Tales of the Reconstruction

Immigrant workers stiffed for Katrina work

The post-Katrina screw ups continue and non-payment of labourers working to clean up after the hurricane disaster could morph into a very serious problem. If these idiot contractors continue to screw people over, many, maybe everyone, may just walk away. And then what?

The problem appears to be stemming from unwieldy private contractor bureaucracies and, quite possibly, reluctance to make payment to immigrant workers once millions of federal dollars have been dumped in company laps. The immigrants are fairly powerless to insist the US Labor Department do anything, so the companies hang on to a boatload of cash for as long as possible, collecting interest, making short buy investments, who knows. Why so suspicious? Well, guess who is on the top rung of one of these subcontracting ladders? None other than Halliburton's own Kellog, Brown and Root.

Ultimately, if they screw with the labourers long enough, the possibility looms these workers will just take a hike. Paying people for the work they've done is not complicated. Is there anything we're actually willing to do right in this country anymore?