Don’t Deport Underpaid Teachers

From Change.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 22, 2011

CONTACTS:
Emmelle Israel, Katarungan: Center for Peace, Justice and Human Rights in the Philippines, (410) 701 0520 katarungan2009@gmail.com

Jackie Mahendra, Director of Organizing, Change.org (202) 222 8699, jackie@change.org

3,000 DEMAND THAT HUNDREDS OF UNDERPAID TEACHERS NOT BE DEPORTED

Hundreds of foreign teachers in DC-area schools face job loss and deportation after school district found to have willfully underpaid them; activists say teachers are being victimized twice.

WASHINGTON, DC – More than 3,000 people from across the country have joined a popular online campaign on Change.org calling on the Department of Labor to ensure that hundreds of foreign teachers who were willfully underpaid by a local school district not face job loss and deportation.

The news comes as kids go back to school, only to find hundreds of math, science and ESOL teachers from countries like the Philippines, Chile and Jamaica to be absent.

The U.S. Department of Labor found Prince George’s County Public Schools to be a willful violator of the rules of the H1B program, which allows U.S. employers to sponsor foreign workers for “specialty” occupations. After years of underpayment of wages, the Department of Labor forced the school district to pay more than $4 million in back wages, a $100,000 penalty, and to be debarred for two years.

The ruling effectively meant the end of the school district’s ability to continue to sponsor any foreign workers, leading to job loss and the loss of legal status in the United States for hundreds of foreign teachers.

Katarungan, a Filipino-American human rights group, launched the online petition campaign on Change.org in an effort to pile pressure on federal authorities and the school district to take action.

“As a parent of a child who has special needs, I know the value of quality educators and believe parents shouldn’t have to settle for ‘minimally’ qualified teachers,” said Josef Calugay, a member of the group.

“Prince George’s County Public Schools has committed a grave violation against its educators and what’s worse is that your children will suffer greatly from the unfair decision too,” said the foreign teachers in an open letter to parents. “We ask you, not only as parents who have a big stake in the education system, but as conscientious citizens who value fairness, to stand with us now, as we demand just and equal treatment. We ask you to support us as we have supported and sacrificed for the betterment of your children.”

The Pilipino Educators Network of PG County (PEN) has also been holding protests, including a rally outside the White House earlier this month. News of the online petition campaign’s success is likely to increase pressure on the school district and the Department of Labor right as kids head back to school.

“To see hundreds of teachers come together for this campaign has been incredible,” said Change.org Director of Organizing Jackie Mahendra. “With minimal resources, these teachers have staged a White House protest, recruited thousands of supporters from across the country and attracted national media attention. Change.org is about empowering anyone, anywhere to demand action on the issues that matter to them, and it has been an honor to provide a platform for the teachers’ campaign.”

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