National teachers union alleges mistreatment of Filipino teachers Play Video

By Associated Press and staff reports

Posted: Oct 22, 2009 3:50 PM
Updated: Oct 22, 2009 10:20 PM


  A national teachers' union said today it has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor over the treatment of teachers recruited in the Philippines to work in Louisiana school systems, including Caddo Parish.

   The complaint by the American Federation of Teachers follows similar complaints that the union's state affiliate filed last month with Louisiana's attorney general.

  The AFT alleges that California-based Universal Placement International and its president, Lourdes, "Lulu" Navarro, collected exorbitant, illegal fees -- $15,000 or more -- from
teachers they recruited in the Philippines.

  AFT also alleges the company holds the immigration documents of the teachers to coerce payments, in effect holding the teachers in illegal servitude.

  Caddo Parish's school system hired 43 Filipino teachers for hard-to-fill positions here, including special education.

  The Caddo School Board, which said it didn't have advanced knowledge that school system administrators were dealing with a recruiter, have since ordered stricter oversight if the school system uses a recruiter to hire foreign teachers in the future.

   Navarro didn't return a call for comment.

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