Low Pay and Broken Promises Greet Guest Workers in U.S.

February 28, 2007, Wednesday | By STEVEN GREENHOUSE (NYT); National Desk | Late Edition - Final, Section A, Page 1, Column 4, 1679 words

Article on abuse of many of 120,000 foreign workers who receive visasto do farm work or other low-skilled labor in US, usually for three to nine months; accounts of abuse of workers like Thai farmer Worawut Khansamrit, who was never paid what recruiter promised, come as Pres Bush and many in Congress push for immigration overhaul that would expand guest worker program, which grew out of World War II bracero program for Mexicans; abuses include guest workers paying exorbitant fees and getting fewer weeks of work and less pay than promised; several Thai and Indonesian workers describe plight; Khansamrit and 21 other guest workers are suing labor contractors and farmers in North Carolina ...