PM Statement On the Plight of Filipino Teachers of Maryland's PGCPS

(This is a position statement I prepared for Partido ng Manggagawa on the issue of the recent DOL decision that threatens the continued employment of Filipino Teachers in a school district in Maryland.)

Lured by the American dream, non-immigrant workers here in the US have been subjected to different forms of exploitation, manipulation and abuse. The complexities of the recruitment process are being taken advantage of by placement agencies and sometimes with the collaboration of representatives of US employers. Oftentimes foreign workers leave their country deep in debt in raising money needed to cover for exorbitant placement and other fees.

Recently, the US Department of Labor found Maryland’s Prince George’s County Public Schools in willful violation of the laws governing the H1B temporary foreign worker program. The DOL cited the school district’s failure to pay the proper wages by virtue of deduction of fees that are supposed to be shouldered by the employer as required by law and its failure to maintain complete documentation.

The same decision also issues the following remedy as a penalty to the school district: (1) the school district is ordered to refund illegally collected fees to foreign teachers as back wages, and (2) debarring the school district for two years from participating in the H1B program. At face value it seems that this DOL decision is a victory to the foreign teachers who have been victims of illegal fees by their employers and also who have been the milking cow of placement agencies who practice shady recruitment schemes.

The problem with the recent DOL decision however is that the debarment of PGCPS from the H1B program will mean not only that the district wouldn’t be able to bring in new foreign teachers but also prohibiting them from filing for the renewal of existing teachers whose H1B visas are set to expire in the next two years. Further the district is prohibited from filing permanent visa sponsorships to those teachers who intends to continue serving their respective schools and become permanent residents of the US.

So in effect, this recent DOL decision will result in a series of termination of Filipino educators and other foreign teachers. Starting this month, more than 1,000 PGCPS teachers will be affected. In penalizing the school district, the DOL is in fact punishing the very victims of this illegal scheme by the employer and the recruitment agency.

We, at Partido ng Manggagawa, believe that the DOL decision is extremely flawed on the following grounds:

1) The DOL decision does not embody justice but on contrary represents appalling injustice. It is a slap on the wrist of the violator and punishes hard the very people who were victimized and originally made the complaint. Also, we can’t help but wonder why the DOL is silent on the role of the placement agency that clearly has some violations and is equally responsible as well.

2) The decision would be a powerful disincentive to other non-immigrant workers in similar circumstances to report illegal recruitment activities by US-based employers and placement agencies. This will discourage other victims from cooperating with DOL and CIS investigations. Foreign workers should be encouraged, not discouraged from filing complaints.

3) The decision sets a bad precedent in cases of other Filipino and foreign teachers who have exposed the anomalies in the process by which they were recruited. One specific example is the struggle of Filipino teachers in Louisiana who stood up for their rights and recently have filed a class suit against their recruitment agency and the school district. And the DOL also have an ongoing investigation on the circumstance of their recruitment.

4) With this decision, the DOL is party to an unfair labor practice that is equivalent to retaliatory action against teachers and union members who initiated complaints against their employer. This kind of ruling would be welcomed by employers who aim to terminate those employees who stand up against them.

5) This decision is also damaging to the interest of the children of Prince George County. These highly qualified foreign teachers have performed well in their responsibility to educate the children of the district. These children deserve these commendable teachers and it is a disservice to have these educators terminated.

It is with these points that the Partido ng Manggagawa is calling for the Department of Labor to retract its original decision and issue a ruling that is fair and just. We appeal to the Department of Labor to live up to its mission of promoting the welfare of working people.

We also call on the Philippine Embassy to intervene with urgency on this matter. We are aware that the embassy in Washington DC is coordinating some efforts. However, with several of these teachers’ visas expiring within this month, there is a need for our embassy to pursue immediate and stronger action. We believe that our embassy consider a possible lodging of a diplomatic protest as this is a clear injustice to our citizens -- our teachers who came here to help fill in the teachers’ shortage, sold their properties and were victimized by illegal and exorbitant charges, worked hard to educating American children, only to be terminated by a violation that they did not commit.

Lastly we call on all Filipino teachers of Prince George County to unite and move as one in pushing for your rights. The Filipino and the Filipino-American community are behind you. The workers movement is behind you. Stand up and let your voices be heard. It is imperative that you move together and you move now.

Mabuhay ang manggagawang Pilipino!

Mabuhay ang gurong Pilipino!

Signed:

Renato Magtubo
Chairperson

Ian Seruelo
US - Liaison Officer

Stop oppressive forms of recruitment!

Today, I am featuring the statement of the Filipino teachers in Louisiana released on the day the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) heard their case.

---

Filipino Educators Federation of Louisiana
Press Statement
April 5, 2010

Stop oppressive forms of recruitment!
Scrap the unjust UPI teacher contracts!

We, members of the Filipino Educators Federation of Louisiana, call for the immediate end to the oppressive recruitment practices of Universal Placement International (UPI) and the scrapping of the unjust contract that were forced on the teachers. We are victims of these practices and have banded together as an organization to assert our rights and advocate for the protection of the rights of migrant teachers and workers as a whole.

We join all the Filipino teachers who share our aspiration for justice. We fully support the efforts of our fellow educators under the banner of the American Federation of Teachers and the Louisiana Federation of Teachers. We are not doing this only for ourselves and our families but also to the hundreds more who stand to be victimized if these excessively unjust practices are not stopped.

Our members will be testifying in today’s hearing to put on record the oppression we have experienced and the onerous contracts that were forced on the Filipino teachers under the threat of being “deported” or deprived of a job. We have experienced different forms of intimidation and manipulation that was aimed solely to strengthen the grip of tyranny of Lulu Navarro over all of us.

Filipino teachers have suffered from excessive and illegal fees and up to now our families are burdened with heavy debts back home. We have endured verbal threats and legal bullying to make us submit to the whims of the placement agency.

Indeed Lourdes “Lulu” Navarro, the owner of UPI, is not new to such criminal behavior as she is a convicted felon in the State of California on several counts of Medi-Cal fraud, grand theft, money laundering and identity theft.

We call on the Louisiana Workforce Commission to give relief to the migrant Filipino teachers deployed in the different school districts in Louisiana who have showed dedication to their vocation and commitment to quality education. We call on the commission to stand with the foreign teachers who have showed perseverance to make a difference in the lives of the children of Louisiana despite their horrible circumstances.

We appeal on the honorable commission to nullify the lopsided contract that is being utilized by Universal Placement International as a tool to oppress these migrant teachers. We appeal on the commission to stand by Louisiana’s public policy and tell the world that these inhumane practices have no place in the State; that no legal technicality can provide a smokescreen for repression.

We also enjoin all other Filipino teachers who share these experiences to come out and stand up for your rights. Let us broaden our unities against this injustice and together pursue our dreams for our families with dignity.

We call on all workers and parents here in Louisiana to support our cause for justice as this is not simply an issue about recruitment but an issue that concerns a grossly immoral and deceitful practice aimed at enriching a person at the expense of others. This issue is imbued with public interest as it concerns the education of our children.

Today, as we struggle for justice, we renew our commitment to serve the needs of the different school districts in the State of Louisiana. We enjoin the public in our aspiration to end all oppressive forms of recruitment. Join us in our call to put a stop to the illegal operations of Universal Placement International and the nullity of these burdensome teachers’ contracts.

TFC Adobo Nation Program on LA Teachers

Universal Placement International (UPI) is now getting free advertising from The Filipino Channel. The problem is: what is being advertised is how this placement agency exploits its clients!

Let's help our compatriots in their struggle against this illegal recruiter by signing on their online petition at www.gopetition.com.

Balitang America on Louisiana Teachers' Issue

The Struggle of Filipino Migrant Teachers

(I am sharing below an open letter that summarizes the plight and the struggles of Filipino Migrant Teachers in the US. You can check out their blog at http://www.pinoyteachershub.blogspot.com/. By any means, let us support their cause.)

An open letter to our fellow Filipino Migrant Teachers

Why we need to act together.

We left our country to work in a foreign land. Many of us were reluctant to leave our families and communities behind but the promise of a brighter future for us and our children led us to where we are now. We are here because we are trying to secure a life that is full of opportunities, not only for ourselves but also for our loved ones.

In the pursuit of our aspirations, we encountered challenges but we always resolved to face these problems for we know that a persistent attitude is the only way to go forward. Before we made our decision to come here, many of us were faced with the dilemma of leaving our families – sacrificing the company of our respective spouses and kids for a shot at the future.

Before we came here, we have to hurdle several interviews, seminars and backbreaking reviews and examinations. Many of us were short in finances but we sold our properties or even placed ourselves deep in debt so as not to derail our plans to become financially stable in the future.

In short, we gave all that we could, so we can start building a dream for ourselves and our families. We discovered however that the beautiful pictures that were painted in our imagination are not as what they seem to be. Now we discovered that the Recruitment and Placement Agency who we entrusted with our dreams is not acting with the best, or in fact not even a fraction, of our interests in mind.

Firstly, there was a lack of transparency in the process that we underwent as we are preparing our documents for our deployment here. The fees and charges were not even clear to us as the agency seems to invent new ways to empty our pockets every week. Many of us were not even able to read and study our contracts with the agency as we only received a copy of it on the eve of our flight.

Secondly, the agency is defrauding us with our hard-earned wages. Our contract stipulates that 10% of our monthly gross income for two years shall be paid to the agency. In reality however we were made to pay in advance 20% of our “expected” gross income for one year. To add insult to injury the “expected” gross income is bloated so as to make us pay the maximum advance payment. This overcharging of placement fees and the premature collection of the same is tantamount to illegal recruiting and is a violation of a Philippine law, the Republic Act 8042 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995.

Further they say that the excess payment will be applied to the following year while we are not even sure of being renewed for the next year or if we would even opt to use the same agency next year. What the agency is doing, apart from milking us dry, is to indirectly restrict us from pursuing our other options as they intend to continue exploiting us.

Thirdly, the agency has instituted schemes that are grossly immoral and unfair to us teachers. One blatant example is its effort to corner many of us into borrowing from its partner lending agency that charges excessive interest rates. The agency is charging us illegally with steep placement fees, then turns around and refers us to its partner lending agency to charge us once again with exorbitant interest rates.

Fourthly, we are dismayed by which we are treated virtually as modern slaves. The agency cramped us up in dilapidated apartment units. What makes it even painful is that we are being overcharged with the rent for these unspeakable living quarters that were simply forced upon us. While the published rent of a unit is only around $800 a month, we are all charged $310 each with each apartment unit housing 4 individuals and at times up to 8. We have a right to a safe and clean place of dwelling. And we have a right to choose a place that we deem is best for ourselves as we are the ones spending for it in the first place. The agency however decided to simply disregard these rights and make money in the process.

Fifthly, many of us have experience first hand the threats and intimidation employed by the agency and its owner to force us to shut our mouths up and simply swallow the oppression. The agency even discourages us from communicating with other Filipino groups or else our contracts will not be renewed.

Sixthly, we are aware of some of our colleagues who, weeks after they arrive here, are still without school assignments but instead need to attend job fairs for placement. They were duped into believing that a job is waiting for them here for how else can they be issued working visas. For the meantime, interests payments for their debts pile up every day.

Further there are so many other individual issues that we are sure you have experienced with the agency as well. They have unlawfully opened our SS document without our consent, they have bullied us and treated us as if we are not responsible adults who can decide for ourselves, and much more. We share many of these horrible stories yet here we are appearing disorganized if not helpless.

Now what are we to do? Some of you may be thinking of just keeping silent and swallow whatever pride that is left within you. Some of you may take a step of getting a lawyer to secure your immigration papers. Or maybe you are one of those who are thinking of seeking justice against the agency in your individual capacity.

We are in a foreign land and unfamiliar with the environment. No doubt we can easily adapt like we Filipinos always do – but will we simply allow these injustices to continue to happen, not only to us but to the next batch of our fellow teachers? We don’t know any public officials here who can help us or a radio or a media organization that we can turn to – but will we simply join in the chorus of silence and inaction?

We strongly believe that it is in our best interest to act collectively. The same way that it is in the interest of the agency to keep us separate and scattered, to keep us vulnerable and powerless. The reason why the agency forbids us to talk to one another, or with any other Filipino groups for that matter, is precisely because the agency is afraid that we share our horrible experiences and in the process unite us into action.

We need to stand up. We need to act as a group. And here are the main reasons why:

First, we share a common goal in this struggle – a goal that we may be able to pursue our dreams for our families. When we coordinate our action, our effort will be much more effective as we have more brains, and hands and hearts working for our common objectives.

Second, these efforts require not only our time and energy but also our financial resources. Securing a lawyer alone to handle our immigration papers and pursue our case will involve a lot of expenses. And most of us are now drowning in debt caused by the exorbitant fees the agency is charging us. If however we act as a group, we have the power to negotiate a favorable arrangement that will make the shared burden lighter.

Last and more important, we very much know that in numbers there is strength. It is only through a united action can we achieve true empowerment. It is only through a concerted effort that our voice will be heard loud and clear. It is only through a unified struggle can we effectively protect our jobs and our future.

Again, it is an imperative that we act together. It is an imperative that we act now!

Mabuhay ang gurong Pilipino!


Signed:

Concerned Filipino Migrant Teachers
Louisiana, USA