Foreign Student Workers Quit Hershey's, Prompt Debate

Four hundred foreign workers at Hershey in Pennsylvania walked off the job Wednesday. Students from China, Nigeria, Romania and the Ukraine, came on J-1 visas to learn English and fill seasonal jobs. But $8.35 an hour (more than minimum wage) wasn't enough. The student walk-out has caused a firestorm of debate. This issue raises several questions.

* With high unemployment rates, why do we need to import foreign workers?

We don't. The students were brought over through the J-1 Visa cultural exchange program. They were brought over ostensibly to fill summer tourism jobs, but ended up working through temporary staffing agencies at Exel, a Hershey's contracted packing plant. Nationwide, unemployment in the United States was 9.2 percent in July. How is it that the temp agencies couldn't find American workers to fill the jobs? They could. They gave preference to the foreign laborers.

* Aren't foreign workers doing jobs Americans won't do, for less money?

No. These were factory jobs: the same work that supports a majority of Americans, if they can get the jobs. I know of hundreds of teens, college students, adults and parents in our little community alone who are unemployed. They have tried to find work and been unsuccessful. Minimum wage is $7.25 per hour in most states. Many families in the U.S. subsist on less than the $8.35 paid to foreign workers, doing the same job.

* J-1 visas help impoverished people find work and build cultural bridges, right?

Yes, but what kind of work and what kind of bridges? Some students have great experiences with J-1 visa exchanges; others, not so much. The J-1 program, which imported 150,000 workers from other countries in 2008, sounds great, however immigration officials are investigating two separate cases of human trafficking related to J-1 visas. One was a sexual services ring and another employed students in strip clubs.

* Companies are trying to help foreign workers, right?

Wrong. Businesses would like us to think that. They aren't giving however, they are taking. Businesses that participate with the J-1 program aren't doing anyone any favors; they are taking advantage of benefits. Foreign workers cost companies eight percent less than domestic labor, with fewer employee taxes, no social security payments, no health care and no unemployment insurance or worker compensation fees.

* Why did the foreign workers walk away from higher-than-minimum wages?

They had no choice. Exel and by default, Hershey's may have been paying a buck or so more than minimum wage per hour, but they were also gouging the workers for rent, program fees and other costs. Workers were left with less than they had before they started the program. It's nigh on impossible for foreign workers to organize into unions. These students have no rights or protection. Companies can and do take advantage of them. That's why the students had to stage a walk out.

* But American workers have to pay their bills out of their paychecks; how is it that the foreign workers couldn't manage?

That is the most intriguing question in this whole issue. The foreign workers, lured over here with promises of employment, found that they could not afford housing, transportation, health care, food and program fees on their wages. Many U.S. citizens are in the same position: their paycheck must cover the same things, only with less pay. Many do not have health care benefits and don't qualify for public assistance, food stamps and Medicaid, either.

Maybe we can learn something from these disgruntled foreign visitors? Maybe a general strike is the wake-up call this country needs.

Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes from 22 years parenting four children, 25 years teaching K-8, special needs and ESL and a lifetime of activism in social justice.