The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Maxi Staff Inc" ...
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Opportunity of Exploitation?
These stories deal with how a company, Maxi Staff Inc., used promises of good pay, great housing and the chance to escape poverty and high unemployment to recruit laborers for Puerto Rico to work in U.S. meat processing plants. The stories revealed how, once they were in the United States, the laborers' dreams turned to dust and they found themselves in an unfavorable economic situation. The company charged recruits for the recruits' flights to the U.S. They were put in substandard and unsanitary housing. Workers made less money than they had originally been told, often making less than $100 for a 40-hour week. Recruits who fell ill or got injured on the job were fired and evicted from their housing with 48 hours notice.
Tags: Maxi Staff Inc.; poverty; unemployment; Puerto Rican Laborers; U.S. meat processing plants; U.S. Department of Labor; Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration; Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources; Ronell Industries; Empire Kosher; Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry; Catholic Social Services; Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations; Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church; U.S. Department of Labor's Employment Standards Administration Wage and Hour Division; OSHA; Puerto Rican recruits; Pennsylvania Statewide Latino Coalition