Hearing on Guest Workers In U.S. National Forests

Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva announced the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Land will have an oversight hearing on  The Piñeros: Reviewing the Welfare of Workers on Federal Lands.

The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. in room 1334 of the Longworth House Office Building.

The hearing will evaluate contract requirements released by the Forest Service in late 2005/early 2006 after publicity on an investigation of the mistreatment of Piñeros.   The hearing will review the effectiveness of these contract requirements, and explore what else needs to be done in order to ensure worker safety and welfare on National Forest System lands.

“We must understand the face of immigration, the labor demands, and the exploitation occurring in our forests,” said Grijalva.  “The Forest Service and the Department of Labor have a responsibility to protect the health and welfare of these workers in our national forest.”

In 2005, the Sacramento Bee Newspaper did an investigation on the Piñeros, Latino forest laborers who work in our National Forests through a visa program. Of the estimated 66,000 guest workers in this country, forest workers are the second-largest group, after landscape laborers.   The Piñeros, who often lack adequate training, protective gear or medical supplies,  have been victims of employer exploitation and government neglect under the H2-B Visa program that invites foreign workers to the United States to fill labor shortages.

Due to the Sacramento Bee investigation, the U.S. Forest Service put forth guidelines to help minimize the abuse of the laborers by the companies who hired them, but there has been little information to the follow up of those guidelines. 

The U.S. Department of Labor provided a report to Congress in May 2008 regarding the investigations that have taken place but nothing have come of these reports until now.

The Sacramento Bee series about the Piñeros, can be found here.

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