Workers at a Tulsa firm allege mistreatment, the company denies that

More Indian nationals are expected to join nearly a dozen other men who say they were forced to live and work in a Tulsa factory. <br><br>The natives of India are part of a recruitment program organized

Monday, February 4th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

More Indian nationals are expected to join nearly a dozen other men who say they were forced to live and work in a Tulsa factory.

The natives of India are part of a recruitment program organized in the Middle East. Many came to Tulsa last year to learn how to become trained welders at the John Pickle Company.

Company president John Pickle is accused of paying Indian trainees a below-minimum wage salary and forcing the men to live, eat and sleep in the very factory where they work. He says heâ€™s done nothing wrong. â€œI feel like I went over backwards to help these people and I'm gettin shot in the back. We have treated the trainees from India with courtesy and compassion while they are here learning skills of welding."

The legal team representing nearly a dozen Indian nationals says they will head back to US District Court for revisions on a lawsuit filed on Friday.