Outrageous! US Government Subsidized Company Pays Workers In Pesos

[Ayatollahgondola]

http://blogs.sacbee.com/the_swarm/20...om-energy.html

"Authorities said Bloom Energy paid the Mexican workers in pesos by wiring funds back to bank accounts in Chihuahua. Bloom also paid for the men to stay in a Sunnyvale motel and provided each with a meal stipend of $50 a day."

Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/the_swarm/20...#storylink=cpy

[Ayatollahgondola]

additional, full story link:

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/...ers-paid-pesos

"It wasn't right what they were doing. It's not the way to treat people," said a former Bloom Energy contractor who claims he blew the whistle to authorities about the company's mistreatment of the workers, who were brought to this country on visitor visas from the Bloom Energy plant in Chihuahua.

Mistreatment of the workers? What about the mistreatment of American workers opportunities, and specifically Californians

[ilbegone]

It's about beating down wages in America combined with fraudulent visas, otherwise it's a direct deposit of payroll with cash subsistence and paid motel.

They traveled 1,300 miles and toiled long hours, earning the equivalent of $2.66 an hour in Mexican pesos while working in the Bay Area for acclaimed Silicon Valley tech startup Bloom Energy.

the workers, who were brought to this country on visitor visas from the Bloom Energy plant in Chihuahua.

Officials announced this week that the firm was ordered to pay $70,000 in back wages, damages and fines

U.S. officials said the Mexican workers, who did welding and other manufacturing jobs, came here on a type of
visa that generally doesn't allow the holders to work while they are here. Investigators also determined that Bloom Energy paid other temp workers, who were from the United States, at wages that met the legal requirements.

But their pay amounted to less than a third of the minimum wage required under federal law, Amaden said. Labor investigators also found the men worked an average of 51 hours a week but were not paid the legally required overtime rate when they worked beyond 40 hours a week.

Labor officials said the men moved back and forth between Chihuahua and Sunnyvale as they were needed, over the past two years.

"While there are circumstances under which welders could enter the U.S. on valid nonimmigrant visas to work, that would be uncommon," said Sharon Rummery of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency. She added, "We won't speculate on actions of any specific company in securing foreign workers."

Bloom paid these guys $135.00 each for an average 51 hour week, $250.00 to $350.00 a week in walking around money, and were provided a room (probably a fleabag) for as cheap as possible, maybe from $175.00 (cockroach city with aroma of curry) to $250.00 a week each if single occupant (Sunnyvale may be much more expensive than this - ghetto Oakland was $76.00 a night Motel 6 on Haggenbarger road and M6 $99.00 at the Marina in upscale Alameda about 2003 - it was cheaper and safer to drive in from lodging on I5).

Which at best would be worth $785.00 a week in company expenditure, which would come out to about $15.45 an hour if it were all put into employee pockets - and still crap wages for traveling anywhere away from home to work.

Did Bloom withhold taxes, pay social security, workers comp and all the rest?

Somehow I think not.

[wetibbe]

So !

I've seen that here for over a decade. I have so many stories to tell that it would take me weeks to post all.

Employers gaming the system, ahem - capitalists ! Huge numbers are dishonest, liars, cheats, unconscionable.

But even more disingenuous, and hypocritical, are the Catholic and Episcopal churches.

However, the head of the list is our Federal, State and Local Governments that refuse to enforce the laws and who persistently lie to the American people.