MLK vigil brings prayers for deportations to stop

April 30, 2014 by
Park Methodist Church in Minneapolis hosted a vigil on the anniversary of MLK’s assassination.

Park Methodist Church in Minneapolis hosted a vigil on the anniversary of MLK’s assassination.

The 40th anniversary of iconic civil rights leader Martin Luther King’s assassination April 4 was marked with vigils locally and across the country in support of the most pressing civil rights issue of today, immigration reform.

The MLK vigils and the “Two Million Too Many National Day of Action” a day later drew support from unions. The nation’s largest labor federation, the AFL-CIO, co-sponsored the day of action to stop deportations with the National Day Laborers Organizing Network and other community organizations.

Locally, immigrant-rights activists, including representatives of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation, gathered at Park Methodist Church in Minneapolis April 4.

Church member Steve Belton, who was 16 at the time of the assassination, recalled that King was in Memphis, supporting sanitation workers who were on strike.

“For him, it was a matter of justice,” Belton said. “If Dr. King were alive today, I believe he might be somewhere like this vigil tonight … because immigration reform is also a question of justice.

“It’s a question of justice for thousands of immigrant workers and their families that look to this country for freedom, economic opportunity and political asylum. They too want to pursue the American dream.”

An estimated 11 immigrants live in constant fear of being deported by the U.S. government, which has carried out nearly 2 million deportations since President Obama took office in 2009, according to a New York Times analysis.

Eder Alarcon is waiting to find out if his name will be added to that list. An undocumented immigrant, Alarcon came to Minnesota in 2006, settling with his mother’s family in Minneapolis and taking on several jobs – kitchen work, construction, factory work, lawn care.

“I didn’t know much about laws; I was looking for work,” Alarcon said.

Fighting back tears at the vigil, Alarcon recounted his experience of being arrested after a police officer pulled up behind him at a gas station and asked for his driver’s license. As a result of the arrest, Alarcon said, immigration agents “are in the process of deciding whether I’m going to stay or go.”

“I don’t know that there are enough words to express what Latinos have suffered,” Alarcon said when asked what he would say to President Obama if given the chance. “You’re always kind of afraid of any interaction with police … or something that could get you deported. But you have to go on living somehow.”

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said the U.S. is in the midst of a “deportation crisis” incompatible with American values.

In a statement supporting the Not 1 More Campaign to stop deportations, Trumka urged the Republican-controlled U.S. House to pass an immigration-reform bill passed last fall by the Senate. The bill would provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers like Alarcon.

House Republicans’ “obstruction of comprehensive immigration reform must end,” Trumka said. “Enough is enough – we need the passage of immigration reform that leads to citizenship and an end to a deportation machine that criminalizes hardworking immigrants while deporting hundreds and hundreds of people a day without even an appearance before a judge.”

“The time is now for Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform that provides a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented workers living here and contributing to our society,” St. Paul Regional Labor Federation President Bobby Kasper added.

At the Minneapolis vigil, Rev. John Gutterman, a pastor in the United Church of Christ, pointed to several of the Bible’s teachings that encourage Christians to welcome immigrants, not deport them. Jesus, Joseph and Mary “had to flee from the political oppression of Herrod to go to Egypt, where they were welcomed and taken care of,” Gutterman said.

“Our system is broken, and deporting workers, tearing apart families and abusing people to try to make it work doesn’t help,” he added. “This – immigration reform – is the civil rights issue of our time.”

hurch member Steve Belton welcomes immigrant-rights activists, calling the issue “a matter of justice.”

hurch member Steve Belton welcomes immigrant-rights activists, calling the issue “a matter of justice.”

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Time is now, marchers say, for House to pass immigration reform

October 5, 2013 by
Supporters of immigration reform march from the Basilica to Government Plaza downtown Minneapolis.

Supporters of immigration reform march from the Basilica to Government Plaza downtown Minneapolis.

Supporters of comprehensive immigration reform clogged the streets of downtown Minneapolis today, joining a “National Day of Action for Dignity and Respect” and amplifying the call for Congress to fix the nation’s broken immigration system.

More than 1,000 people – a crowd heavy on families and children – marched from the Basilica of St. Mary to the plaza outside the Hennepin County Government Center. They carried signs and flags, and put up calls of “Si se puede!” and the mantra of the day, “The time is now.”

Members of District Council 82 of the Painters and Allied Trades and their families march together, wearing black union T-shirts.

Members of District Council 82 of the Painters and Allied Trades and their families march together, wearing black union T-shirts.

Pockets of union members were scattered throughout the crowd, including about 100 members of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 82 and their families, who marched behind their union’s banner.

“We’re here to represent our union – not just members but their families,” Painters organizer Francisco Altamirano said. “It’s a family movement. It’s about human rights and keeping families together. That’s why we need to support immigration reform.”

The Service Employees International Union, the United Food and Commercial Workers, UNITE HERE and Education Minnesota also were well represented, and the Minnesota AFL-CIO and regional labor federations from St. Paul and Minneapolis provided logistical support.

The march opened with a prayer vigil, led by diverse collection of religious leaders, on the Basilica steps. It culminated with a rally in Government Plaza. Javier Morillo, president of SEIU Local 26, co-emceed the rally, noting wryly that it was a rare event when he shared the stage with someone from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.

Immigration reform, though, has support from “a broad group of Minnesota business owners,” Chamber Vice President Bill Blazar told the crowd. The reason, he said, boils down to two words: the economy.

“Minnesota’s economy needs the contribution that immigrants make,” both as workers and as entrepreneurs, Balazar said.

“It is time for all workers to be treated equally under the law,” Minnesota AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Steve Hunter said. Workers are entitled to a safe workplace, wage-and-hour protections and collective-bargaining rights regardless of their immigration status, Hunter added.

Reform efforts have bipartisan support in Congress, and the Senate has passed a bill to modernize the country’s immigration system. The House will do the same only if members hear from their constituents.

“We need people to move a mountain,” said UFCW Local 1161 President Mike Potter, “and we’ve got a mountain to move in Washington, D.C.”

Click here to contact your representative in Congress, and tell them to support comprehensive immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship!

web.CIRmarch-kid-scene

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Day of Action for immigration reform planned Oct. 5

September 27, 2013 by

immigration-logoThe U.S. immigration system is broken, and both new American immigrants and American-born workers are suffering the consequences.

On Oct. 5, supporters of comprehensive immigration reform will take part in a National Day for Dignity and Respect, with events in more than 40 cities nationwide.

Locally, activists will gather at 12:30 p.m. at the Basilica of St. Mary, 88 N. 17th St., Minneapolis, for an interfaith prayer service, followed by a 1 p.m. march.

The event is being sponsored by the Minnesota chapter of the Alliance for Citizenship, a diverse coalition of that includes members of Minnesota’s faith, business, labor, law enforcement and immigrant communities.

The Oct. 5 events, organizers say, are intended to pressure Congress to take a vote on immigration reform, including a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers already in the country.

For more information on the National Day for Dignity and Respect, go to ilcm.org.

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Ten years ago immigrant freedom riders planted the seeds of reform

July 1, 2013 by
Minnesotans who participated in the 1961 Freedom Rides for civil rights were on hand to kick off the 2003 Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride in St. Paul. Pictured from L to R are Marv Davidov, Zev Aelony, Claire O’Connor and Bob Baum.

Minnesotans who participated in the 1961 Freedom Rides for civil rights were on hand to kick off the 2003 Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride in St. Paul. Pictured from L to R are Marv Davidov, Zev Aelony, Claire O’Connor and Bob Baum.

Immigration reform is on the front burner in Congress this summer, but 10 years ago immigrant “freedom riders,” including some from Minnesota, traveled to Washington to raise awareness of the need for reform, including a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers.

The Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride kicked off its Minnesota leg with an event at the Neighborhood House in St. Paul on July 15, 2003.

Among the activists in attendance were four Minnesotans who took part in the historic 1961 Freedom Rides for civil rights.

[The Union Advocate’s “This Month in the Archives” feature offers a look back at what the newspaper was reporting from 5 to 100 years ago. Our digital archives are online, searchable and free to anyone. Click here for access.]

Standing in front of a yellow school bus decorated with signs and slogans, union officers, lawmakers and other coalition leaders spoke of the difficulties new immigrants face, according to a Workday Minnesota report in The Union Advocate.

That group included Linda Chavez-Thompson, executive vice president of the AFL-CIO. Chavez-Thompson was the first woman – and the first Hispanic American – elected to serve as an officer of the national labor federation.

“If the labor movement, if the AFL-CIO, doesn’t stand up … for immigrant workers, what can other workers expect of us?” Chavez-Thompson asked.

“The biggest shame of our country is that many folks have forgotten who they are,” said state Rep. Carlos Mariani of St. Paul. “They have forgotten they were, in fact, immigrants. They have forgotten the struggle of their ancestors. In doing so, they dishonor their ancestors.”

The Freedom Ride would leave the Twin Cities Sept. 28, reaching Washington later that fall before concluding in New York.

100 Years Ago: Paper strike in Little Falls

Violence shook the town of Little Falls in July 1913, when striking paper-mill workers scuffled with strike-breakers on the picket line.

A “special correspondent” from Little Falls provided Union Advocate readers with an account of the brawl. As strikers were on the picket line, a scab struck a picketer – “a little old man,” according to the account – on the head “with a piece of round iron 18 inches long, which he had concealed in his clothes.” The blow left a gash two inches long in the man’s scalp – and sparked violent retaliation from the victim’s union brothers.

By Aug. 1, however, many of the strike-breakers had grown disillusioned with the company and walked off the job, according to The Advocate’s correspondent. “This action has greatly demoralized the force yet at the mill, and the conditions in it are worse than when the strike began,” The Advocate reported.

“The managers of the mill are manifestly disturbed by the turn affairs have taken, as they have reason to fear the dissatisfaction which culminated in the walkout will spread and deprive them of the services of numbers of their other ‘scabs.’”

Striking workers, meanwhile, benefitted from the “liberal financial assistance” of unions across the state – as well as the moral support of their Little Falls neighbors.

“The power of local public opinion is beginning to show itself,” The Advocate reported. “The disinterested people of this community are with the strikers in sympathy and encouragement and insist that they shall be justly dealt with.”

75 Years Ago: St. Paul unions oppose voting machines

The St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly, which was at the time the East Metro’s central labor federation, took a stand in July 1938 against the City of St. Paul purchasing voting machines for use in public elections.

Delegates from two unions led the charge. Printing Pressmen’s and Assistants’ Local 29 feared installation of voting machines would deprive its members of work printing ballots for elections. Machinists Local 459 argued against the voting machines because none available on the market was union made.

“Other delegates argued in favor of the motion on the grounds that it would deprive a large number of people, who usually act as judges and clerks of election, of a certain amount of employment,” The Advocate reported. “The Assembly voted its opposition to the plan to purchase any of the machines and instructed the secretary to so notify the members of the city council.”

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May Day rally draws hundreds in support of immigration reform

May 2, 2013 by
Supporters of immigration reform rally on the Minnesota Capitol lawn.

Supporters of immigration reform rally on the Minnesota Capitol lawn.

Chants of “si se puede!” rang out from the Minnesota Capitol lawn yesterday, as hundreds of people rallied for federal and state action to fix the nation’s broken immigration system.

The May Day demonstration in St. Paul was one of dozens held across the U.S., organized by a broad coalition of groups – including labor unions – hoping to capitalize on growing momentum in support of a reform package that creates a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants now living and working in the shadows.

mayday-signs-webIn Washington the Senate Judiciairy Committee is debating an immigration reform bill that has bipartisan backing. Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken sit on the committee, and both sent staffers to the rally to reiterate their support.

Meanwhile, demonstrators cheered state senators who voted earlier in the day to pass the Minnesota Dream Act, legislation that would make children of undocumented immigrants eligible for financial aid at the state’s public colleges and universities.

Rep. Carlos Mariani, a DFLer from St. Paul, told the crowd he hoped the Minnesota House would follow the Senate’s lead. “It’s the value of dignity that pulls us together, that brings us here today,” Mariani said. “It’s that same dignity our government representatives need to acknowledge.”

Other speakers at the rally expressed support for state legislation that would enable undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. Advocates say the measure would help keep uninsured drivers off the road.

May 1 is International Workers’ Day, a commemoration of the global struggle for labor rights and a public holiday in more than 80 countries worldwide. For the past decade, immigrant groups – particularly the Latino community – in the U.S. have used May 1 as a date for rallies and other public actions, including a general strike and boycott in 2006.

This year unions threw their resources behind the May Day immigration rallies, and union members bolstered the number of demonstrators at events nationwide, including in St. Paul. Groups that participated in yesterday’s rally included the Minnesota AFL-CIO, Education Minnesota, the SEIU Minnesota State Council, UNITE HERE Local 17, UFCW Local 1189 and the Organizing Apprenticeship Project.

“Immigrant workers need to have the same mobility as any other worker to move from one employer to another as better opportunities arise,” Minnesota AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Steve Hunter said. “When an employee is tied to a specific employer to maintain his or her status, that employee can be subject to intimidation, exploitation and abuse in the workplace, which drives down wages and working conditions for everyone.”

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Labor leaders weigh in as Senate takes up immigration bill

April 24, 2013 by
Geraldine Crece and Luis Sanchez bow their heads during a prayer that opened a rally for immigration reform April 9.

Geraldine Crece and Luis Sanchez bow their heads during a prayer that opened a rally for immigration reform April 9.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee began hearings last week on an 844-page bill to overhaul the nation’s broken immigration system. The proposal includes a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, as well as new boarder-security measures, guest-worker programs, employee-verification methods and other changes to the immigration system.

In Minnesota labor leaders who have been advocating for immigration reform reacted positively to the bill, although some warned there are concerns left unaddressed.

Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson called the bill “a testament to the unstoppable momentum in our country to create a just and compassionate immigration policy.”

The Service Employees International Union, another strong advocate for immigration reform, applauded the measure.

Jigme Ugen, executive vice president of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, called it “a good starting point,” and said his union looks forward to working with two Minnesota senators on the Judiciary Committee – Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar – to improve it.

“We thank Senators Franken and Klobuchar for their support and urge them to be vocal leaders on an issue that impacts all Minnesotans, regardless of immigration status.”

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Unions lead rally for immigration reform in Minneapolis

April 10, 2013 by
Josefina Garcia hoists her daughter Citlalli on her shoulders for a better view of the immigration rally downtown Minneapolis.

Josefina Garcia hoists her daughter Citlalli on her shoulders for a better view of the immigration rally downtown Minneapolis.

The time for bipartisan action to fix the country’s broken immigration system is now, according to a diverse group of more than 100 activists who rallied downtown Minneapolis yesterday for “commonsense” immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship.

The event, one of several immigration rallies held across the country yesterday, drew support from unions, business leaders and faith groups. Together, they called on federal lawmakers to send President Obama a bill that will keep families together and protect workers, regardless of their immigration status.

Mike Fernandez, a vice president at Cargill, acknowledged that it will require a level of bipartisanship rarely seen in Washington D.C. But if business and labor can unite behind an issue, he said, members of Congress ought to be able to do the same.

“Collectively, we will make some important history,” Fernandez said.

Geraldine Crece and Luis Sanchez bow their heads during a prayer that opened the rally for immigration reform.

Geraldine Crece and Luis Sanchez bow their heads during a prayer that opened the rally for immigration reform.

Senators from both parties are working together this week on a sweeping immigration bill, and Minnesota’s delegation will play a critical role in advancing the bill. Both Sen. Al Franken and Sen. Amy Klobuchar sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is likely to hear the measure before any floor vote.

Both senators dispatched representatives to the rally yesterday. Both expressed support for immigration reform.

Erick Garcia Luna said Klobuchar supports “tough, practical and fair” reform with a “reasonable pathway to citizenship” for the 11 million undocumented people living in the U.S. Franken staffer Dan Solomon said his boss “knows our immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed.”

That drew cheers from a crowd that included Gloria Castillo, a leader in the faith-based, immigrant-rights group Asamblea de Derechos Civiles. She said a path to citizenship is key to improving the lives of undocumented immigrants now working in the shadows of the U.S. economy.

“We don’t want any more employers who take advantage of their employees because they know they don’t have documented status,” Castillo said.

It’s the same reason unions like the AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union and others have thrown their support behind immigration reform.

“Empowering immigrant workers is a win for all working people,” Steve Hunter, secretary-treasurer of the Minnesota AFL-CIO, said. “Any time any worker anywhere is exploited, it lowers standards for working people everywhere.”

Union members, though, have not been immune to the pitfalls of the current immigration system. About 200 members of SEIU Local 26 were fired in 2010 “for the crime of working,” according to Local 26 President Javier Morillo, after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents audited an area cleaning company.

Despite what appears to be broad-based support for protecting immigrant workers, Morillo warned that powerful interests remain committed to seeing immigration reform fail.

“The members of Local 26 have felt firsthand the effects of our broken immigration system, but for some people our immigration system is working just fine,” he said. “Some people are making a profit by exploiting workers who are scared, or by detaining workers in for-profit prisons. That is wrong.”

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Union members join push for immigration reform with path to citizenship

January 30, 2013 by
SEIU Healthcare Minnesota member Mitch Azarcon talks about her mother's struggle for U.S. citizenship.

SEIU Healthcare Minnesota member Mitch Azarcon talks about her mother’s struggle for U.S. citizenship.

U.S. citizenship isn’t something Mitch Azarcon takes for granted – not after watching her Filipino-born mother wait 25 years to move her family to the U.S.

Now Azarcon, a surgical core technician at Rochester Methodist Hospital, is exercising her rights as a citizen, taking action through her union, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, to change federal law and make it easier for people like her mother to realize their dreams of becoming U.S. citizens.

“America is my home, and I am an active citizen,” Azarcon said. “During this last election I knocked on doors, phone banked, passed out fliers – everything in my power to participate. We helped elect leaders who will do the right thing for immigrants in this country.”

Union members like Azarcon form a critical bloc in a broad-based coalition supporting the immigration-reform effort declared a priority by President Obama earlier this week.

Locally, the coalition includes business, student, religious, civil-rights and labor organizations, and their representatives gathered at the Minnesota Capitol today to demonstrate their shared commitment “to doing what a broad swath of Americans want: to finally, once and for all, win comprehensive immigration reform,” said Javier Morillo, president of SEIU Local 26.

At a press conference, Morillo and other speakers stressed that immigration reform must include one “essential” component: a practical path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants now living in the U.S.

Luis Enrique Gomez, holding a picture of his children, talks with Rev. Paul Erickson.

Luis Enrique Gomez, holding a picture of his children, talks with Rev. Paul Erickson.

Without a path to citizenship, families like Luis Enrique Gomez’s will continue to be split apart. Gomez, who lives in St. Cloud, has been ordered to return to his native Mexico by March 9. If he complies, he said, he will be forced to leave behind his two U.S.-born children.

“I think we need to keep together families,” Gomez said, gripping a photo of himself with his arm around his children. “It can cause psychological problems, separating kids from their parents.”

Rather than labeling workers like Gomez “illegals,” U.S. policy should “recognize that (immigrants) are simply responding to economic forces on both sides of the border,” said Rev. Paul Erickson, an assistant to the bishop of the St. Paul Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Immigration policy is not just about borders and security, Erickson added, “it’s about real human lives.”

It’s also about workers’ rights, which is why Minnesota’s unions, according to Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson, are “fully engaged” in the push for “common-sense, comprehensive immigration reform.”

In addition to SEIU and the Minnesota AFL-CIO, which together represent more than 330,000 union members statewide, UNITE HERE Local 17, Local 1189 of the United Food and Commercial Workers and the community-based group Minnesotans for a Fair Economy also have pledged support the immigration-reform effort.

The reason, Knutson said, is simple: A rising tide lifts all boats.

“Empowering immigrant workers is a win for all working families,” Knutson said. “With a well-functioning process in place, immigrant workers will have the voice in the workplace they need to defend their rights, which in turn will improve standards for all workers. That’s because the ability to exploit any worker lowers the standards for all workers.”

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