Immigrant and labor organizers are hoping to mobilize a
nationwide strike for immigrant rights on May 1 comparable to the massive “Day
Without an Immigrant” on May
1, 2006, the largest national labor action in U.S. history. Clearly the
“Day Without an Immigrant” in February
of this year was much smaller than the 2006 mobilization, but organizers
are hoping to bolster turnout with support from workers’ centers and union locals in the service sector.
Meanwhile, local resistance goes on, including a new hunger strike at a
detention center in Tacoma, Washington, and a “Caravan Against Fear” in
California.—TPOI editor
On May 1, the US May See the Biggest Immigrant Strike Since
2006
By Adriana Cataño, Remezcla
April 7, 2017
On May 1 – a day known for labor organizing around the world
– as many as an estimated 400,000 won’t show up to work across the United
States. Immigrants’ rights groups, labor unions, and workers organizations are
gearing up for what may become the biggest immigrant strike the country has
seen in more than 10 years. Unlike other strikes, this one isn’t a protest
against their employers. With the ongoing resistance to President Donald Trump,
organized labor has taken the reins in order to show the current administration
that the groups it’s vilifying and adversely affecting with its policies form
the backbone of the US, according to Mic.
“The president is attacking our community,” Tomas Mejía, a
member of the Service Employees International Union West’s executive board,
told Labor
Notes. “Immigrants have helped form this country, we’ve contributed to its
beauty, but the president is attacking us as criminal.”
Earlier this year, immigrants staged a nationwide Day
Without Immigrants strike. But, unlike the May 1 strike – which already had
350,000
service workers vowing to join the protest by mid-March – the Day Without
Immigrants strike came together in a shorter amount of time. And now, workers
will take it to the next level.[...]
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For-Profit ICE Jail Faces Second Hunger Strike in Two Years
By Sam Knight, The District Sentinel
April 14, 2017
A hunger strike at a privately-run immigration detention
facility in Tacoma, Washington entered its third day on Thursday.
More than 750 people are participating, according to
supporters holding a demonstration at noon on Wednesday, in front of the
Northwest Detention Center (NWDC). The rally is being held, in part, to see if
the hunger strike will continue.
Prisoners began refusing meals at lunchtime on Monday, in
protest over conditions at the privately-run prison. Specifically, they want
speedier hearings, improved food and healthcare access, and lower prices at the
prison's store.[...]
Read the full article:
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/40231-for-profit-ice-jail-faces-second-hunger-strike-in-two-years
Fighting Fear, Hundreds Join Border Caravan for Migrant
Rights
By Laura Carlsen, Counterpunch
The Federal Building looms overhead like a threat as the
protesters gather. Washington policies have brought them here to Sacramento, to
push the state government to protect its citizens and communities from the
anti-immigrant orders of the 45th president.
Union members, migrants, government officials and grassroots
organizers—the categories often overlap—chant and march before stepping up to
the mike to tell their stories and make their promises. Matching t-shirts read “Caravan
Against Fear” with dates in April and a graphic of a child, her arms spread in
a welcoming gesture, her face turned upward in hope.
It’s the launch of an unusual caravan for unusual times. One
sign reads “Somos el pueblo. Respeta nuestra humanidad”—We are the people.
Respect our humanity. Since when do the residents of an advanced democracy have
to plead for respect for their humanity?
Apparently, since the election of Donald Trump.[...]
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