Original subtitles

My name is James Kendrick Judkins.

I've been processing visas since 1978,

which is a long time.

Most of the people we bring into the country

come in on an H-2B visa, and what it is,

it's a temporary, seasonal,

nonagricultural visa.

Sometimes it gets frustrating,

because you'll have workers going to a show,

and they'll be working at the show,

and somebody will come up to them and refer to them

as a wetback or an illegal or whatever.

And it's frustrating for them, because, you know,

they could have made the choice

to try to come in illegally and work,

and the employer could have made the choice

to not go through all these steps

and pay these... This money,

and hire illegals.

But both the employer and the worker made the choice

to follow the system.

When I was going to college,

I had a friend that wanted to be a circus juggler,

and so he asked me if I wanted to join a circus.

I just sort of liked it.

I stayed, learned how to be a fire eater,

do the bed of nails, and did a magic act.

And the sideshow manager quit,

so I learned how to become a sideshow manager.

The circus becomes your family.

I mean, it becomes all-consuming,

and then the people that travel with you

are your family, you know.

And it was just a great life, just a great life.

In the old days, you'd just have to go

to the mission or the homeless shelter.

You hire ten people.

At the end of the day, there might be two left.

At the end of the week, there might be one left.

You might be lucky and you have

some people that stay the whole season.

When I was with Carson & Barnes,

they had workers there from all over Mexico.

One of the carnival owners came and said,

"We're having problems,

and we see how quickly and efficiently your show works.

Can you help us with visas?"

I'm the person that processes 81% of all the H-2B visas

for the outdoor entertainment industry in the country.

I didn't realize that I handled such a large percentage.

My name is Peter Joseph.

I'm the president of Jolly Shows.

We're a Maryland-based carnival,

and we travel throughout Maryland and Virginia.

It's a tough business, it's a hard business,

but when things go good, there's nothing like it.

It's... I wouldn't change my life for anything.

It's enjoyable.

I would always, you know, do the same thing each year

as far as, you know, finding labor,

put ads in papers, you know, friends of mine, word of mouth,

that sort of thing.

I would hire, you know, these local guys,

and, like I said, they were okay,

but, you know, they weren't dependable.

If I told them, you know, to be out there a certain time,

you know, "We got to start setting up

and do this and do that," maybe 70% of them

would show up.

Then, you know, instead of me opening on time,

hey, I had to push it back,

because everything wasn't set up.

A friend of mine was using foreign labor

with the visa program, and ever since then,

I've been using Jim Judkins and his workforce,

and it's the best thing I ever done.

The guys, they're sincere.

You know, just like everything else,

you know, hey, they get kind of so-called Americanized

after a while, but overall I cannot complain.

They come on time, they don't have any bad habits,

and, believe me, the best thing I ever done.

Best thing I ever done.

You have to see them to believe them.

No one has to tell them what to do, how to do it.

Both vans get there,

they scatter,

and they just start working.

It's unbelievable.

They help each other. You know what I mean?

Like, they help each other out,

which, I mean, is a good thing, you know.

You know, you don't find any Americans doing that.

You know what I mean?

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Tomorrow more, more.

-More. -More, yeah.

I know. I know.

Thank you!

Okay, four o'clock tomorrow!

-Four o'clock. -Four.

-Four o'clock. -Hasta manana.

Several years ago, CDM began hearing stories

of abuse and mistreatment from Mexican workers

who had figuratively been taken for a ride

by fair and carnival employers.

CDM, you know, we're a small organization,

but we've spoken with thousands of workers,

thousands of H-2A and H-2B workers,

and we've heard countless stories

of violations of workers' rights.

There's a group out of Timonium, Maryland, CDM,

which they're a agency, you know.

Supposedly, they're for, you know, the employee.

Basically, you know, what they did is,

they went ahead, while we were opened at the fair today,

and what they were doing is going around

to all the employees and asking each employee,

"Are you satisfied, you know, with your living conditions?

Are you satisfied, you know, with your pay?"

And that sort of thing.

They actually took some interviews

from a couple of the workers.

Employers say that they can't find American workers,

but when employers can't find workers,

they have to do something to attract workers.

They have to raise wages.

They have to improve working conditions.

And I think the H-2B program is a way around that.

This is way to get cheap workers.

It's a way to get cheap workers.

Workers are paid a weekly wage, a weekly wage,

regardless of how many hours are worked during the week.

Sometimes that amounts to $2 to $3 an hour.

My line of thinking is, if, you know, we're doing so bad,

if we're treating these employees so bad,

if their living conditions are so poor,

if they're not getting paid a good wage,

why are they coming back year after year?

I do need that immediately, okay?

There's a suspicion that you must be using these workers

'cause you don't pay enough,

and the thing is, it's not a matter of money.

It's just a matter of you just can't find workers

willing to do the job,

and the employers have no other options.

I mean, the option would be to hire illegals

or hire subpar people.

Now that I'm providing the carnivals the opportunity

to continue going with foreign workers,

it just adds more responsibility to it,

more reasons that I have to keep doing it,

because, you know, it's up to me to make sure

that employer stays in business.

And I understand it.

I've been where you're shorthanded

and you're struggling to make it work.

I've been there.

I sort of take a fatherly role, I guess.

The workers, they call me if they have a problem,

if the employer isn't, you know, following up

with what they're supposed to

or if somebody's sick in Mexico,

they got to go home...

Everything from the guy needs...

He's got a medical problem,

you know, had to make arrangements or work shifts

to go in to get checked for STDs.

I mean, you do everything.

You know, they always call me for everything.

-Hey. -Hi.

We're not saying that people should be paid

like rocket scientists.

We're saying that people should be paid

at least the average wage

in the industry in which they're employed

so that they're not bringing down

wages and working conditions for U.S. workers.

Every person in this country

should earn a fair minimum wage

and that we should treat everyone with dignity.

And treating people with dignity

means paying for their labor.

I just wanted to ask what you thought

about the new rules that were just imposed

that you just heard about.

They'll put us out of business. Simple as that.

I can't increase my prices.

I can't have the public pay more

than they're paying now

for ride tickets, given the economy.

So we're very, very concerned.

I just didn't think it would go...

That they would try to pull as many strings so fast.

They're gonna put me out of business,

absolutely, 100% out of business.

For a program that's worked so well,

it's really now under assault.

Our wages would go up so significantly,

and then on top of that, we've got to go through

all these new hoops and procedures.

It is a final law...

I mean, a final regulation by the Department of Labor.

The only way it can be defeated

is if Congress does something to address it.

We got to get it done.

We got to get 'er done.

Well, that's why you're all here, right?

We bring the employers together.

We try to educate them into how Congress works,

and then we try to empower them.

This is the first senator listed.

This is the second senator listed.

So 2:30 with Hanabusa,

1:00 with Akaka,

1:45 with Inouye.

Me, personally, I mean,

you probably figured this out already,

but I'm not in it for the money.

If I can earn enough to eat and feed my dogs, I'm okay.

But I'd feel like I failed.

I failed the industry, and I failed the workers

that need these jobs that support their families,

that help their community.

And so...

You asked me, what am I gonna do

if this goes into effect?

See, I'm not going to... I can't...

I'm not going to allow it to go into effect.

I mean, I don't lose these battles.

These battles are battles I win.

On the H-2B Program,

the Department of Labor defines

how much you have to pay people.

And then all of a sudden, under Secretary Solis,

she basically says,

"We don't feel that that's just.

We don't feel that it's... You're paying enough."

And when you go to them and say, "This isn't right,"

they say, "It's good for society.

It's good for society if the wages go up."

But that is totally not

what the intent of Congress was.

They're forcing us to pay a lot more than

our competitors.

Because it'll raise society.

I'll make society better.

But the problem is, it's... What's going to happen is,

the effect is going to be,

people are going to go out of business.

But we need to just look and see what we can do about,

you know, signing on to letters

and getting the department to roll back these regulations

and just, you know, delaying them,

rolling them back.

-Thank you very much. -Thank you so much.

-I appreciate it. -Thank you.

Yeah.

If this wage increase does come into effect,

as far as Jolly Shows is concerned,

I don't think it'll put me out of business,

but, hey, I don't think I'll be able

to get all the workers and be able to afford them,

you know, if this does happen.

We're in Capital Plaza, Bladensburg, Maryland.

It's a little breezy, but it's a warm breeze today.

We're hoping for a good day today.

No reason, really,

why we shouldn't make a few dollars today.

The carnival, literally, it's an emotional roller coaster.

It's an emotional roller coaster.

The weather affects you every week.

You know, it's a gamble every week,

because you've got the same amount of bills, you know.

You got to pay the bills, make the payroll,

pay insurances and trucking, and all that.

It doesn't matter, you know, what part of the season.

You know, you get bad weather, it always affects you.

And it seems like it's always on the weekend.

It seems like it's always on the weekend,

and, unfortunately,

that's when you make the majority of your money.

My guys get paid on Saturday night,

and it's very hard to make payroll

when, you know, the weather don't cooperate

or, you know, you come to a bad location.

Payroll is very hard to make.

Payday is on a Saturday,

and I made payday on a Saturday.

It used to be on a Friday, but I made payday on a Saturday

to give me an extra day to make payroll

if we do have a bad week.

I think they understand, you know,

when we're hitting it rough, you know,

with a bad spot and everything.

They understand.

They understand, you know, "Hey."

They don't get upset, you know, if they have to wait

a day for their pay.

Florencio, Gregorio.

Yah, si.

Well, good morning.

A quorum being present,

the subcommittee will come to order.

Ms. Mary Bauer is the legal director

at the Southern Poverty Law Center

in Montgomery, Alabama.

Thank you for joining us again.

And then it's a special privilege

for me to introduce Mr. Dan Musser,

who's the president of the Grand Hotel

in Mackinac Island, Michigan.

If you've not been there, you haven't lived,

to sit on the longest porch in the world,

looking at some of the greatest scenery

in the Straits of Mackinac, on an island

where the only sound you'll basically hear,

other than happy voices,

is the clippity-clop of horses and carriages.

It would be extremely difficult,

if not impossible,

for us to continue to operate successfully

without the H-2B worker.

They are the lifeblood of our seasonal business.

I think there's a moral component

to the conditions that we allow people

to work under in the United States.

And there will always be an endless supply of people

from other countries who are willing to come here

and consider it even a good deal

to make $1 or $2 an hour

and to suffer under what we might regard

as appalling circumstances.

Shouldn't that be the people's decision to make?

We're not forcing them here, are we?

They're coming here freely.

I'd like to think

that people in this country and in this world

can make better decisions for themselves than you can.

-I don't... I don't dispute that.

-Thank you.

Let me get... Because I'm running

out of time,

let me get to Mr. Musser.

You've seen the line of questioning.

Can you comment on any of it?

If our wages weren't good

and our... And the... The type

of work environment

that we work hard to create wasn't good,

I don't think those individuals would be returning.

Employers have

powerful political allies.

They are somebody's constituents.

There are no advocates in Congress for H-2B workers.

They are nobody's constituents.

They don't vote in the United States.

They don't have powerful political interests.

And at the end of the day, I have very little hope

that the forces protecting guest workers

will prevail,

because the political power

held by employers is so great.

We're at the Laurel Mall

in Laurel, Maryland.

Today's our last day of the so-called regular season.

We're breaking down, and we should be finished

probably around 4:00, five o'clock

in the morning.

They're going to head out back to the bunkhouse

and get situated, and they're all going to be heading out

sometime tomorrow, Monday.

I miss you, Sawyer.

I miss you too, baby. I miss you too.

-Maybe see you... -Thank you.

Next year, all the time.

I can't imagine my kids being

in a whole nother country, working.

So...

Will it be easier for me

to bring all these workers back next year?

Of course it will.

Hey, no training. They know the routine.

But in a way, knowing the routine is a bad thing,

because they know what they can get away with.

This year, I had a few instances

where they're starting to sell tickets.

I started to notice this midway through the season.

Yeah, they're starting to sell tickets

to some of the customers.

Uh, I'm... I'm getting that a lot lately.

These rides, you got a pretty good hand

in, you know, what they're doing.

At the end of each night, we weigh the tickets,

and, you know, I kind of noticed

a lot of things, you know,

were a lot less than what they should be.

I tell the guys.

I get them all together, and I sit down with them

and, "Guys, I know something's going on."

Well, what happens is,

I think they're kind of taking turns.

"Hey, this week, you guys sell them

so my bag of tickets looks pretty good, you know,

in the rankings and everything."

That's one thing I got to consider about

over the winter,

which guys, you know, we want to try to bring back.

Do we want to, you know, replace the majority

with new guys?

Do we want to, you know, try to keep these guys another year?

So I got to take a strong look at that,

because that's starting to be a little bit of a problem,

them selling tickets to customers.

We're in Tlapacoyan, Veracruz, Mexico,

on the 12th of December,

the birthday of the Virgin de Guadalupe.

All over Mexico, the faithful

go to Mexico City, to the basilica.

They light torches,

and they bring it back to their hometown.

I can't say that I believe in the virgin

and all of this stuff affects me,

but it does affect me.

It makes me just feel...

It makes me feel that people are good.

It just reinforces the fact

that these people that we send to work

every year,

that we provide the opportunities to,

are good people.

They have just such strong faith in God,

strong faith in their families

that anything I can do to help 'em makes me feel good.

Florencio.

Well, do you want the true story,

or do you want a story I make up?

Both.

Okay.

The story I make up.

He's come to the United States enough that he's been able

to build his house, build his business,

and now he can stay home and be with his family.

There's no reason for him

to come to the United States anymore.

Now the true story.

He had been on Jolly for a few years.

He got comfortable.

He got with two or three other guys,

and they started stealing tickets,

going down to the Mexican grocery stores,

and reselling them.

Because he was such a good friend,

it was quite a betrayal that he was actually

doing that.

When it was found out,

he basically wasn't invited back.

And after he's had a year or two down there

of sort of punishment, we'll give him another chance.

I agree that the workers don't have a voice,

but I'd say the workers' rights groups

aren't their voice.

There's been talk that some of them might try

to form an association of workers,

and if they do, hopefully it'll... They'll have a voice.

And I think they should have a voice,

because I'm tired, myself, of trying to defend them

and protect them.

And if they can take over that duty, that job,

themselves,

that would be wonderful.