<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML+RDFa 1.0//EN" "http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/DTD/xhtml-rdfa-1.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" version="XHTML+RDFa 1.0" dir="ltr" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" xmlns:foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/" xmlns:og="http://ogp.me/ns#" xmlns:rdfs="http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#" xmlns:sioc="http://rdfs.org/sioc/ns#" xmlns:sioct="http://rdfs.org/sioc/types#" xmlns:skos="http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#">

  <head>
        <title>Workers’ rights are being abused as they rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Harvey | ecology.iww.org</title>
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="https://ecology.iww.org/sites/default/files/IWWEUC.jpg" type="image/jpeg"/>
<link rel="shortlink" href="/node/2645"/>
<link rel="canonical" href="/node/2645"/>
<meta name="Generator" content="Drupal 7 (http://drupal.org)"/>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://ecology.iww.org/modules/system/system.base.css?ojhna1" type="text/css" media="all"><style media="all">
/**
 * @file
 * Styles for menus and navigation markup.
 */

/**
 * Markup generated by theme_menu_tree().
 */
ul.menu {
  border: none;
  list-style: none;
  text-align: left; /* LTR */
}
ul.menu li {
  margin: 0 0 0 0.5em; /* LTR */
}
ul li.expanded {
  list-style-image: url(/misc/menu-expanded.png);
  list-style-type: circle;
}
ul li.collapsed {
  list-style-image: url(/misc/menu-collapsed.png); /* LTR */
  list-style-type: disc;
}
ul li.leaf {
  list-style-image: url(/misc/menu-leaf.png);
  list-style-type: square;
}
li.expanded,
li.collapsed,
li.leaf {
  padding: 0.2em 0.5em 0 0; /* LTR */
  margin: 0;
}
li a.active {
  color: #000;
}
td.menu-disabled {
  background: #ccc;
}

/**
 * Markup generated by theme_links().
 */
ul.inline,
ul.links.inline {
  display: inline;
  padding-left: 0;
}
ul.inline li {
  display: inline;
  list-style-type: none;
  padding: 0 0.5em;
}

/**
 * Markup generated by theme_breadcrumb().
 */
.breadcrumb {
  padding-bottom: 0.5em;
}

/**
 * Markup generated by theme_menu_local_tasks().
 */
ul.primary {
  border-bottom: 1px solid #bbb;
  border-collapse: collapse;
  height: auto;
  line-height: normal;
  list-style: none;
  margin: 5px;
  padding: 0 0 0 1em; /* LTR */
  white-space: nowrap;
}
ul.primary li {
  display: inline;
}
ul.primary li a {
  background-color: #ddd;
  border-color: #bbb;
  border-style: solid solid none solid;
  border-width: 1px;
  height: auto;
  margin-right: 0.5em; /* LTR */
  padding: 0 1em;
  text-decoration: none;
}
ul.primary li.active a {
  background-color: #fff;
  border: 1px solid #bbb;
  border-bottom: 1px solid #fff;
}
ul.primary li a:hover {
  background-color: #eee;
  border-color: #ccc;
  border-bottom-color: #eee;
}
ul.secondary {
  border-bottom: 1px solid #bbb;
  padding: 0.5em 1em;
  margin: 5px;
}
ul.secondary li {
  border-right: 1px solid #ccc; /* LTR */
  display: inline;
  padding: 0 1em;
}
ul.secondary a {
  padding: 0;
  text-decoration: none;
}
ul.secondary a.active {
  border-bottom: 4px solid #999;
}
</style><style media="all">
/**
 * @file
 * Styles for system messages.
 */

div.messages {
  background-position: 8px 8px; /* LTR */
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  border: 1px solid;
  margin: 6px 0;
  padding: 10px 10px 10px 50px; /* LTR */
}

div.status {
  background-image: url(/misc/message-24-ok.png);
  border-color: #be7;
}
div.status,
.ok {
  color: #234600;
}
div.status,
table tr.ok {
  background-color: #f8fff0;
}

div.warning {
  background-image: url(/misc/message-24-warning.png);
  border-color: #ed5;
}
div.warning,
.warning {
  color: #840;
}
div.warning,
table tr.warning {
  background-color: #fffce5;
}

div.error {
  background-image: url(/misc/message-24-error.png);
  border-color: #ed541d;
}
div.error,
.error {
  color: #8c2e0b;
}
div.error,
table tr.error {
  background-color: #fef5f1;
}
div.error p.error {
  color: #333;
}

div.messages ul {
  margin: 0 0 0 1em; /* LTR */
  padding: 0;
}
div.messages ul li {
  list-style-image: none;
}
</style><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://ecology.iww.org/modules/system/system.theme.css?ojhna1" type="text/css" media="all">
<style media="all">/**
 * Styles for theme in the Aggregator module.
 */

#aggregator .feed-source .feed-title {
  margin-top: 0;
}
#aggregator .feed-source .feed-image img {
  margin-bottom: 0.75em;
}
#aggregator .feed-source .feed-icon {
  float: right; /* LTR */
  display: block;
}
#aggregator .feed-item {
  margin-bottom: 1.5em;
}
#aggregator .feed-item-title {
  margin-bottom: 0;
  font-size: 1.3em;
}
#aggregator .feed-item-meta,
#aggregator .feed-item-body {
  margin-bottom: 0.5em;
}
#aggregator .feed-item-categories {
  font-size: 0.9em;
}
#aggregator td {
  vertical-align: bottom;
}
#aggregator td.categorize-item {
  white-space: nowrap;
}
#aggregator .categorize-item .news-item .body {
  margin-top: 0;
}
#aggregator .categorize-item h3 {
  margin-bottom: 1em;
  margin-top: 0;
}
</style><style media="all">.book-navigation .menu{border-top:1px solid #888;padding:1em 0 0 3em}.book-navigation .page-links{border-top:1px solid #888;border-bottom:1px solid #888;text-align:center;padding:.5em}.book-navigation .page-previous{text-align:left;width:42%;display:block;float:left}.book-navigation .page-up{margin:0 5%;width:4%;display:block;float:left}.book-navigation .page-next{text-align:right;width:42%;display:block;float:right}#book-outline{min-width:56em}.book-outline-form .form-item{margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0}html.js #edit-book-pick-book{display:none}.form-item-book-bid .description{clear:both}#book-admin-edit select{margin-right:24px}#book-admin-edit select.progress-disabled{margin-right:0}#book-admin-edit tr.ajax-new-content{background-color:#ffd}#book-admin-edit .form-item{float:left}</style><style media="all">#comments{margin-top:15px}.indented{margin-left:25px}.comment-unpublished{background-color:#fff4f4}.comment-preview{background-color:#ffffea}</style><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://ecology.iww.org/modules/field/theme/field.css?ojhna1" type="text/css" media="all"><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://ecology.iww.org/modules/node/node.css?ojhna1" type="text/css" media="all"><style media="all">
.search-form {
  margin-bottom: 1em;
}
.search-form input {
  margin-top: 0;
  margin-bottom: 0;
}
.search-results {
  list-style: none;
}
.search-results p {
  margin-top: 0;
}
.search-results .title {
  font-size: 1.2em;
}
.search-results li {
  margin-bottom: 1em;
}
.search-results .search-snippet-info {
  padding-left: 1em; /* LTR */
}
.search-results .search-info {
  font-size: 0.85em;
}
.search-advanced .criterion {
  float: left; /* LTR */
  margin-right: 2em; /* LTR */
}
.search-advanced .action {
  float: left; /* LTR */
  clear: left; /* LTR */
}
</style><style media="all">#permissions td.module{font-weight:bold}#permissions td.permission{padding-left:1.5em}#permissions tr.odd .form-item,#permissions tr.even .form-item{white-space:normal}#user-admin-settings fieldset .fieldset-description{font-size:.85em;padding-bottom:.5em}#user-admin-roles td.edit-name{clear:both}#user-admin-roles .form-item-name{float:left;margin-right:1em}.password-strength{width:17em;float:right;margin-top:1.4em}.password-strength-title{display:inline}.password-strength-text{float:right;font-weight:bold}.password-indicator{background-color:#c4c4c4;height:.3em;width:100%}.password-indicator div{height:100%;width:0%;background-color:#47c965}input.password-confirm,input.password-field{width:16em;margin-bottom:.4em}div.password-confirm{float:right;margin-top:1.5em;visibility:hidden;width:17em}div.form-item div.password-suggestions{padding:.2em .5em;margin:.7em 0;width:38.5em;border:1px solid #b4b4b4}div.password-suggestions ul{margin-bottom:0}.confirm-parent,.password-parent{clear:left;margin:0;width:36.3em}.profile{clear:both;margin:1em 0}.profile .user-picture{float:right;margin:0 1em 1em 0}.profile h3{border-bottom:1px solid #ccc}.profile dl{margin:0 0 1.5em 0}.profile dt{margin:0 0 .2em 0;font-weight:bold}.profile dd{margin:0 0 1em 0}</style><style media="all">/**
 * @file
 * Styling for the Forum module.
 */

#forum .description {
  font-size: 0.9em;
  margin: 0.5em;
}
#forum td.created,
#forum td.posts,
#forum td.topics,
#forum td.last-reply,
#forum td.replies,
#forum td.pager {
  white-space: nowrap;
}

#forum td.forum .icon {
  background-image: url(/misc/forum-icons.png);
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  float: left; /* LTR */
  height: 24px;
  margin: 0 9px 0 0; /* LTR */
  width: 24px;
}
#forum td.forum .forum-status-new {
  background-position: -24px 0;
}

#forum div.indent {
  margin-left: 20px; /* LTR */
}
#forum .icon div {
  background-image: url(/misc/forum-icons.png);
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  width: 24px;
  height: 24px;
}
#forum .icon .topic-status-new {
  background-position: -24px 0;
}
#forum .icon .topic-status-hot {
  background-position: -48px 0;
}
#forum .icon .topic-status-hot-new {
  background-position: -72px 0;
}
#forum .icon .topic-status-sticky {
  background-position: -96px 0;
}
#forum .icon .topic-status-closed {
  background-position: -120px 0;
}
</style>
<style media="all">.jGrowl{z-index:9999;color:#fff;font-size:12px;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;position:fixed}.jGrowl.top-left{left:0;top:0}.jGrowl.top-right{right:0;top:0}.jGrowl.bottom-left{left:0;bottom:0}.jGrowl.bottom-right{right:0;bottom:0}.jGrowl.center{top:0;width:50%;left:25%}.jGrowl.center .jGrowl-notification,.jGrowl.center .jGrowl-closer{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto}.jGrowl-notification{background-color:#000;opacity:.9;filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity=(0.9*100));-ms-filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity=(0.9*100));zoom:1;width:250px;padding:10px;margin:10px;text-align:left;display:none;border-radius:5px;word-break:break-all;min-height:40px}.jGrowl-notification .ui-state-highlight,.jGrowl-notification .ui-widget-content .ui-state-highlight,.jGrowl-notification .ui-widget-header .ui-state-highlight{border:1px solid #000;background:#000;color:#fff}.jGrowl-notification .jGrowl-header{font-weight:bold;font-size:.85em}.jGrowl-notification .jGrowl-close{background-color:transparent;color:inherit;border:none;z-index:99;float:right;font-weight:bold;font-size:1em;cursor:pointer}.jGrowl-closer{background-color:#000;opacity:.9;filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity=(0.9*100));-ms-filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity=(0.9*100));zoom:1;width:250px;padding:10px;margin:10px;text-align:left;display:none;border-radius:5px;word-break:break-all;padding-top:4px;padding-bottom:4px;cursor:pointer;font-size:.9em;font-weight:bold;text-align:center}.jGrowl-closer .ui-state-highlight,.jGrowl-closer .ui-widget-content .ui-state-highlight,.jGrowl-closer .ui-widget-header .ui-state-highlight{border:1px solid #000;background:#000;color:#fff}@media print{.jGrowl{display:none}}</style><style media="all">.addtoany{display:inline}.addtoany_list{display:inline;line-height:16px}.addtoany_list>a,.addtoany_list a img,.addtoany_list a>span{vertical-align:middle}.addtoany_list>a{display:inline-block;font-size:16px;padding:0 4px}.addtoany_list.a2a_kit_size_32>a{font-size:32px}.addtoany_list .a2a_counter img{float:left}.addtoany_list a span.a2a_img{display:inline-block;height:16px;opacity:1;overflow:hidden;width:16px}.addtoany_list a span{display:inline-block;float:none}.addtoany_list.a2a_kit_size_32 a>span{border-radius:4px;height:32px;line-height:32px;opacity:1;width:32px}.addtoany_list a:hover:hover img,.addtoany_list a:hover span{opacity:.7}.addtoany_list a.addtoany_share_save img{border:0;width:auto;height:auto}.addtoany_list.a2a_kit_size_32 a .a2a_count{position:relative}</style>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://ecology.iww.org/sites/all/themes/wilderness/style.css?ojhna1" type="text/css" media="all">
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://ecology.iww.org/misc/jquery.js?v=1.4.4"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://ecology.iww.org/misc/jquery.once.js?v=1.2"></script>
<script src="https://ecology.iww.org/misc,_drupal.js,qojhna1+misc,_ajax.js,qv==7.53+sites,_all,_modules,_nodejs,_nodejs.js,qojhna1+sites,_all,_modules,_nodejs,_nodejs_ajax,_nodejs_ajax.js,qojhna1.pagespeed.jc.TUyMhFpjl8.js"></script><script>eval(mod_pagespeed_U52r5Yj8Ac);</script>
<script>eval(mod_pagespeed_fBnjzX6p45);</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://localhost:8080/socket.io/socket.io.js"></script>
<script>eval(mod_pagespeed_3gdUtLJLyc);</script>
<script>eval(mod_pagespeed_C45lrFJ7Jm);</script>
<script type="text/javascript">(function($){Drupal.Nodejs.callbacks.nodejsNotify={callback:function(message){var notifyTime=Drupal.settings.nodejs_notify.notification_time;if(notifyTime>0){$.jGrowl(message.data.body,{header:message.data.subject,life:(notifyTime*1000)});}else{$.jGrowl(message.data.body,{header:message.data.subject,sticky:true});}}};})(jQuery);</script>
<script type="text/javascript">(function($){Drupal.Nodejs.callbacks.nodejsWatchdog={callback:function(message){Drupal.nodejs_ajax.runCommands(message);$("#admin-dblog tr:even").removeClass('odd').addClass('even');$("#admin-dblog tr:odd").removeClass('even').addClass('odd');}};}(jQuery));</script>
<script type="text/javascript">(function($){Drupal.progressBar=function(id,updateCallback,method,errorCallback){var pb=this;this.id=id;this.method=method||'GET';this.updateCallback=updateCallback;this.errorCallback=errorCallback;this.element=$('<div class="progress" aria-live="polite"></div>').attr('id',id);this.element.html('<div class="bar"><div class="filled"></div></div>'+'<div class="percentage"></div>'+'<div class="message">&nbsp;</div>');};Drupal.progressBar.prototype.setProgress=function(percentage,message){if(percentage>=0&&percentage<=100){$('div.filled',this.element).css('width',percentage+'%');$('div.percentage',this.element).html(percentage+'%');}$('div.message',this.element).html(message);if(this.updateCallback){this.updateCallback(percentage,message,this);}};Drupal.progressBar.prototype.startMonitoring=function(uri,delay){this.delay=delay;this.uri=uri;this.sendPing();};Drupal.progressBar.prototype.stopMonitoring=function(){clearTimeout(this.timer);this.uri=null;};Drupal.progressBar.prototype.sendPing=function(){if(this.timer){clearTimeout(this.timer);}if(this.uri){var pb=this;$.ajax({type:this.method,url:this.uri,data:'',dataType:'json',success:function(progress){if(progress.status==0){pb.displayError(progress.data);return;}pb.setProgress(progress.percentage,progress.message);pb.timer=setTimeout(function(){pb.sendPing();},pb.delay);},error:function(xmlhttp){pb.displayError(Drupal.ajaxError(xmlhttp,pb.uri));}});}};Drupal.progressBar.prototype.displayError=function(string){var error=$('<div class="messages error"></div>').html(string);$(this.element).before(error).hide();if(this.errorCallback){this.errorCallback(this);}};})(jQuery);</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://ecology.iww.org/sites/all/modules/nodejs/nodejs_notify/libraries/jgrowl/jquery.jgrowl.js?ojhna1"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">window.a2a_config=window.a2a_config||{};window.da2a={done:false,html_done:false,script_ready:false,script_load:function(){var a=document.createElement('script'),s=document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];a.type='text/javascript';a.async=true;a.src='https://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js';s.parentNode.insertBefore(a,s);da2a.script_load=function(){};},script_onready:function(){da2a.script_ready=true;if(da2a.html_done)da2a.init();},init:function(){for(var i=0,el,target,targets=da2a.targets,length=targets.length;i<length;i++){el=document.getElementById('da2a_'+(i+1));target=targets[i];a2a_config.linkname=target.title;a2a_config.linkurl=target.url;if(el){a2a.init('page',{target:el});el.id='';}da2a.done=true;}da2a.targets=[];}};(function($){Drupal.behaviors.addToAny={attach:function(context,settings){if(context!==document&&window.da2a){if(da2a.script_ready)a2a.init_all('page');da2a.script_load();}}}})(jQuery);a2a_config.callbacks=a2a_config.callbacks||[];a2a_config.callbacks.push({ready:da2a.script_onready});a2a_config.templates=a2a_config.templates||{};</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://ecology.iww.org/sites/all/themes/wilderness/script.js?ojhna1"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">jQuery.extend(Drupal.settings,{"basePath":"\/","pathPrefix":"","ajaxPageState":{"theme":"wilderness","theme_token":"6uDLt5zfuFjTxSIvm_X8vWQVxwGxER273CitVHZUI-Y","js":{"0":1,"misc\/jquery.js":1,"misc\/jquery.once.js":1,"misc\/drupal.js":1,"misc\/ajax.js":1,"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/socket.io\/socket.io.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/nodejs\/nodejs.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/nodejs\/nodejs_ajax\/nodejs_ajax.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/nodejs\/nodejs_notify\/nodejs.notify.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/nodejs\/nodejs_watchdog\/nodejs.watchdog.js":1,"misc\/progress.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/nodejs\/nodejs_notify\/libraries\/jgrowl\/jquery.jgrowl.js":1,"1":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/wilderness\/script.js":1},"css":{"modules\/system\/system.base.css":1,"modules\/system\/system.menus.css":1,"modules\/system\/system.messages.css":1,"modules\/system\/system.theme.css":1,"modules\/aggregator\/aggregator.css":1,"modules\/book\/book.css":1,"modules\/comment\/comment.css":1,"modules\/field\/theme\/field.css":1,"modules\/node\/node.css":1,"modules\/search\/search.css":1,"modules\/user\/user.css":1,"modules\/forum\/forum.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/nodejs\/nodejs_notify\/libraries\/jgrowl\/jquery.jgrowl.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/addtoany\/addtoany.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/wilderness\/style.css":1}},"nodejs":{"nodejs":{"scheme":"http","secure":0,"host":"localhost","port":"8080"},"client":{"scheme":"http","secure":0,"host":"localhost","port":"8080"},"resource":"\/socket.io","authToken":"ee5caac9bb7fa3e5c884f85cec45ebda","websocketSwfLocation":"\/sites\/all\/modules\/nodejs\/socket_io\/socket.io\/support\/socket.io-client\/lib\/vendor\/web-socket-js\/WebSocketMain.swf","log_http_errors":true},"nodejs_notify":{"notification_time":3},"urlIsAjaxTrusted":{"\/node\/2645?destination=node\/2645":true,"\/node\/2645":true}});</script>
        <!--[if IE 6]><link rel="stylesheet" href="/sites/all/themes/wilderness/style.ie6.css" type="text/css" /><![endif]-->  
  -     <!--[if IE 7]><link rel="stylesheet" href="/sites/all/themes/wilderness/style.ie7.css" type="text/css" media="screen" /><![endif]-->
  </head>
  <body class="html not-front not-logged-in one-sidebar sidebar-first page-node page-node- page-node-2645 node-type-article">
            <div class="PageBackgroundGlare">
      <div class="PageBackgroundGlareImage"></div>
    </div>
    <div class="Main">
      <div class="Sheet">
        <div class="Sheet-tl"></div>
        <div class="Sheet-tr"></div>
        <div class="Sheet-bl"></div>
        <div class="Sheet-br"></div>
        <div class="Sheet-tc"></div>
        <div class="Sheet-bc"></div>
        <div class="Sheet-cl"></div>
        <div class="Sheet-cr"></div>
        <div class="Sheet-cc"></div>
        <div class="Sheet-body">
          <div class="Header">
            <div class="logo">
                              <div id="logo">
                  <a href="/" title="Home"><img src="https://ecology.iww.org/sites/default/files/EUCBanner4.jpg" alt="Home"/></a>
                </div>
                          </div>
	    </div>
                      <div class="nav">
              <div class="l"></div>
              <div class="r"></div>
	         <div class="region region-navigation">
        <div id="block-system-main-menu" class="block block-system block-title block-odd">  
      <div class="blockinner">
      <h2 class="title">Main menu</h2>        <div class="content">
	<ul class="menu"><li class="first leaf"><a href="/"><span class="l"></span><span class="r"></span><span class="t">Home</span><span></a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/about" title="About the Environmental Unionist Caucus"><span class="l"></span><span class="r"></span><span class="t">About</span><span></a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/join"><span class="l"></span><span class="r"></span><span class="t">Join</span><span></a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/contact"><span class="l"></span><span class="r"></span><span class="t">Contact Us</span><span></a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/texts"><span class="l"></span><span class="r"></span><span class="t">Green Unionism</span><span></a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/feeds"><span class="l"></span><span class="r"></span><span class="t">News Feeds</span><span></a></li>
<li class="leaf"><a href="/links"><span class="l"></span><span class="r"></span><span class="t">Links</span><span></a></li>
<li class="last leaf"><a href="http://www.iww.org" title=""><span class="l"></span><span class="r"></span><span class="t">IWW.ORG</span><span></a></li>
</ul>    </div>    
	</div>
	</div>
	  </div>
            </div>
                    <div class="cleared"></div>
          <div class="contentLayout">
            	      <div id="sidebar-left" class="sidebar">
	          <div class="region region-sidebar-first">
    <div class="Block">
  <div class="Block-tl"></div>
  <div class="Block-tr"></div>
  <div class="Block-bl"></div>
  <div class="Block-br"></div>
  <div class="Block-tc"></div>
  <div class="Block-bc"></div>
  <div class="Block-cl"></div>
  <div class="Block-cr"></div>
  <div class="Block-cc"></div>
  <div class="Block-body">
          <div class="BlockHeader">
	 <div class="l"></div>
	 <div class="r"></div>
	 <div class="header-tag-icon">
	 <div class="t">
	 Follow Us      </div>
        </div>
	  </div>
	  	  <div class="BlockContent">
	     <div class="BlockContent-body">
	     <div align="center">
<table width="100%" border="0"><tbody><tr><td>
				<a href="http://www.facebook.com/IWWEnvironmentalUnionistCaucus" target="_blank"><img alt="" height="30" src="http://ecology.iww.org/images/fblogo1.png" title="IWW EUC Facebook Group" width="30"/></a></td>
<td>
				<a href="https://twitter.com/IWWEUC" target="_blank"><img alt="" height="30" src="http://ecology.iww.org/images/twitlogo1.png" title="IWW EUC Twitter Page" width="30"/></a></td>
<td>
				<a href="http://lists.iww.org/listinfo/green-alert" target="_blank"><img alt="" height="30" src="http://ecology.iww.org/images/emaillogo1.png" title="Subscribe to green-alert@lists.iww.org" width="30"/></a></td>
<td>
				<a href="http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU8-40OLmpAXC0Nc8AS4ccQ" target="_blank"><img alt="" height="30" src="http://ecology.iww.org/images/tubelogo1.png" title="IWW EUC YouTube Channel" width="30"/></a></td>
<td>
				<a href="/rss.xml" target="_blank"><img alt="" height="30" src="http://ecology.iww.org/images/rsslogo1.png" title="Add IWW EUC news to your RSS feeds" width="30"/></a></td>
</tr><tr><td colspan="5">
<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/1267-watch" target="_blank"><img src="http://ecology.iww.org/images/1267Watch2.jpg"/></a>
</td>
</tr><tr><td colspan="5">
<a href="http://www.railroadconference.org" target="_blank"><img src="http://ecology.iww.org/images/Railcon15Button.jpg"/></a>
</td>
</tr></tbody></table></div>
	     </div>
		 </div>
		 </div>
</div>
		 <div class="Block">
  <div class="Block-tl"></div>
  <div class="Block-tr"></div>
  <div class="Block-bl"></div>
  <div class="Block-br"></div>
  <div class="Block-tc"></div>
  <div class="Block-bc"></div>
  <div class="Block-cl"></div>
  <div class="Block-cr"></div>
  <div class="Block-cc"></div>
  <div class="Block-body">
          <div class="BlockHeader">
	 <div class="l"></div>
	 <div class="r"></div>
	 <div class="header-tag-icon">
	 <div class="t">
	 User login      </div>
        </div>
	  </div>
	  	  <div class="BlockContent">
	     <div class="BlockContent-body">
	     <form action="/node/2645?destination=node/2645" method="post" id="user-login-form" accept-charset="UTF-8"><div><div class="form-item form-type-textfield form-item-name">
  <label for="edit-name">Username <span class="form-required" title="This field is required.">*</span></label>
 <input type="text" id="edit-name" name="name" value="" size="15" maxlength="60" class="form-text required"/>
</div>
<div class="form-item form-type-password form-item-pass">
  <label for="edit-pass">Password <span class="form-required" title="This field is required.">*</span></label>
 <input type="password" id="edit-pass" name="pass" size="15" maxlength="128" class="form-text required"/>
</div>
<div class="item-list"><ul><li class="first last"><a href="/user/password" title="Request new password via e-mail.">Request new password</a></li>
</ul></div><input type="hidden" name="form_build_id" value="form-TMf0cbGJgLUvXAVcIuusO4HBBAvoCmYmrzoVCVW2jME"/>
<input type="hidden" name="form_id" value="user_login_block"/>
<div class="form-actions form-wrapper" id="edit-actions"><button type="submit" name="op" id="edit-submit" value="Log in" type="submit" id="edit-submit" name="op" value="Log in" class="Button form-submit"><span class="btn"><span class="l"></span><span class="r"></span><span class="t">Log in</span></span></button></div></div></form>	     </div>
		 </div>
		 </div>
</div>
		 <div class="Block">
  <div class="Block-tl"></div>
  <div class="Block-tr"></div>
  <div class="Block-bl"></div>
  <div class="Block-br"></div>
  <div class="Block-tc"></div>
  <div class="Block-bc"></div>
  <div class="Block-cl"></div>
  <div class="Block-cr"></div>
  <div class="Block-cc"></div>
  <div class="Block-body">
          <div class="BlockHeader">
	 <div class="l"></div>
	 <div class="r"></div>
	 <div class="header-tag-icon">
	 <div class="t">
	 Link to Main IWW Site      </div>
        </div>
	  </div>
	  	  <div class="BlockContent">
	     <div class="BlockContent-body">
	     <div align="center"><a href="http://www.iww.org"><img src="http://ecology.iww.org/images/GlobeLogo.png"/></a></div>
	     </div>
		 </div>
		 </div>
</div>
		 <div class="Block">
  <div class="Block-tl"></div>
  <div class="Block-tr"></div>
  <div class="Block-bl"></div>
  <div class="Block-br"></div>
  <div class="Block-tc"></div>
  <div class="Block-bc"></div>
  <div class="Block-cl"></div>
  <div class="Block-cr"></div>
  <div class="Block-cc"></div>
  <div class="Block-body">
    	  <div class="BlockContent">
	     <div class="BlockContent-body">
	     <form action="/node/2645" method="post" id="search-block-form" accept-charset="UTF-8"><div><div class="container-inline">
      <h2 class="element-invisible">Search form</h2>
    <div class="form-item form-type-textfield form-item-search-block-form">
  <label class="element-invisible" for="edit-search-block-form--2">Search </label>
 <input title="Enter the terms you wish to search for." type="text" id="edit-search-block-form--2" name="search_block_form" value="" size="15" maxlength="128" class="form-text"/>
</div>
<div class="form-actions form-wrapper" id="edit-actions--2"><button type="submit" name="op" id="edit-submit--2" value="Search" type="submit" id="edit-submit--2" name="op" value="Search" class="Button form-submit"><span class="btn"><span class="l"></span><span class="r"></span><span class="t">Search</span></span></button></div><input type="hidden" name="form_build_id" value="form-_COLHsKP_GRPK_L3g8iGxbEcl63PU9ltFlcuC-impAc"/>
<input type="hidden" name="form_id" value="search_block_form"/>
</div>
</div></form>	     </div>
		 </div>
		 </div>
</div>
		 <div class="Block">
  <div class="Block-tl"></div>
  <div class="Block-tr"></div>
  <div class="Block-bl"></div>
  <div class="Block-br"></div>
  <div class="Block-tc"></div>
  <div class="Block-bc"></div>
  <div class="Block-cl"></div>
  <div class="Block-cr"></div>
  <div class="Block-cc"></div>
  <div class="Block-body">
          <div class="BlockHeader">
	 <div class="l"></div>
	 <div class="r"></div>
	 <div class="header-tag-icon">
	 <div class="t">
	 Who's online      </div>
        </div>
	  </div>
	  	  <div class="BlockContent">
	     <div class="BlockContent-body">
	     <p>There are currently 0 users online.</p>	     </div>
		 </div>
		 </div>
</div>
		 <div class="Block">
  <div class="Block-tl"></div>
  <div class="Block-tr"></div>
  <div class="Block-bl"></div>
  <div class="Block-br"></div>
  <div class="Block-tc"></div>
  <div class="Block-bc"></div>
  <div class="Block-cl"></div>
  <div class="Block-cr"></div>
  <div class="Block-cc"></div>
  <div class="Block-body">
    	  <div class="BlockContent">
	     <div class="BlockContent-body">
	     <span>Powered by <a href="https://www.drupal.org">Drupal</a></span>	     </div>
		 </div>
		 </div>
</div>
		   </div>
	      </div>
                        <div id="main">
              <div class="Post">
                <div class="Post-body">
                  <div class="Post-inner">
                    <div class="PostContent">
                                                                  <h2 class="element-invisible">You are here</h2><div class="breadcrumb"><a href="/">Home</a></div>                      <div class="cleared"></div>		      		                              <h1 class="with-tabs">Workers’ rights are being abused as they rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Harvey</h1>
		      		                                                                         <div class="region region-content">
        <div id="block-system-main" class="block block-system block-even">  
      <div class="blockinner">
              <div class="content">
	<div id="node-2645" class="node node-article node-promoted" about="/node/2645" typeof="sioc:Item foaf:Document">

  
      <span property="dc:title" content="Workers’ rights are being abused as they rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Harvey" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span><span property="sioc:num_replies" content="0" datatype="xsd:integer" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span>
      <span class="submitted"><span property="dc:date dc:created" content="2017-11-27T16:51:51-08:00" datatype="xsd:dateTime" rel="sioc:has_creator">Submitted by <span class="username" xml:lang="" about="/user/3" typeof="sioc:UserAccount" property="foaf:name" datatype="">x344543</span> on Mon, 11/27/2017 - 16:51</span></span>
  
  <div class="content clearfix">
    <span class="print-link"></span><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><strong>By Casey Quinlan - <a target="_blank" href="https://thinkprogress.org/workers-rights-are-being-abused-as-they-rebuild-in-the-wake-of-hurricane-harvey-c89dec948a1d/"><em>ThinkProgress</em></a>, November 27, 2017</strong></p>
<p><img src="http://ecology.iww.org/images/workers-harvey1.jpg" width="320" height="180" align="right" alt=""/>Day laborers, many of them undocumented, are reportedly being exploited as they rebuild after Hurricane Harvey, and their health and economic well-being are are stake.</p>
<p>According to a <a target="_blank" href="https://greatcities.uic.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/After-the-Storm_Theodore_2017.pdf">report</a> from the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and University of Illinois Chicago that surveyed 360 workers, 26 percent of workers have experienced wage theft in their post-Harvey work and 85 percent did not receive health and safety training. Sixty-one percent of workers did not have the necessary respiratory equipment to protect them from mold and chemicals, 40 percent did not have protective eyewear, and 87 percent were not informed about the risks of working in these unsafe buildings.</p>
<p>Workers have been exposed to mold and contamination on a regular basis, and regardless of whether workers are undocumented, they often aren’t aware of their legal protections, <a target="_blank" href="https://greatcities.uic.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/After-the-Storm_Theodore_2017.pdf">according to the report</a>. To make matters worse, Texas is the only state that <a target="_blank" href="http://www.houstonpress.com/news/don-t-fall-down-on-the-job-in-texas-employers-don-t-have-to-provide-injury-coverage-8120319">lets</a> employers opt out of workers’ compensation for work injuries.</p>
<p>Advocates for different labor groups focusing on undocumented laborers have been speaking out on the issue of exploitation and visiting work sites to survey workers and pass out flyers with information on labor rights. There is tension between these advocates in Houston and Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) on how the federal funds for hurricane recovery should be distributed. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/24/houston-texas-hurricane-harvey-rebuilding-immigrant-rights">According to</a> the Guardian, worker groups would prefer the money be distributed through the office of Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner (D), since the mayor is seen as a progressive ally. They’re afraid that if the money is instead distributed through the general land office run by George P. Bush, as Abbott wants, immigrant and worker groups won’t receive the aid they need.</p>
<p>The Associated Press <a target="_blank" href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/advocates-texas-exploiting-day-laborers-harvey-51390833">interviewed</a> workers hired by individual homeowners, subcontractors working on residential and commercial buildings, and work crews from outside of Texas about the working conditions. Martin Mares, a native of Mexico who came to Houston in 1995, told the AP that the demand for labor attracted people who don’t usually do this kind of work and don’t know how to do it safely. He gave the example of a pregnant woman working without gloves in an apartment building that had flooded.</p>
<p>Jose Garza, executive director of the Workers Defense Project <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/23/houston-harvey-construction-workers-protect-abuse-undocumented">wrote</a> in the Guardian, “One woman contacted us when she and her crew, after spending more than 90 hours clearing out a Holiday Inn, were turned away without pay.”</p>
<p>Advocates for undocumented workers in Houston are also concerned about Senate Bill 4 (SB4), a Texas law that lets local law enforcement ask people they detain or arrest about their immigration status and hits local government officials with jail time and large financial penalties if they refuse to comply with federal detainer requests. The law is currently being <a target="_blank" href="https://thinkprogress.org/bye-sb4-texas-f7674bf86b64/">held up</a> in the courts, but that hasn’t completely erased fears among immigrant communities in Texas.</p>
<p>In addition to being exposed to mold and chemicals as well as experiencing wage theft, undocumented workers have already suffered from the devastation of the storm in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.npr.org/2017/09/07/549132417/houston-s-undocumented-immigrants-left-destitute-and-fearful-in-harvey-s-wake">unique ways</a> due to poverty, lack of insurance, and their undocumented status. There are some 600,000 undocumented immigrants in Houston. After the hurricane, many undocumented people were afraid to use local shelters because of their immigration status or didn’t want to leave homes because they were concerned about protecting property. Although local and federal officials have tried to persuade undocumented people that they are not there to enforce immigration laws, undocumented people are still worried about the risk of seeking help...</p>
<!--break--><p>Read more: <a target="_blank" href="https://thinkprogress.org/workers-rights-are-being-abused-as-they-rebuild-in-the-wake-of-hurricane-harvey-c89dec948a1d/">here</a>.</p>
<p><em><b>Disclaimer:</b> <em>The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.</em></em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/taxonomy/term/1475" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hurricane Harvey</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/taxonomy/term/1143" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">disaster capitalism</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/taxonomy/term/846" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">climate justice</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/taxonomy/term/203" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="//capital_blight" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Capital Blight</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/taxonomy/term/380" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health and safety</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/taxonomy/term/74" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">green unionism</a></div></div></div>  </div>

  <div class="clearfix">
         <div class="meta"> <div class="links"><ul class="links inline"><li class="addtoany first"><span><span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 a2a_target addtoany_list" id="da2a_1">
      
      <a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fecology.iww.org%2Fnode%2F2645&amp;title=Workers%E2%80%99%20rights%20are%20being%20abused%20as%20they%20rebuild%20in%20the%20wake%20of%20Hurricane%20Harvey"><img src="/sites/all/modules/addtoany/images/share_16_16.png" width="16" height="16" alt="Share/Save"/></a>
      
    </span>
    <script type="text/javascript">if(window.da2a)da2a.script_load();</script></span></li>
<li class="comment_forbidden last"><span><a href="/user/login?destination=node/2645%23comment-form">Log in</a> to post comments</span></li>
</ul></div></div>
    
      </div>

</div>    </div>    
	</div>
	</div>
	  </div>
		                         </div>
                    <div class="cleared"></div>
                  </div>
                </div>
              </div>
            </div>
          </div>
          <div class="cleared"></div>
          <div class="Footer">
            <div class="Footer-inner">
              <a href="/rss.xml" class="rss-tag-icon" title="RSS"></a>
              <div class="Footer-text">
         <div class="region region-copyright">
        <div id="block-block-3" class="block block-block block-title block-odd">  
      <div class="blockinner">
      <h2 class="title">Official IWW Notice:</h2>        <div class="content">
	<p><img src="/images/40x40xIWWEUCjadebck.jpg.pagespeed.ic.DOHy9mXITq.jpg" align="right" height="40" width="40"/><b>Disclaimer:</b> - This site is <i>not</i> the official webpage of the <b>Industrial Workers of the World</b>.<br/> If you are looking for the IWW's official site, please visit <a href="http://www.iww.org" target="_blank">www.iww.org</a>.</p>
<hr width="50%"/><p align="left"><b>Fair Use Notice:</b> The material on this site is provided for educational and informational purposes. It may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. It is being made available in an effort to advance the understanding of scientific, environmental, economic, social justice and human rights issues etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have an interest in using the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. The information on this site does not constitute legal or technical advice.</p>
    </div>    
	</div>
	</div>
	  </div>
              </div>
            </div>
            <div class="Footer-background"></div>
          </div>
        </div>
      </div>
      <div class="cleared"></div>
       <p class="page-footer"> Theme developed by <a href="http://agileware.net">Agileware Pty Ltd</a></p>
    </div>    <script type="text/javascript">da2a.targets=[{title:"Workers\u2019 rights are being abused as they rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Harvey",url:"https:\/\/ecology.iww.org\/node\/2645"}];da2a.html_done=true;if(da2a.script_ready&&!da2a.done)da2a.init();da2a.script_load();</script>
  </body>
</html>
