PARTNER STORIES
Companies secure new US military contracts even after labor trafficking incidents
U.S. military bases are home to hundreds of thousands of troops around the globe. But behind the scenes, thousands of low-paid employees work in kitchens and clean the barracks, including victims of labor trafficking, NBC reports.
Companies providing services to United States military bases in foreign countries who have been found to have trafficked workers have received taxpayer funded contracts worth billions of dollars, according to an investigation by NBC News as part of Trafficking Inc.
Thousands of workers have been allegedly trafficked into jobs on U.S. military bases by private contractors, and have been paid less than promised, pressured to sign improper contracts, work long hours, and, in some cases, even faced physical abuse.
Working in collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, The Washington Post and Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, NBC News interviewed dozens of current and former employees of contractors at military bases, and combed through thousands of pages of official documents to reveal which companies were involved in trafficking workers.
The NBC analysis found at least 10 companies with substantiated trafficking violations since 2007 have received billions in new government contracts, as well as systemic problems in the reporting of incidents of trafficking and the companies involved.