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Friday, October 23, 2009

Powerful teacher group takes cudgels for Pinoy mentors | ABS-CBN News Online Beta


Powerful teacher group takes cudgels for Pinoy mentors ABS-CBN News Online Beta:

"WASHINGTON DC - One of America's most influential unions is taking the cudgels for Filipino teachers in Louisiana, alleged victims of a California-based placement agency that collected exorbitant fees and accused of violating federal and state laws.

The 1.4 million-strong American Federation of Teachers (AFT) filed this week a complaint with the US Department of Labor against recruiter Lourdes 'Lulu' Navarro and Universal Placement International on behalf of about two dozen Filipino teachers.

The plight of Filipino mentors was revealed in a series of reports on ABS-CBN's Balitang America.

'The allegations, backed by the facts, show these teachers to be victims of worker abuses like the ones in our students' history books: indentured servitude, debt bondage and labor contracts signed under duress,' said AFT president Randi Weingarten, in a statement posted in the AFT's website today."