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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Sunday, October 09, 2005 Contractors housing workers in Red Cross shelters NPR reported this morning that, in Mississippi, low-wage workers brought into the hurricane clean-up areas by out-of-state contractors (the ones who got those exorbitant no-bid contracts and were freed from having to pay the usual local wages--here, for example, here, and here) are being dropped off by their employers to sleep in Red Cross shelters. One shelter manager said that of the approximately 170 people in his shelter (whose maximum occupancy was supposed to be 150) 40 to 50 were contract workers—40 to 50 beds, in other words, that were not available to hurricane survivors.So in addition to being able to pay low wages, (not paying local people at all, in fact, since many of the laborers are coming in from outside the area), the contractors who were handed millions of dollars of federal work aren't even paying, in some cases, to house their workers.The shelter manager who was interviewed for the NPR broadcast said that workers in his shelter had been told they must leave. But one man, a Hispanic immigrant who spoke no English, said the only other place they had to live was a tent camp provided by the contractor out in the woods. There were no toilets, he said, and the camp was ringed with human feces. He was suffering from a fungal infection he had picked up while removing the mold and filth-encrusted remains of damaged homes. The Red Cross said he and his co-workers could stay for a few more days, and provided him with medication for his infection. But the Red Cross said shelters had been told they could no longer house contract workers.Another example of how getting government out of people's lives saves money. We've been hearing that mantra for the last couple of decades. Only trouble is, no one who says it bothers to specify whose money is being saved. Certainly not that of the taxpayers and the people who donate to the Red Cross.[UPDATE] -- you can listen to the NPR broadcast. Strangely, however, the summary on NPR's website makes it look as though the Red Cross is at fault for "evict[ing] non-residents of the state from shelters for hurricane survivors." That completely misses the point, which is that the Red Cross should not be providing free housing for workers hired by private contractors. The summary concludes, "Advocacy groups say that's unfair to day laborers hired by contractors to remove debris along the Gulf Coast." Completely true. But again, the point is not that the workers are being treated unfairly by the Red Cross, but that private contractors are using a donation-supported non-profit charity group to avoid having to provide decent housing for the out-of-state workers they brought into Mississippi. posted by Liz @ 8:37 AM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
NPR reported this morning that, in Mississippi, low-wage workers brought into the hurricane clean-up areas by out-of-state contractors (the ones who got those exorbitant no-bid contracts and were freed from having to pay the usual local wages--here, for example, here, and here) are being dropped off by their employers to sleep in Red Cross shelters. One shelter manager said that of the approximately 170 people in his shelter (whose maximum occupancy was supposed to be 150) 40 to 50 were contract workers—40 to 50 beds, in other words, that were not available to hurricane survivors.So in addition to being able to pay low wages, (not paying local people at all, in fact, since many of the laborers are coming in from outside the area), the contractors who were handed millions of dollars of federal work aren't even paying, in some cases, to house their workers.The shelter manager who was interviewed for the NPR broadcast said that workers in his shelter had been told they must leave. But one man, a Hispanic immigrant who spoke no English, said the only other place they had to live was a tent camp provided by the contractor out in the woods. There were no toilets, he said, and the camp was ringed with human feces. He was suffering from a fungal infection he had picked up while removing the mold and filth-encrusted remains of damaged homes. The Red Cross said he and his co-workers could stay for a few more days, and provided him with medication for his infection. But the Red Cross said shelters had been told they could no longer house contract workers.Another example of how getting government out of people's lives saves money. We've been hearing that mantra for the last couple of decades. Only trouble is, no one who says it bothers to specify whose money is being saved. Certainly not that of the taxpayers and the people who donate to the Red Cross.[UPDATE] -- you can listen to the NPR broadcast. Strangely, however, the summary on NPR's website makes it look as though the Red Cross is at fault for "evict[ing] non-residents of the state from shelters for hurricane survivors." That completely misses the point, which is that the Red Cross should not be providing free housing for workers hired by private contractors. The summary concludes, "Advocacy groups say that's unfair to day laborers hired by contractors to remove debris along the Gulf Coast." Completely true. But again, the point is not that the workers are being treated unfairly by the Red Cross, but that private contractors are using a donation-supported non-profit charity group to avoid having to provide decent housing for the out-of-state workers they brought into Mississippi.
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
RSS Feed
PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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