Did you witness Human Trafficking in Scientology?

[Takin Time]

One day a blood vessel burst in my eye. Not painful at all, although uncomfortable. I hadn't intended doing anything about it. The MAA (Astra Woodcraft) INSISTED I see the doctor, and off I went. The doctor (Megan Shields) took my blood pressure and sent me home to lie down for a day or two! It wasn't ridiculously high, maybe 180/100, but not normal either. In the end I didn't do anything much about it until I had a stroke in 2001, five years after I had left the SO. Paul

Stroke is a common result of untreated and longterm high blood pressure. Though you say you were sent to the doctor (once), it sounds like you had longterm high blood pressure that remained untreated for a long time.

 

[Takin Time]

Day 13: The employees are given little to no medical or dental care — and only in emergency situations, if then. Many employees have rotting teeth and haven’t seen a dentist in years. Medical problems are often neglected or the person forbidden from seeking medical help outside the employer (who does not provide a doctor or nurse on site).

Dr. Shannon was in the Sea Org at Flag FSO in 2005. Here's what she wrote on OCMB.

I was fortunate that I did not become ill while on staff in the F$O. When I "graduated" from the EPF, my husband was in "isolation". I was shocked to discover that any staff member who is ill, in any way, was put into "isolation". At the Hacienda, this was a room down in the corner, loaded with lots of cockroaches for company, with a nasty mattress, no sheets or pillows. (Second hand info from my husband, and others I knew.) Supposedly this prevents spread of disease.

But- didn't ol' ron say that all illness was due to "PTSness"??? And, doesn't $cientology have the "tech" to fix it right up?? And, what if you have a migraine? Or cancer? Or something NOT contagious? Why are you thrown into the dungeon with the "germs" (that don't exist, according to ol' ron)??

The sick people are lucky to get any food. When they do, it's the dregs of the dregs. A kid that was in the EPF with me got thrown into the isolation at the QI- he said it was hell, he got very little to eat, wasn't allowed out (he had the flu). Never saw a doctor, or got any medication.

Often the sick people are forced to do "MEST" work. While on the EPF, I saw the guys with colds, etc., out in the hot sun, doing yard work!! We were told to stay away from them. They were treated like lepers.

I broke a tooth while there. I was allowed to go to their $cientology dentist. He put a temporary filling in it for me. He said it needed a crown. I asked when he could do that; he laughed, and said that in the time he was there (15 years or so?) that he had NEVER been given the okay to buy any materials for a crown.

The older and ill staff members are sent home "early" on the 9:00 PM bus. Wow! They get out about 2 hours sooner, so their day is only TWELVE hours long! And, the only real reason for that, is to keep them HIDDEN from the other staff, and unable to talk to the others, to tell them what is happening.

When they get really sick, apparently they are sent off somewhere to die, or offloaded if at all possible.

Remember that good old quote from ol' ron, saying that auditors are the most valuable beings on the planet? So, ron, explain this to me: Why, when a Class IX auditor is ill, are they raked over the coals by RTC, screamed at, given endless "sec checks", demoted down to being call-in, and generally despised by the others? I saw this happen to at least TWO auditors in the short time (2 months) that I was in the Solo HGC. One had liver disease. Actually, auditors are pretty low down in the bully chain. They are near the bottom, and are treated like dirt.

Comfort the sick? Keep them in a clean place, good nutrition, fresh air? OH, no. Punish them!! After all, they are PTS!! Rest? Sympathy? NEVER! And the poor suckers are made to feel GUILTY for being so "PTS!"!

Animals are treated FAR better in the US than the $ea Org staff.

source link

 

[Dulloldfart]

Stroke is a common result of untreated and longterm high blood pressure. Though you say you were sent to the doctor (once), it sounds like you had longterm high blood pressure that remained untreated for a long time.

I agree. I neglected it until the stroke, then I wised up and cut some fat out of my diet and started taking medication and have taken it ever since, apart from a period of a few months when I was experimenting with electronic food and the medication was driving my bp down sub-normal (like 80/60 or similar — my little electronic bp meter kept reading "error" on me. I got about two similar readings out of a dozen or so tries and all the others read "error." I thought it was broken at first but it read fine on a friend).

Paul

 

[Dulloldfart]

Hi Paul,

I didnt realize that you had a stroke. How awful!
How did you still stay on staff?
Were you paralized on one side or something similar?

Quite honestly, it was mostly interesting and even fun. A change from my somewhat mundane life. At no time was it painful, nothing worse than mild discomfort. I had left staff six years earlier. I was working for the Scn company David Morse & Associates at the time. They were great, and held my job for the few weeks that I was off.

I couldn't control my right arm or leg more than minimally for a few days, but after a bit it settled out at about 90% functionality.

Paul

 

[Takin Time]

I'm glad to hear you're okay now, Paul.

 

[Labor Trafficking]

Day 14

Day 14: The employees are not covered by any form of social welfare or retirement benefits and often the employer has not registered the person’s meager wages with social security.

 

[HolyCow]

On this point, there's dox: Soc Sec Statements. I found a couple years when there was 0 Soc Sec earnings while on SO Staff.

And for those where there were some, I wouldn't know if they were correct.

But, I was looking at my statement and noticed that in the 60's ! I had earnings listed for time in high school where I worked part time as part of work/study program.

One of the year's in the 80's on SO Staff: My earnings were less than that part time in 60's! Doh!

Retirement benefits???

 

[AnonOrange]

Day 14: The employees are not covered by any form of social welfare or retirement benefits and often the employer has not registered the person’s meager wages with social security.

For actual data, you can use Maureen's video of her Social Security statement. It's on the KESQ videos with her in it.

US employers technically don't have to provide retirement and many do, but they MUST withhold SS, medicare and match with equal funds. That's an absolute must regardless of the wages paid.

What are the equivalent laws in other countries? In places like England, Belgium, France, it's even more strict for the employer. What about Australia and other places?

 

[AnonOrange]

.when I was experimenting with electronic food

My first encounter with anybody on this board was a discussion with Paul about electronic food.

I was hooked !

Actually, eating nothing but electrons may have helped you lower your caloric/fat intake. It's certainly a safe, effective diet that is guaranteed to work!

/derail

 

[Dulloldfart]

My first encounter with anybody on this board was a discussion with Paul about electronic food.

Well, there aren't many people who can tell their grandchildren that.

Paul

 

[HolyCow]

US employers technically don't have to provide retirement and many do, but they MUST withhold SS, medicare and match with equal funds. That's an absolute must regardless of the wages paid.

So Anon, does this mean people like me showing $0 on SS and medicare while staff in SO have dox proof? And continuing... does the social sec earnings show proof of wages under minimum and all that? Just askin'

 

[Takin Time]

Day 14: The employees are not covered by any form of social welfare or retirement benefits and often the employer has not registered the person’s meager wages with social security.

When I was in the Sea Org (mid 1990s) I was paid my meager wage and they deducted the requisite FICA/Medicare from my pay. I left the Sea Org before the year was out and filed my taxes the next year. My Sea Org wages appear on my Social Security Annual Statement, but I'm not sure if it is because the Church of Scientology reported it to SSA (Social Security Administration), or because I reported it by way of filing a 1040 with the IRS.

I've heard of numerous cases where people say they were in the Sea Org for years and years and their Social Security Annual Statement shows zero wages for that period.

I also know that most Sea Org personnel never file an annual tax return with the IRS because their wages are below the minimum required for filing.

If SS receives their information via IRS only annually (with 1040 filing), then the above explains why most Sea Org have no "credit" for their SS/FICA/Medicare deductions. But since employers send the withheld money each quarter to the IRS, I would think that SSA would get the information without someone filing the annual IRS paperwork.

I find it unbelievable that SSA would get the info ONLY if the person filed an annual IRS return. More likely, in my opinion, the Church of Scientology didn't forward the quarterly and annual statements of employer withheld amounts and simply pocketed the money.

[I guess I'll have to wait until Monday to call a CPA type to ask my questions about how and when SSA gets their information.]

 

[Labor Trafficking]

Day 15

Thanks for responses from Dulloldfart, xseaorguk, Takin Time, HolyCow, & AnonOrange.

Day 15: The employer threatens the employee with enormous debts should they consider leaving; and has routinely billed and collected from those who have left.

 

[CornPie]

AnonOrange said> US employers technically don't have to provide retirement and many do, but they MUST withhold SS, medicare and match with equal funds. That's an absolute must regardless of the wages paid.

HolyCow said> So Anon, does this mean people like me showing $0 on SS and medicare while staff in SO have dox proof? And continuing... does the social sec earnings show proof of wages under minimum and all that? Just askin'

Here's a video, that KESQ TV dated March 31, 2009, highlighting former Sea Org staff member, Maureen Bolstad. Review the video section starting at 2:55 (2 minutes and 55 seconds).www.youtube.com/watch?v=o44_TPWVRVM
The following information is US oriented. The first form shown is an annual employer-employee tax form, which each employer is required to provide each employee, each year. The employer is also required to send a copy to the state and feds. The employee takes their copy of that form (one for each employer) to their tax preparer, to prepare their taxes each year. I'm not sure what the minimum amount required to file taxes is, but I suspect Sea Org staff fall below it, and are not required to file taxes. And if an employee doesn't file, I'm not sure what information would be retained. The form pictured in this video does not show the amount deducted for SS tax. But I'm pretty sure it was deducted and hopefully passed onto each government taxing authority.

The second form shown is an aggregate tax form, showing earnings for each individual year, which the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) mails annually to each taxpayer. It only lists the year, SSN earnings, and medicare earnings. But it does not list the amounts actually withheld. And I'm not sure where that information may be retained. In Bolstad's case; All figures shown are blank for 1986 thru 1993. My theory is, the forms that scientology sent to the IRS each year, didn't get posted to her account, because she didn't file tax returns during those years. And she probably wasn't required to file, because her income was below the minimum filing amount. So just because an employer (scientology in this case) says they withheld SS money, doesn't mean the IRS is going to post that amount on a taxpayers form, if the employee didn't file a return. And if not, I'm not sure if or where those amounts would be listed. That's my theory. In the news clip, KESW mentions that she broke a camera once, and scientology took it out of her pay.
----- Below is off topic -----
On another note, I remember when the IRS began mailing out these annual forms, roughly 15 to 20 years ago. I was amazed. All my life I'd heard about how incompetent the government, and the IRS were, and I believed it, because everybody said it was so. But I spent a fair amount of my time auditing their annual salary-SSN-Medicare figures, and I was truly impressed. The information went back to my first job, at which point I went out and got a SSN number. Every tax return that I'd prepared over the years, some of them ancient, matched the IRS annual form to a T. The IRS knows every place I've every worked, and thus who I worked with, the physical addresses my taxes were mailed to over the years, which can easily be converted into 9-digit zip-codes, which gets them to within a few feet of my home, so they know who all my neighbors were over the years, where they worked, and how much money they made. In addition, these days if a parent wants to claim a child as a deduction they must get them a Social Security Number (SSN) at birth. I'm not sure when that became a requirement. But anybody who's about 25 or so, they know this information about them from childhood.

Everything is based of SSN, the "key" field, consider that you have to provide your SSN to get health insurance, a drivers license, a bank account, credit cards, phone number, insurance, etc. People with access to those databases, can tie everything together. If you have access to the right databases, you can tie them together in so many ways I can't imagine which. For example, let's take the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It's their job to know which geographic areas are toxic. Let's say during WW1 or WW2 the government looked the other way, while some environmentally toxic or nuclear toxic substances were manufactured in a certain area, or near a particular river. Those 9-digit zip codes (another "key" field) would be in an EPA databases. Let's say a lot of people who lived in a certain zip code started developing a certain type of cancer (another "key" field). Anybody with the right access would know the right areas to move into, or avoid. Which areas to locate a school into because it was a safe zone. Which areas to not build on, or to locate a trailer park on because it was known to be toxic. In other words if they tied together hospital, or health insurance records with IRS records of your home addresses over the years, and your family members, and children who are dependents, you'd know who else was likely to come down with the same disease. It may not be perfect, but it would be accurate enough to be scary. I once attended a funeral for somebody who lived at a trailer park, and who died of cancer. After the funeral a bunch of people got together, and somebody said, "a lot" of people who lived in that trailer park have died of cancer of the years. I pursued it and asked what does "a lot" of people mean 5 or 7? They said, "no try 'dozens' of people" who died of cancer over the years, and who lived at that trailer park over a period of time. It turned out this person had lived there a long time, and was the type that gets out and about, and knows everybody, and talks a lot. When they said it was dozens, the air went out of the room, because a lot of the people present also lived at that park. And considering that people move around a lot, and cancer takes so long to kill someone, it might be hard for most people to catch. Rather than constructing an apartment building on that land, was this the reason they built a trailer park, being able to move these residences out at will? And maybe also the reason that residents had to be 55 or older, with not as much time to live, avoiding children residents? And then if you tie those toxic zip codes together, with the IRS database of people who lived there over the years, with the health insurance records showing the types of cancer people died of, you'd start to see some trends. The safest place to live and go to school, is where the EPA chief goes. By now insurance companies must be able to assess risk, and determine premiums based on such information.

As a reminder, all content that I post at ESMB, under the name of CornPie, past, present or future, I place in the public domain.

 

[AnonOrange]

US employers technically don't have to provide retirement and many do, but they MUST withhold SS, medicare and match with equal funds. That's an absolute must regardless of the wages paid.

So Anon, does this mean people like me showing $0 on SS and medicare while staff in SO have dox proof? And continuing... does the social sec earnings show proof of wages under minimum and all that? Just askin'

If you were alone here, you would require evidence that you were paid a salary (contract, canceled checks, etc.) If enough people come forward with the same story, then you all have a case. That's why it's important to join with BFG, his wife and Laura's lawsuit.

Yesterday at BFG's party I spoke to a couple in that situation. What's worse is they were told by the CoS that the SS taxes were deducted, but in their SS report none shows up. So if you were supposed to get $50/week and you only got $42, the $8 was supposed to go to the govt. Not only that, but they were supposed to match the deduction on your side and pay another $8 to the govt/ If it's not on the report, that's a HUGE problem for the CoS.

Please report it to the SS administration.

 

[Ted]

Dr. Shannon was in the Sea Org at Flag FSO in 2005. Here's what she wrote on OCMB.

Originally Posted by Dr. Donna Shannon:

I was fortunate that I did not become ill while on staff in the F$O. When I "graduated" from the EPF, my husband was in "isolation". I was shocked to discover that any staff member who is ill, in any way, was put into "isolation". At the Hacienda, this was a room down in the corner, loaded with lots of cockroaches for company, with a nasty mattress, no sheets or pillows. (Second hand info from my husband, and others I knew.) Supposedly this prevents spread of disease.

But- didn't ol' ron say that all illness was due to "PTSness"???


Good ol' Ron said whatever supported his objectives of the moment.


And, doesn't $cientology have the "tech" to fix it right up?? And, what if you have a migraine? Or cancer? Or something NOT contagious? Why are you thrown into the dungeon with the "germs" (that don't exist, according to ol' ron)??

The sick people are lucky to get any food. When they do, it's the dregs of the dregs. A kid that was in the EPF with me got thrown into the isolation at the QI- he said it was hell, he got very little to eat, wasn't allowed out (he had the flu). Never saw a doctor, or got any medication.

Often the sick people are forced to do "MEST" work. While on the EPF, I saw the guys with colds, etc., out in the hot sun, doing yard work!! We were told to stay away from them. They were treated like lepers.

I broke a tooth while there. I was allowed to go to their $cientology dentist. He put a temporary filling in it for me. He said it needed a crown. I asked when he could do that; he laughed, and said that in the time he was there (15 years or so?) that he had NEVER been given the okay to buy any materials for a crown.

The older and ill staff members are sent home "early" on the 9:00 PM bus. Wow! They get out about 2 hours sooner, so their day is only TWELVE hours long! And, the only real reason for that, is to keep them HIDDEN from the other staff, and unable to talk to the others, to tell them what is happening.

When they get really sick, apparently they are sent off somewhere to die, or offloaded if at all possible.

Remember that good old quote from ol' ron, saying that auditors are the most valuable beings on the planet? So, ron, explain this to me: Why, when a Class IX auditor is ill, are they raked over the coals by RTC, screamed at, given endless "sec checks", demoted down to being call-in, and generally despised by the others? I saw this happen to at least TWO auditors in the short time (2 months) that I was in the Solo HGC. One had liver disease. Actually, auditors are pretty low down in the bully chain. They are near the bottom, and are treated like dirt.


I never found much credence in that bit about auditors being the most valued beings on the planet. In the wrong situation, they are bullied and abused like anyone else, perhaps worse than anyone else. Most auditors I have known are not inclined to abuse or harm others spiritually, mentally, or emotionally. It's an old game on the order of Roman centurions vs Christians or the Christlike.

The auditor identity is one that is solidified with training, drilling, cramming, practice (as in actual auditing), and, finally, the wins and gains of pc's. It's a bit tough to give up the identity because of the apparent successes. Some of the things that help let it go are: low pay or no pay, ethics abuse, management bully abuse, the occasional auditing failure where one failed pc is one too many -- at least these things were true for me.

I conclude the best way to survive being an auditor in a group of bullies and NCGs is to simply recognize what one has gotten into, then quietly walk away. Believe it or not, your pc's will do just fine with another auditor.



Comfort the sick? Keep them in a clean place, good nutrition, fresh air? OH, no. Punish them!! After all, they are PTS!! Rest? Sympathy? NEVER! And the poor suckers are made to feel GUILTY for being so "PTS!"!

Animals are treated FAR better in the US than the $ea Org staff.


Many people, not particularly scios, treat their pets far better than they treat human beings.

The very worse PTSness for a scio is being PTS to the Church, Management, and LRH.

Yes, yes, I know. The Church is a generality, Management is a generality. You will have to do your own represent list.

 

[Takin Time]

AO and CP,

We're all wondering the same things. I plan to talk to a CPA (and probably the SSA) this coming week to find out if SSA gets their wage information from the quarterly reports from the employer, or if an annual IRS filing is required.

I do know that you have only three years to correct the info with SSA.

If SSA gets the info from annual IRS filings, then the Sea Org personnel are screwed because no one files. But if it comes from the quarterly reports, then the Church of Scientology committed some sort of fraud... and that can be looked into.

Note on why it's important that SSA records the wages

Sea Org get no retirement fund whatsoever. In fact, they're usually offloaded when they get too old or ill to work a full quota of work. Social Security would be most ex-Sea Org's only hope to fall back on, and to get it you have to have paid into the system. Even a Sea Org person's meager wages are enough to help towards "qualifying" for social security retirement funds. The calculation for retirement is two fold:

1) You have to have enough "credits" to qualify in the first place, and

2) The amount you get is based on an average of the amounts you earned over the years.

(This is a simplistic view, please refer to www.ssa.gov for more thorough answers.)

Everyone born in 1929 or later needs 40 Social Security credits (sometimes referred to as a "Quarter of coverage") to be eligible for retirement benefits. You can earn up to four credits per year, so you will need to work in at least 10 years to become eligible for retirement benefits. During your working years, earnings covered by Social Security are posted to your Social Security record, and you earn credits based on those earnings. Each year the amount of earnings needed for a credit rises as average earnings levels rise.

In 2009, you receive one credit for each $1,090 of earnings, up to the maximum of four credits per year. For 2008, you receive one credit for each $1050 of earnings. If you become disabled or die before age 62, the number of credits needed depends on your age at the time you die or become disabled. A minimum of 6 is required regardless of your age.

Even though it's called a "quarter of coverage" you only need to earn that amount in one year. So if a Sea Org person earned at least $1090/year, then they would get one credit for that year. It's better than zero.

Social Security benefits are based on earnings averaged over most of a worker's lifetime. Your actual earnings are first adjusted or "indexed" to account for changes in average wages since the year the earnings were received. Then we calculate your average monthly indexed earnings during the 35 years in which you earned the most. We apply a formula to these earnings and arrive at your basic benefit

For Sea Org who have zero on their statement:

If you believe that all of your earnings are accurately reported on your record but you think you have more credits than we have shown on your Statement, please call our toll-free number 1-800-772-1213. Our representatives will help verify the correct number of credits.

 

[Takin Time]

Day 15: The employer threatens the employee with enormous debts should they consider leaving; and has routinely billed and collected from those who have left.

I paid my freeloader bill on the way out the door, but I had money in savings from before I joined the SO and was able to pay that. I paid more money than the average person's normal savings account. I was in less than a year and paid about 10 times the amount I received in salary. The Church of Scientology MADE MONEY OFF OF ME while I worked for them like a slave for nine months.

Paying that freeloader debt did NOT automatically put me back in good standing with Scientology, in fact later on I was still treated like shit because I was "ex SO". I didn't know it, because it's not publicized, but ex-SO are treated like scum in Sea Org service orgs like Flag FSO, ASHO and AOLA. In fact, Flag FSO has a policy about not servicing ex-SO. Of course, they don't tell YOU that -- they just treat you like scum and pretend it's all your fault and "you know what you did wrong" and crap like that.

(Sorry, I could write more but I'm seething at this moment and can't think straight. Gotta walk away.)

 

[alex]

If you were alone here, you would require evidence that you were paid a salary (contract, canceled checks, etc.) If enough people come forward with the same story, then you all have a case. That's why it's important to join with BFG, his wife and Laura's lawsuit.

Yesterday at BFG's party I spoke to a couple in that situation. What's worse is they were told by the CoS that the SS taxes were deducted, but in their SS report none shows up. So if you were supposed to get $50/week and you only got $42, the $8 was supposed to go to the govt. Not only that, but they were supposed to match the deduction on your side and pay another $8 to the govt/ If it's not on the report, that's a HUGE problem for the CoS.

Please report it to the SS administration.

$50 "wages" would require a total of $7.65 (sum of both employee and employer portions of FICA, 15.3%) So no $8 twice.

But if your income is below a certain number, currently $1090 per year, you receive no credit for it from Social security.

 

[Ladybird]

If what you write is true Alex, Then why did the cult take that money supposedly for SS/medicare out of our measly pay? Where did that money go?