As controversy brews around the nation about the hiring of guest workers from abroad, TopCare Lawn Service, Inc, the University’s landscaping service, has drawn attention for being St. Louis’ leading employer of H-2B guest workers.

TopCare’s employees, whose duties include lawn care, litter pickup, snow removal and trash hauling, are representative of a growing number of non-U.S. citizens being recruited seasonally to work under temporary visas.

All of the approximately 36 full-time employees who currently keep the grounds of the University work under contract for TopCare Lawn Service, Inc.

Washington University has used TopCare’s services since 1992. In the last fiscal year, University resource management spent $2.7 million on its contract with TopCare.

“They provide a good service and they treat their employees well,” said Paul Norman, grounds manager for the University.

According to the United States Labor Department, over 2,700 guest workers were approved last year to work under H-2B (non-agricultural) programs in the St. Louis area, as compared to about 1000 in 2001.

A recent report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch showed that TopCare, which is based in Fenton, Mo. and actively recruits guest workers from Mexican villages, employed 310 H-2B workers last year, more than any other St. Louis-area corporation.

Repeated attempts to contact the TopCare corporate headquarters went unanswered.

Although TopCare’s employee wages are not determined by the University, all full-time employees on the campus must be given a minimum entry-level wage of $8.50 according to University guidelines. The University does not offer insurance or benefits to its contracted TopCare workers.

The employment of guest workers in the U.S. has been a subject of recent controversy, especially in light of President Bush’s call for expanded guest worker programs and recent congressional proposals to increase the number of H-2 visas significantly.

Nationwide, H-2 programs have been criticized for wage and hour abuses, contract violations and inadequate recourse for injuries.

“The bottom line is that the work here is much more than they can get in Mexico, where they can’t get anything,” said Father Jack Schuler, a pastor at Our Lady of Guadalupe, a pre-dominantly Hispanic parish in St. Louis. “But when you’re separated from your family for a whole entire season, I question the human dignity that’s involved there.”

“I agree that it may be unfair to offer potential guest workers deals that are financially tempting enough to persuade them to leave their families,” said freshman Peter Gabrielli. “But the decision is ultimately theirs. No one is physically displacing them against their will.”

According to Alan Kuebler, vice chancellor for resource management, the University has taken measures to safeguard its workers against mistreatment.

“The University has established guidelines and principles for the conditions of its basic service contract workers,” said Kuebler. “And we ask all of our service providers, including TopCare, to train people in the safe use of equipment they’re going to utilize.”

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