You just can’t tell me that KBR didn’t have any idea this was going on. Too bad the media can’t get into the FOB’s and Camps to see how KBR’s subcontract employees (TCN’s) live.

Iraqi guards open fire as migrants riot about deportation

Times Online
December 3, 2008
Deborah Haynes, Baghdad

Iraqi guards opened fire above the heads of 1,000 migrant workers who staged a mini-riot today in protest at their poor treatment in Baghdad and the prospect of being sent home without pay.

The men, from Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka, will be flown to Dubai after the Kuwaiti company that hired them failed to secure enough contract work at dining facilities inside a number of US military bases across Iraq. Their passports have also been taken.

“People are getting shot at,” said Manoj Kodithuwakku, a 28-year-old from Sri Lanka, speaking to The Times by mobile phone. The crack of bullets could be heard in the background. “It is pandemonium in here,” he said.

The men were flown to Baghdad over the past three months to work for Najlaa International Catering Services, which is a subcontractor to Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), a major service provider to the US Department of Defence. (To Continue Reading Click HERE)

KBR subcontractor denies confining workers in Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) — A Kuwaiti subcontractor doing work for the U.S. military in Iraq denied a report Wednesday that it confined as many as 1,000 workers without money for up to three months in warehouses at the Baghdad airport.

Najlaa International Catering Services said the workers, from South Asia, were being well cared for at airport housing facilities while awaiting assignments at work sites.

“They are living in a decent environment, provided three meals a day, showers and latrine facilities,” Marwan Rezk, the general manager of Najlaa International Catering Services, said of the laborers.

Najlaa is a subcontractor to KBR Inc., the Texas firm that split off last year from Halliburton Co. (To Continue Reading Click HERE)

Where are the human rights organizations of the world?

Ms Sparky

KBR is well aware of these situations. For them to say any different is a bold face lie!

Baghdad’s forgotten migrants who pay for jobs end up lost in hangar ‘hotel’

Deborah Haynes in Baghdad
From The Times
December 3, 2008

He had dreams of coming to Iraq, making his fortune and migrating to Australia. Instead Manoj Kodithuwakku, 28, a Sri Lankan, is stranded in an overcrowded hangar near a US military base with no money, no job and no way out.

Poorly dressed and desperate, he and hundreds of other men from developing countries who came looking for work are living in pitiful conditions. Yesterday The Times entered one of three pale blue hangars that house foreign workers near Baghdad airport. They are full of men who paid a small fortune to come here and have ended up forgotten and trapped.

In the hangars as many as 400 people cram into the lines of bunk beds. Only a few lavatories are still working. There are regular meals but the men say that the food is not good and they receive only one and a half litres of water a day. Health in the camp is poor, they say, and there is nothing for them to do.

The migrant workers burst angrily on to the street yesterday morning to protest against a Kuwaiti-based catering company that they said had promised them work. They accused Najlaa International Catering Services – a subcontractor to Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), a main service provider to the US Defence Department – of failing to pay their salaries and keeping them in inhumane conditions. Continue reading this post…

The IBEW loses Sister Katharina (Kat) Engnell, a licensed journeyman electrician from Local 46 in Seattle, Washington. Engell was electrocuted and died on the job on November 20, 2008 at the Saint Gobain glass plant.

Kat Engnell was an amazing woman. Originally from the South, Kat moved to Seattle after receiving her Masters Degree in Fine Arts. She bought a beautiful home in Seattle’s Columbia City neighborhood and then decided to become an electrician. She started attending the PSEJATC Apprenticeship program in 2000.

Kat was a most humble, hard working, serious electrician. Diversity and full inclusion in the electrical industry were passions of hers. The fact that a scholarship for those seeking to become Union Trades people is being funded in her name testifies to that. If you would like to donate, please make checks or money orders payable to the Katharina Engnell Memorial Schollarship Fund, Account 471001014441 at Key Bank.

Her interests included kayaking, raising hens, collecting antiques, creating and teaching art, politics, unionism, and rocking out to hippy music. If there was a party, Kat was there having a good time. She was a fantastic mechanic, intellectual, and a bohemian all in one. All who knew her can say that her kindness and generosity were boundless. She will be missed but will live on in the memories and stories of her, and in the kindness and care we show to each other in this truly dangerous field.

There is a memorial at the job site and a memorial service will be held at the IBEW Local 46 Hall in Kent, Washington on Thursday, December 4, 2008 at 5:00 p.m.

For me, the loss of any worker on the job is tragic. But the loss of an electrician is personal.

My personal condolences to Kat’s friends and family. My thanks to Nicole Grant for this information.

Ms Sparky
IBEW Local 48
Portland, Oregon

Update: The following info was taken from IBEW Local 46 website.
This item was posted on the IBEW Local 46 web site
http://www.ibew46.com/kat.html :

IBEW Local 46 Electrician, Kat Engnell, was killed at work, Thursday,
November 20, 2008, during the day shift at the Saint Gobain glass plant. Kat
was up on a metal platform, like a catwalk, doing lighting maintenance. It
is normal to work on equipment up there while it is still ‘hot’,
unfortunately, while Kat was changing out a 500W 120V fixture, after making
sure that the ground and neutrals had both been made up, she was
electrocuted and died. She was found by a Local 46 Brother working on sight
who stayed with her body until the fire crew got her down and took her away.

The following comment was left via email by a Safety professional:

I suspect that she was not wearing rubber insulating gloves, considered by
most electricians as unnecessary and too cumbersome for this type of low
voltage work.

According to 1910 subpart S
1910.333(a)(1) “Live parts to which an employee may be exposed shall be
deenergized before the employee works on or near them….” (does not apply to
circuits of 50 volts or less)
1910.333(a)(2) “If the exposed live parts are not deenergized (i.e., for
reasons of increased or additional hazards or infeasability) other
safety-related work practices shall be employed …”
1910.335(a)(1)(i) Employees working in areas where there are potential
electrical hazards shall be provided with, and shall use, electrical
protective equipment that is appropriate for the specific parts of the body
to be protected and for the work to be performed.

NFPA 70E 2009 - Table 130.7(C)(9)
Panelboards or other equipment rated 240 volts and below
Work on energized electrical conductors or circuit parts, including voltage
testing requires the use of Rubber Insulating gloves and Insulated or
Insulating Tools.

US-Iraq Security Pact, by the Numbers

November 28, 2008
Agence France-Presse

Iraq’s parliament on Nov. 27 endorsed a landmark military pact that will govern some 150,000 U.S. Soldiers assigned to 400 bases across the country beginning Dec. 31, when the United Nation’s mandate now governing the troops expires.

Here are the main points of the deal, spelled out in the official English version of the 24-page agreement.

Article 4: All military operations undertaken in Iraq must be conducted with the agreement of the Iraqi government and should be “fully coordinated” with Iraqi authorities through a joint U.S.-Iraqi committee. However, U.S. and Iraqi forces have the right to “legitimate self defence within Iraq” as defined by international law.

Article 12: Iraq will have the right to prosecute U.S. troops and associated civilians for “grave premeditated felonies” committed “outside agreed facilities and areas and outside duty status.” Should they be arrested however, they must be handed over to U.S. custody for the duration of the investigation and trial, and U.S. forces are responsible for certifying whether the alleged crime took place while the individual was on “duty status.”

No such immunity is extended to private security contractors, over whom the agreement grants Iraq the “primary right to exercise jurisdiction.” Continue reading this post…

A special Thanksgiving message to our Troops.

Thank you for protecting our country and my family. I know you would much rather be with your families today. But can’t because you are committed too keeping our country safe from those who would harm us.

A special thanks to the Veterans who have already served this country, some paying with the ultimate price. Thank you on so many levels.

A special thank you to the Soldier’s families who will sit down to dinner today without them. Although they will not be at your table, I know they will be in your hearts.

To my civilian friends who are committed to protecting and caring for our soldiers….Thank You!

So….what am I thankful for?

• The freedoms I enjoy.
• The security I expect.
• And the Soldier who gives me that.

Ms Sparky

For those that missed it…here is the CNN Special Investigation Report that was on Lou Dobbs on November 25, 2008. If you are having problems seeing the video in Internet Explorer click HERE and see if that makes a difference.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — A contractor providing services to the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan has committed serious violations of its contract, mainly by conducting inadequate inspections of electrical wiring and grounding at American bases, according to Pentagon sources.

Ryan Maseth, a 24-year-old Green Beret, died in his shower January 2.

The Pentagon findings on Houston, Texas-based KBR stem from the widely publicized death of Sgt. Ryan Maseth, a highly decorated 24-year-old Green Beret from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Maseth was electrocuted while taking a shower at his base in Baghdad.

His January 2 death was just one of many deaths now believed to be linked to shoddy electrical work done at U.S. bases, managed by U.S. contractors, according to Pentagon sources.

The Pentagon’s Defense Contract Management Agency recently gave KBR a “Level III Corrective Action Request” — issued only when a contractor is found in “serious noncompliance” and just one step below the possibility of suspending or terminating a contract, Pentagon officials said.

In KBR’s case, it means that the contractor’s inspections and efforts to ensure electrical safety for troops have been unacceptable, and must be significantly improved, Pentagon sources told CNN.

Continue reading this post…

Uplift has ALWAYS been a HUGE issue with KBR/SEII Employees.

Uplift is a percentage in addition to the base pay. When I worked for KBR the uplift was 55% on the first 40 hours. Then in the fall of 2006 it was raised to 75%. Again, only on the first 40 hours.

Current uplift for Iraq and Afghanistan consist of the following:

International Bonus 5%
Area Differential 35%
Hazardous Conditions 35%

Evidently KBR does not feel the last 44+ hours in your work week are as hazardous as the first 40 because they DON’T pay Uplift and they don’t pay overtime.

There have been many lawsuits against KBR over uplift and overtime. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that all cases have been dismissed. One of the big issues is, you don’t actually work for KBR. You work for SEII or OAS, offshore shell companies of KBR. US laws don’t apply. Plus…you signed that damn contract.

I have several questions:

1. Who approves uplift increases? When I worked for KBR we were always told it was the “Client” (DoD/DoS) that would NOT increase our uplift. Is it the “Client” or is it KBR?

2. What is KBR charging the “Client”? Have they been charging uplift for every hour worked? If so what percentage are they charging? 100%? I think it’s time for an audit! I have all my pay stubs if anyone in DoD or Congress wants to compare what KBR charged for me to what I actually got paid.

3. Is there a planned uplift increase in the near future? If so…who approved it, the “Client” or KBR? Is it only on the first 40 hours or on every hour worked? How much will it be? 100%?

Personally, I think every person over there deserves 100% uplift on EVERY hour worked!

Ms Sparky

If it’s controversial…..classify it!

Military mum on dirty air in Iraq

Health concerns » An environmental report on the burn pit at Balad Air Base now is classified for ‘national security’

Matthew D. Laplante
The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 11/21/2008 09:01:12 AM MST

Military officials insist there’s no problem.

But veterans’ advocates are calling for full transparency about the health risks faced by service members who have been stationed at the largest U.S. air base in Iraq, where one inspector called an open-air burn pit “the worst environmental site I have ever personally visited.”

But for the moment, that quote — found in a memo from a military environmental engineer from Utah — is all that is publicly known from a 2006 Environmental Health Site Assessment on the situation at Balad Air Base. That’s because the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventative Medicine is refusing to make the document public, saying that the information it contains “would damage our national security.”

How could a health assessment damage national security? For veteran Paul Rieckhoff, the situation smells as bad as Iraq’s foul air.

“It’s troubling,” said Rieckhoff, an Iraq combat veteran and director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, which lobbies on behalf of vets who have served in the nation’s ongoing conflicts. “Just saying ‘everything is fine’ is not going to fly.”

The Army insists that it is doing more. Michael Kilpatrick, a spokesman for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, said the military has done extensive sampling of the air in Balad and other bases where burn pits are used to get rid of garbage — including weapons, chemicals, plastics, and even amputated limbs. (Read more HERE)

Unbelievable!! This is the DoD’s answer to the problem? Just classify it and it goes away? Alrighty then…how stupid do they think we are?

Time to call your Senators and Congresspersons. Maybe the new administration can fix this.

Ms Sparky

Iraq-U.S. Accord Wipes Out Contractor Immunity (Update1)

By Gopal Ratnam and Viola Gienger

Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) — U.S. government contractors in Iraq are balking at a new agreement that eliminates their immunity from local laws, saying thousands of Americans would be subject to a legal system that still fails international standards.

“This agreement throws the DoD contractors under the bus,” said Doug Brooks, president of the International Peace Operations Association, a trade group that represents 57 firms that provide services including security, development and military support. Pretrial detention and incarceration in Iraq are “way below” global standards, he said.

The Defense Department and State Department briefed their private contractors today on a provision of the so-called status- of-forces accord that eliminates contractors’ immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law. While the agreement applies to U.S. military operations, the State Department told its contractors today that Iraq will make them subject to the same rules.

The provision is part of an agreement that would govern U.S. military operations in Iraq after a United Nations Security Council resolution expires on Dec. 31. About 28,000 of the 163,500 people employed as Pentagon contractors in Iraq are U.S. citizens. Others are Iraqis or citizens of other countries, according to Defense Department data. About 4,500 of the State Department’s 5,500 contractors in Iraq are U.S. citizens. (Read more HERE)

That’s just damn scary!!! I just can’t imagine being in an Iraqi jail! Oh hell no!

Ms Sparky