By Mike Hasten, Gannett
BATON ROUGE — Hundreds of Filipino teachers recruited to teach in Louisiana schools were thrust into massive debt, unsavory living conditions and, in effect, indentured servitude, an attorney charges in a class action lawsuit to be filed today.
About 350 teachers were recruited through a placement service for Filipinos, which the lawsuit says charged them exorbitant application fees and transportation and housing costs and demanded up to 30% of their salaries their first two years.
"It was close to slavery," said Mary Bauer, lead attorney in the lawsuit set to be filed in federal court in Los Angeles by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the American Federation of Teachers and the law firm Covington & Burling. "There was fraud on a number of levels here."
Filipino teachers began arriving in Louisiana in 2007. They were granted visas through the H-1B "guest worker" program, administered by the Department of Labor, which permits foreign nationals with special skills to work in the United States. Each of the Filipino teachers has specific skills sought by school systems.
The lawsuit charges racketeering, human trafficking, extortion and mail and wire fraud by two employment agencies — Universal Placement International (UPI), based in Los Angeles, and a related company, PARS International Placement Agency of Manila. Lourdes "LuLu" Navarro, owner of UPI, and her husband, Hothello "Jack" Navarro, are named defendants, along with LuLu Navarro's brother, Emilio Villarba, a principal operator of PARS.
It also names three former or current East Baton Rouge Parish school system employees who helped recruit Filipino teachers.
The Navarros' attorney, California lawyer Robert Silverman, denied all allegations, saying they had been dismissed previously by federal immigration agencies.
"I am not aware of anyone who has forced any teacher to do anything against their free will," Silverman said in a statement.
Attempts to contact the former and current superintendents of East Baton Rouge Parish on Wednesday were unsuccessful. Chris Trahan, communications director for the school system, said staff attorneys were "still looking over" the lawsuit.
The lawsuit contends the teachers came to Louisiana with huge debts, were limited to working only for the employer designated by UPI, were required to live in crowded housing arranged by the company and were prevented from bringing any family members with them.
"It was a recipe for abuse," Bauer said, and anytime a Filipino teacher complained, Navarro threatened lawsuits and deportation.
"There's a lot more to it than the money," said Mai Ri, a Baton Rouge teacher. "It's being free from bondage and harassment."
Contributing: Mike Hasten reports for Gannett's Baton Rouge (La.) bureau
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