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Federal court approves class action settlement brought by HSPRD on behalf of World War II braceros to recover monies withheld from their paychecks.

Thousands of Mexican farm and railroad laborers may soon be collecting monies withheld from their paychecks for work they performed in the United States of America during World War II as a result of a settlement of a class action lawsuit which was given preliminary approval by a federal court Friday, October 10, 2008.

The settlement was reached between the Mexican government and a group of U.S. lawyers representing Mexican workers — known as braceros (manual laborers) — who came to the U.S. during World War II to work in agricultural and railroad jobs pursuant to a series of international treaties between the U.S. and Mexican governments.  It provides for payments to braceros or their surviving family members who reside in the U.S. and can provide original documents to show that they (or a deceased parent or spouse) worked as a bracero from January 1, 1942 through December 31, 1946.  All claims must be presented in person to a Mexican Consulate office or the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C. by December 23, 2008.

According to the class action suit braceros and their families complained that not only were they made to do back-breaking labor under abysmal conditions, but for 60-plus years have been deprived of 10 percent of their wages by the Mexican government.  The wages were set aside pursuant to the terms of international agreements in order to provide for guaranteed savings accounts for the workers but were  never paid to them.

“These hard working individuals came to the U.S. to help our country during a time of war.  They played by the rules and did all that was asked of them, and in return they were abused and exploited,” said Matthew Piers, a partner of Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd. of Chicago, IL, one of several law firms around the country involved in the suit to have braceros gain access to their earned savings funds.  “The settlement represents a significant measure of justice for the braceros and their families, who have been owed these monies for over half a century,” added Piers.

Over a quarter million Mexican agricultural and railroad workers entered into braceros employment contracts to work in the U.S. between 1942-1946, and had 10 percent of their wages withheld by U.S. employers, which were then forwarded (via the Wells Fargo Bank and Union Trust Company of San Francisco) to the Banco de México (Bank of Mexico) and the Banco Nacional de Crédito Agricola (National Bank of Agricultural Credit) in Mexico and were to be paid to the returning braceros. 

The lawsuit alleges those funds were then never paid to the braceros, but instead were misappropriated by the Mexican government.  Under the settlement, the Mexican government will provide a payment to braceros, or their surviving spouses or children, in the amount of approximately $3,500 (USD).

A growing number of national and regional Latino community-based organizations are involved in this effort to disseminate information to their respective constituents on how braceros and/or their surviving family members can file claims for the funds.  Among them are the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), Farmworker Justice, Impremedia Publications, National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP), Texas Migrant Council, Univision Radio and Television, and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR).

For more information or assistance in filling out and delivering the application claim forms, please visit the Caso Bracero web site at www.casobracero.com, call the toll-free Caso Bracero Hotline at 1-877-436-9359, or send a letter to Caso Bracero, P.O. Box 641610, Chicago, Illinois, 60664-1610.  All interested persons are urged to act quickly, since the deadline for delivery of application forms to Mexican government offices in the United States is December 23, 2008.

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