

I can see how working for that wage is frusterating, but they are not the only people who work for that amount of money.

[Zero Sum 305]

Well, how much do the other workers at the same factory earn? And what exactly were the students promised? The article only reports what they THOUGHT they were going to do (Charlie's Chocolate Factory? Seriously?).

I can see how working for that wage is frusterating, but they are not the only people who work for that amount of money.

Interesting points as well.

Foreigners I've personally known have done this kind of 'experience' before- working those amusement park summer positions, camp positions, etc. Their earnings were barely enough to cover their own upfront visa costs (as mentioned by some in the article) and enrich themselves in the culture they were supposedly coming into. Most were either too tired to experience the USA from the amount of work, travel in it, and tended to stay among the other program participants. Only one of 4 whom I know was able to save money to repatriate at the end of their program.

[nane1104 146]

I just think there is a huge gap between the purpose of the program and the expectations. The ones who complained about the rent might have expected an amount equal to what they pay in their homecountry, which might be significantly lower. It sounds to me like they were hit by how the "real american life" is versus they maybe have seen on TV.

I am not trying to be mean but unless they can show where they were made any promises other than what they are experiencing here now, they don't have a case to complain or even going on strike.

[slim 1,530]

You stand 8 hours on the job and get paid $8.35 and hour while having to pay $400.00 rent a month? What can I say? Welcome to America!

Bingo.

$400/ month for rent !!!

Not bad.

You can't even rent a dorito bag for $400 a month in a decent sized city.

That's more than I pay for rent and I live in a decent sized city.

America, the land where milk and honey flows, beautiful girls walk around and feed you sweet fruit and cold drinks, you are housed in your own dwelling and are givena nice little paycheck of, umh, let's say $1200 a week just because of your good looks...oh wait, that's Second Life.

Exactly what my wife thought before she got here. She asked, "Where's all our money?" I responded, "Don't you feel it in the warm air around you? Can't you see it in the roof over your head? How about when we're driving around in all our money, don't you feel it then?"

America. Sometimes that greener grass is just fertilizer.

Don't get me wrong, I think we're the best country on earth and I can see why folks want to come here. We do offer the best opportunity on earth, but that's it. Opportunity. Many people get that confused with the reality of what opportunity really is. An unguaranteed chance. And in this country, that chance often demands some very, very, verrrrrrry long hours and hard work before you get somewhere.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Exactly what my wife thought before she got here. She asked, "Where's all our money?" I responded, "Don't you feel it in the warm air around you? Can't you see it in the roof over your head? How about when we're driving around in all our money, don't you feel it then?"

America. Sometimes that greener grass is just fertilizer.

Don't get me wrong, I think we're the best country on earth and I can see why folks want to come here. We do offer the best opportunity on earth, but that's it. Opportunity. Many people get that confused with the reality of what opportunity really is. An unguaranteed chance. And in this country, that chance often demands some very, very, verrrrrrry long hours and hard work before you get somewhere.

QFT

[slim 1,530]

QFT

I'm dead serious. She's been ticked off every since she got here because she never realized that making $2,000/month doesn't = $2,000/month. She was under the impression if you made $2,000 then you had a bunch of walkin around money.

Reality struck her when she took a first job and worked about 44 hours a week. (That liked to kill her! "Oh, I so freakin tired and work so much. How I can work like zis forever, huh?") Then the bigger reality hit when she got her paycheck. "Why zis government take all my money?" HA! After a few months of that, she was ready for a different job. By different, I mean part-time.

Without a "rich" husband, she'd probably have gone back by now. The reality is, here in America, if you want something nice, you have to work for it. Sounds like the kids in this story were having chocolate fantasies that melted once they arrived.

I've seen the J-1 kids working at baseball games, McDonalds, etc., and while that's fun for them... that's not the reality of life in America. A part-time job doesn't pay the bills around here and you can't work for fun and still expect to have a nice life.

The way I look at it, this was a great experience for them. These are "rich kids" back home and this is probably the first time any of them have done any hard labor. Welcome to America. Now get to work!