Labor of trafficked workers
This Labor Day, I'm thinking about workers. Not the workers who are enjoying the holiday at home with their families but the ones who are forced to work 12 hours or more a day and up to seven days a week. These workers are victims of human trafficking, specifically labor trafficking.
It's happening here. Statewide advocacy coalition Kentucky Rescue and Restore reports that more than one in four reported human trafficking cases in Kentucky are cases of forced labor. Since human trafficking rivals sexual assault in terms of underreporting, the true number of cases is unknown. Some of these reported cases have led to criminal investigations and prosecutions. Labor trafficking happens in many sectors, such as the restaurant, agriculture and domestic services industries.
The good news: Last year Kentucky passed comprehensive human trafficking reform. Police and prosecutors now have more tools to prosecute traffickers, including seizure of property used to commit the crime. On the civil side, victims of labor trafficking can sue the trafficker for three times the wages owed to them, plus attorneys' fees. These laws have been hailed nationwide as a model for other states.
The not-so-good news is that human trafficking victims require help to recover from these abuses, and our local service providers are overwhelmed.
Imagine a hypothetical but fairly typical case. It begins when worker pays a fee to a labor recruiter. The recruiter promises that in return the worker can come here from a Latin American country, gain legal status and earn a fair wage. This can be a legitimate working arrangement under some federally regulated guest worker programs, so it is reasonable for the worker to believe these promises. The worker eagerly leaves at the chance of a better life for his family. But he arrives in the United States to an illegal arrangement where he is unlawfully present and will have to work 80 hour weeks for practically no money.
He has to live in inhumane conditions and has pennies to his name. He may not be allowed to leave the place where he works. His employer may threaten to call authorities if he complains. He will have to overcome obstacles like isolation, lack of identification and language barriers to reach out for help. If he escapes, he will immediately need food, clothes, shelter and an immigration attorney.
In the long term, he will need to learn English, get help for the psychological effects that victims suffer and get more legal help to collect the wages that he earned.
What can you do to stop human trafficking and help victims? Here are three things:
• Learn more:Can you leave your job if you want to? Are you in debt to your employer? Is your employer paying you? The answers to these questions could reveal that a worker is subject to forced labor. Learn more "red flags" from a national group like Polaris Project. If you believe someone has been forced or coerced to work, call or text the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
• Take action: Your church or community group can host a forum, fundraiser, or community service project to raise awareness about forced labor. For example, advocates distribute chapsticks with the national hotline number at human trafficking hotspots across the state, which your group can help assemble. Victims' services groups like Catholic Charities in Louisville need basic items (furniture, gift cards, baby products) to help victims with short term housing.
• Spend conscientiously: Voting with your dollar is the most powerful thing you can do. Some everyday products like chocolate and coffee are tainted with child labor or forced labor. Research fair trade products and incorporate a couple of them into your regular shopping list.
As an attorney representing human trafficking victims, I have heard the victims' stories. I've heard of workers being forced to work in agriculture at gunpoint. I've heard of workers floating across the Rio Grande in a raft, only to work more than 80 hours a week in a Kentucky restaurant. No one wants this to happen in their community, but it will take a collective effort to end this form of modern day slavery.
McKenzie Cantrell is an attorney with Kentucky Equal Justice Center.