NCLR Calls on Authorities to Enforce Labor Laws in Hurricane Katrina Rebuilding Janet Murguia, President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), visited a "tent city" in Gulfport, Mississippi where Latino workers involved in the rebuilding effort have been living while awaiting payment from contractors who have abandoned them and committed other abuses. As President and CEO of the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., Murguia joined local civil rights leaders to call for greater enforcement of Mississippi state and federal labor laws and for long-term solutions to the mistreatment of workers in the area. "It is difficult to imagine that workers in the U.S. who are playing such a critical role in restoring Gulf Coast communities are forced to live in third-world living conditions," said Murguia. "It is equally offensive that contractors have been allowed to exploit workers with impunity." During the site visit, workers complained about contractors who hired them for long periods of time and then refused to pay them for their labor or denied them fair wages. Several contractors have also reportedly engaged in "bait and switch" tactics, recruiting workers with promises of amenities, such as room and board and overtime pay, and then failing to honor any of these agreements. The Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance (MIRA), one of the key community-based organizations assisting workers on the ground, has already filed nearly 200 complaints of nonpayment with the U.S. Department of Labor. Complaints from workers have also included allegations of verbal and physical abuse as well as injuries resulting from unsafe working conditions. "It is deeply saddening to see contract workers take advantage of some of the hardest working but also most vulnerable in our society," said Bill Chandler, Executive Director of MIRA. "We are working every day to spread the message to workers about their labor rights and to warn them about bad actors. However, given the prevalence of abuse and the significance of this work to our state's future communities, we are asking the federal and state government to scrutinize firms before signing contracts, to ensure that every worker is treated fairly and humanely, and to suspend contracts to those who fail to honor their responsibilities." As reports of worker abuse in hurricane-affected areas have become increasingly common, NCLR calls for greater oversight and accountability in the hurricane cleanup and rebuilding efforts at the state and federal levels. "The abuse of workers who are rebuilding the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina is a basic human rights issue that can not be tolerated in the U.S. As the nation comes together at such a decisive moment in our history to address the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, we must stand united in denouncing any abuse and exploitation that undermines the fairness and efficiency of the rebuilding efforts," concluded Murguia.

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