'Indefensible' Labor Practices on U.S. Bases
A new report released last week alleges several defense contractors in the Persian Gulf are trapping foreign workers into debt bondage and other corrupt employment practices on at least four U.S. military bases. The U.S. government has made its stance against forced labor, human trafficking, and unethical employment processes very clear, both at home and abroad. So, why is this happening? And, what can we do to help make certain that all workers on U.S. military bases are safe and treated with dignity and respect?
This new report is not the first revelation.
In May 2011, The New Yorker published "The Invisible Army," documenting how women from Fiji who believed they were traveling to Dubai to work as beauticians were actually bound for U.S. military bases in Iraq and merely transiting through Dubai as a duplicitous plot. In the words of The New Yorker, the women featured in the article were "unwitting recruits for the Pentagon’s invisible army: more than seventy thousand cooks, cleaners, construction workers, fast-food clerks, electricians, and beauticians from the world’s poorest countries who service U.S. military logistics contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan."
The government's response to earlier allegations.
While most Americans are aware that private contractors exist on U.S. bases abroad, many assume that those contracts largely employ security forces. At the time "The Invisible Army" was published in 2011, only 16% of the private contractors' employees actually worked in security. The remainder, largely hailing from South Asia and Africa, worked in everything from construction to food service. To combat this labor embroglio, in 2012, former President Obama issued an executive order to "strengthen protections against trafficking in persons in Federal contracting." Less than two years later, Al Jazeera's "Fault Lines" published evidence of ongoing labor abuses on U.S. military bases. They "found Department of Defense subcontractors and their recruiters colluding to profit directly from exorbitant fees charged to job candidates, who are sometimes left with no choice but to work for six to 12 months to recoup those costs."
A history of labor abuse in the military.
Unfortunately, this history of labor abuse can be traced back several generations. According to the National Park Service (NPS), after Camp Nelson was established in Kentucky in 1863, the U.S. Army was authorized to impress “six thousand laborers from the negro population of the country.” Back then, "impressment" meant that the U.S. and Confederate governments were permitted to take any materials, including animals, food, and enslaved people, to support their needs during the Civil War. Enslaved Black Americans in Central Kentucky were forced into labor for the U.S. Army, constructing roads, buildings, and anything else the army needed at the time. The U.S. military did not pay the enslaved people in Kentucky for their work. Instead, NPS notes that compensation was given solely to their owners.
Share the report far and wide. One Twitter user noted that few people are talking about this issue because it has not been widely covered. To ensure that contractors working with the U.S. military immediately stop these heinous practices, the issue needs to be constantly discussed. As NBC News pointed out, these allegations involve tax-payer-funded contractors. If you are a U.S. taxpayer, you have an obligation to demand transparency and accountability. One of the first steps to government accountability is public awareness. Consider sharing this tweet by NBC News and/or forwarding this issue of The Friday Brief to friends and family.