Slavery in the news: Indian 'guest workers' to hold hunger strike in DC

Follow up on the post-Katrina abuses of H2B Visa guest workers in Mississippi and Texas.

• Indian slave pipefitters long march to Washington, and a book about modern U.S. slavery (3/19/08)
• Slavery: Alive and well in USA Pt.2, Indian pipefitters abused in H2B Visa scam, main stream media picks up story full year after facts are released (3/13/08)

From DC Labor Council Newsletter (5/12/08):

INDIAN WORKERS TO LAUNCH HUNGER STRIKE IN DC

Hundreds of Indian workers will launch a hunger strike this Wednesday to demand that the federal government investigate the guest worker program and abuse of post-Katrina Gulf Coast workers. The hunger strike follows a march from New Orleans to Washington by the workers, who escaped labor camps in Texas and Mississippi in March. "Guest workers from across the world are systematically exploited under the federal H2B visa program," says the New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice (NOWCRJ), which is supporting the workers. "They suffer abuses that routinely rise to the level of labor trafficking, forced labor, and involuntary servitude. If they organize, they face violence and deportation."

Click below to subscribe