In a stunning piece of journalism, the Tampa Bay Times delves into an issue that should shock those who pay for NFL and MLB tickets.
http://www.tampabay.com/...
TAMPA — Before every Tampa Bay Buccaneers home game, dozens of men gather in the yard at New Beginnings of Tampa, one of the city's largest homeless programs.
The men — many of them recovering alcoholics and drug addicts — are about to work a concessions stand behind Raymond James Stadium's iconic pirate ship, serving beer and food to football fans. First, a supervisor for New Beginnings tries to pump them up.
"Thank God we have these events," he tells them. "They bring in the prime finances."
But not for the workers. They leave the game sweat-soaked and as penniless as they arrived. The money for their labor goes to New Beginnings. The men receive only shelter and food.
These work labor programs being offered work like this: New Beginnings provides cheap work which they are paid for, and in turn, the homeless are allowed to stay in shelters.
I know for many of us, early US history has been a while, but a brief refresher on Indentured Servitude seems in order.
http://www.ushistory.org/...
This system seemed to benefit the servant as well. Each indentured servant would have their fare across the Atlantic paid in full by their master. A contract was written that stipulated the length of service — typically five years. The servant would be supplied room and board while working in the master's fields. Upon completion of the contract, the servant would receive "freedom dues," a pre-arranged termination bonus. This might include land, money, a gun, clothes or food. On the surface it seemed like a terrific way for the luckless English poor to make their way to prosperity in a new land. Beneath the surface, this was not often the case.
I wanted to highlight this because the justification for endentured servitude is always the same - the servant gets something out of it, so it's A-OK.
The Tampa Tribune continues:
http://www.tampabay.com/...
Atchison calls it "work therapy." Homeless advocates and labor lawyers call it exploitative, and possibly illegal. It is the latest questionable way Atchison has used homeless people, and public money, a Tampa Bay Times investigation has found.
Now Atchison is applying to run Hillsborough County's new homeless shelter, a contract worth millions of public dollars that would entrust him with the county's most vulnerable people.
With an NFL TV contract worth billions, and ticket prices nearing a high.. it's good to know that the use of indentured servitude is making a comeback.
8:53 AM PT: Update
An update from the comments points out that we should remember New Beginnings receives federal VA money and resources.. more troubling, however, is that the facility also received county grants for $234k, and had inspection problems:
http://www.tampabay.com/...
New Beginnings of Tampa
1402 E Chilkoot Ave.
Police calls: 692*
Recent code inspection: Not conducted
Owner: Pastor Thomas E. Atchison
Amount received from Homeless Recovery: $214,990*
When city code enforcers tried to inspect the property last month, management told them the home hadn't housed county clients for at least a year. No inspection was conducted. It was the fifth time code enforcement had visited the property since 2010. In the earlier visits, they documented complaints of rats, deteriorated buildings and junk piled in the yards.