AFL-CIO to help more Latina working women organize

By Larry Rubin, People's World
October 18, 2016

WASHINGTON — While Donald Trump continues to excoriate immigrants from South and Central America, the AFL-CIO is ramping up programs to help them unionize and gain political power.

A forum recently held here highlighted what the labor movement will be doing to provide Latina working women with the tools they need to win better standards of living and security for the future.

The key, the panelists agreed, is to encourage self-empowerment.

“Latina empowerment is important because nobody but us can tell our stories,” Montserrat Garibay of Texas’ EducationAustin said. EducationAustion is a local affiliated with both the NEA and the AFT.

Aside from Garibay, speaking at the packed AFL-CIO Las Trabajadoras forum here were Diana Ramirez of DC’s Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC), Monica Ramirez of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) and Dora Cervantes, secretary treasurer of the Machinists union.[...]

Read the full article:
http://www.peoplesworld.org/article/afl-cio-to-help-more-latina-working-women-organize/

‘The Wall Is a Fantasy’

A week in the borderlands with migrants and guards.

By Declan Walsh, New York Times
October 14, 2016

NOGALES, Mexico — A few hundred feet from the American border, José Manuel Talavera contemplated his challenge with the focus, if not quite the physique, of an Olympic high jumper. A stocky coffee farmer from Honduras, he was fresh off La Bestia, or the Beast — the freight train network used by migrants to cross Mexico. Now he was preparing to vault into the United States, for the third time.

His options, both of which involved days of trekking through searing deserts, were unappealing: pay thousands of dollars to a guide, or carry a rucksack filled with drugs for a cartel.

Mr. Talavera shrugged. He did not see himself as a factor in America’s presidential election, even though he had a vague idea about Donald J. Trump and his threats to build a “beautiful, impenetrable wall.” It seemed silly: Was the border not already walled? He knew how hard it was to cross. The first time, a Mexican drug cartel kidnapped him and took all his money. On the second attempt he made it to America only to be captured, detained for two months and put on a plane back to Honduras. It was his first flight. “One month to get there, four hours to go back,” Mr. Talavera recalled with a smile. “At least the ticket was free.”[...]

Read the full article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/opinion/sunday/the-wall-is-a-fantasy.html

Harvesting freedom and sowing resistance: Migrant workers in Canada demand permanent immigration status

These workers are at the mercy of their employer. In other words, it is indentured labour, giving this program the disrepute of being akin to "modern day slavery."

By Binish Ahmed Navjeet Sidhu, rabble.com
October 13, 2016

A historic caravan of migrant agricultural workers completed a 1,500 kilometre journey to Ottawa to deliver a clear and pointed message to members of Parliament -- "We want permanent immigration status now!"

The caravan launched on Sept. 3 in Leamington, Ontario (Canada's tomato capital) has made stops to cities and towns across southern Ontario. Workers have been sharing not only their demands, but personal stories of exploitation and injustice under Canada's Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP), a federal program now in its 50th year.[...]

Read the full article:
http://rabble.ca/news/2016/10/harvesting-freedom-and-sowing-resistance-migrant-workers-canada-demand-permanent-immigr

Immigrants and Supporters Shut Down George Washington Bridge, declaring #SomosVisible

For Immediate Release
10/26/2016

Press Contact: Mahoma López, co-director of Laundry Workers Center
347-488-6936, garfiasdf@gmail.com

Immigrants and supporters shut down the upper level of the George Washington Bridge for 45 minutes during this morning’s rush hour, declaring “Somos visible”, or “We are visible”.

Organized by Laundry Workers Center, the non-violent protest called for the ”right of every member of our communities to be visible.”

Protesters chained themselves together on inbound upper level of bridge, unfurling a banner reading "Resist, Organized, Act Up!" New Jersey police arrested 10 non-violent protesters.

“The immigrant community is tired of being in the shadows.” said Laundry Workers Center co-director Mahoma López. “For many years we are here, we contribute, we pay taxes, we build this country, but in the end, we don’t have the right to participate in the decisions at the local and national levels.”

“We demand the right to vote and take part in the decisions in our communities.”

In a written statement, Laundry Workers Center wrote “We are one with Mother Earth and with all oppressed people in the shadows. We making our struggles, our pain and our power visible.”

A rally is planned this evening at 6pm, in Union Square. More information is available here: https://www.facebook.com/events/207755879648984/

Follow #SomosVisible on Twitter.

Berry Pickers’ Win Could Result in Better Conditions for Many Farmworkers

Farmworkers at Washington’s Sakuma Brothers farms have voted to join what could be the first union for Driscoll's berry pickers in the nation.

By Elizabeth Grossman, Civil Eats
October 10, 2016

For over three years, the workers at Sakuma Brothers farms in Burlington, Washington have been calling for a boycott. The farm supplies strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and more to Driscoll’s, the largest berry distributor in the world, and over the years, the workers have complained of inconsistent, piecemeal wages (that dipped below minimum wage), poor housing conditions, and the absence of paid break time.

Now, the workers have reached an important milestone: In September, they voted to be represented by Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ), the first farmworker union led by workers who are indigenous to Central America. And they’ve called off the boycott for now. “This win ushers in a new era for farmworker justice internationally,” said FUJ in a statement.[...]

Read the full article:
http://civileats.com/2016/10/10/driscolls-berry-pickers-win-could-result-in-better-conditions-for-many-farmworkers/

For earlier coverage:
http://thepoliticsofimmigration.blogspot.com/search?q=Sakuma

Help "Resistance at Tule Lake" Reach the Finish Line!

RESISTANCE AT TULE LAKE is nearing the finish line! This groundbreaking documentary, which tells the long-suppressed story of Japanese Americans who protested their incarceration, is being produced for public television and educational distribution. Now more than ever, in an election year where pro-"internment" rhetoric has once again become publicly acceptable, these marginalized experiences need to be brought into the light.

We need YOUR help to make this possible. Our goal is to raise $10,000 to help us with the costs of:

• Archival media, including never-before-seen photographs & rare home video color footage taken within Tule Lake
• Outreach & public engagement, including the creation of educational support materials

RESISTANCE AT TULE LAKE is a crucial update to previous documentaries on the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans. Even before the completion of the film, we have received numerous requests to show the film and held a sold out preview screening at San Jose's J-Town Film Fest. We are currently submitting the project to film festivals and are planning to publicly premiere the film in February 2017, coinciding with the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066 that authorized the forced removal of 120,000 Japanese Americans.

We hope you'll consider making a much-needed, tax-deductible gift to support RESISTANCE AT TULE LAKE. All contributors will receive a Special Thanks credit on the film. Funders at the $100 level or higher will receive an early edition DVD of the documentary.

Donate Now!

Resistance at Tule Lake trailer

For further information or inquiries, contact director-producer Konrad Aderer at producer@lifeorliberty.org.

20 Years Ago Today, This Terrible Law Set the Foundation for Mass Detention and Deportation

As we fight the fatally flawed criminal justice system, we can't forget the immigrants criminalized by a law that turns 20 today: the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act.

By Alisa Wellek, Angie Junck and Paromita Shah, ColorLines
September 30, 2016

From job applications to the voting booth, we live in a society that treats criminal convictions as a stigma that never fades.

Yes, we have seen some positive shifts in attitudes around criminal justice reform: Bill and Hillary Clinton now repudiate the “tough on crime” laws they supported (and in Bill’s case, signed) in the 1990s. The Department of Justice no longer uses the “unnecessarily disparaging” terms “felon” and “convict” to describe released prisoners. President Obama has commuted more prison sentences than the previous nine presidents combined. Politicians from both parties concede that a lot of drug sentences are way too harsh.

But as we move culturally and politically to address reform solutions, we need to ensure that the fight for justice and fairness for all really means for all. That means we need to fight for a vast population that is too often left out of proposed solutions: immigrants with convictions.[...]

Read the full article:
https://www.colorlines.com/articles/20-years-ago-today-terrible-law-set-foundation-mass-detention-and-deportation