Vol. 72/No. 7      February 18, 2008

On January 1, Tennessee passed a law that threatens employers with heavy sanctions if they “knowingly” hire workers without papers. Since 1990, the number of immigrants in Tennessee has increased by 267 percent. There are now an estimated 100,000 undocumented workers in the state.

On December 5, NewsChannel 5, a Nashville TV station, aired an undercover investigation complete with hidden-camera video of workers at the large Electrolux factory in Springfield. The plant employs about 3,500 and produces electric and gas stoves. By the end of last year some 4,000 Hispanics lived in the town, many of them working at the plant.

The TV report charged the company was hiring undocumented workers and sought to give the impression that this was a threat to U.S.-born workers. It quoted a white woman saying, “They’re taking over.” The same woman later declared, “Since the Mexicans will work for a lower amount of money, they will hire them, and then leave us out here, not being able to find a job.”

One week after the TV show aired, the plant was raided by immigration cops.

In a phone interview, Davil Gutiérrez, who worked at the plant for seven years, told the Militant about conditions there. “Because they knew of our difficulties as immigrants the company really abused Hispanics,” Gutiérrez explained. “Often they would put just one of us on a job that normally required two workers. Officially the pay scale is $9 to start, but because they hire through a contractor, Randstad, we only received $7.50 to start. This was supposed to last three months, but it was common that you’d be working six months to a year before you got a raise, and then only by steps, up to $9.”

Between the December 5 television report and the immigration raid one week later, the company began reviewing personnel records. Some workers left the plant, suspecting a raid was imminent. The Nashville Tennessean reported that 14 people were arrested that night. As many as 800 workers lost Electrolux jobs during the week.

“On December 12, the ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] raided the town with 14 vehicles,” Eliu Maldonado, pastor of the Iglesia Cristiana Ebenezer in Springfield, said in a phone interview. “I followed them, telephoning people all the while. One of our church members had his house surrounded by 16 agents. They were banging on his door and laughing. They shouted that they were going to send them all back to Mexico.”

“The landlords took advantage of the raids, too,” Gutiérrez explained. “If they suspected that someone had left town, they broke into the apartment and threw out all the belongings, regardless of whether the people were coming back or not. This happened to many people, all of whom were paid up in rent through the month.”
 
 
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