SB1070 March and Civil Disobedience – Human League002
video by Dennis Gilman
A Quick Guide to Racial Profiling – B. Loewe
A Quick Guide to Racial Profiling for Sheriff Arpaio.
Joe Arpaio Faces Justice Department Lawsuit Over Allegations Of Civil Rights Violations
Federal authorities sued America’s self-proclaimed toughest sheriff Thursday, a rare step after months of negotiations failed to yield an agreement to settle allegations that his department racially profiled Latinos in his trademark immigration patrols.
The U.S. Department of Justice officials said the agency filed a lawsuit only once before in the 18-year history of its police reform work. The lawsuit escalates the standoff with Sheriff Joe Arpaio and puts the dispute on track to be decided by a federal judge.
Dear feds: What Took You So Long With Arpaio? EJ Montini
The U.S. Department of Justice filed its lawsuit against Maricopa Sheriff Joe Arpaio Thursday and the first and most obvious question is: What took you so long? If you’ve lived in Arizona for any amount of time you KNEW that Arpaio would not cooperate voluntarily. It’s not his nature. He’s been the elected potentate of a sheriff’s department for
Grammy Nominated Chilean MC, Ana Tijoux, to Perform Women in Resistance AltoArizona Concert with Puente & NDLON
Powerhouse Hip-Hop Star Headlines Mothers’ Day Concert for Human Rights
What: Women in Resistance AltoArizona Hip-Hop Concert with Ana Tijoux, Cihuatl Ce, and all Female Mariachi
Where: Puente Movement Office. 1306 E Van Buren. Phoenix, AZ.
When: 6:00pm – 10:00pm, May 13, 2012.
Cost: $5 Donation
May 04, 2012. Phoenix, AZ – South American Hip-Hop star and Grammy-nominated artist, Ana Tijoux, will perform a Women in Resistance AltoArizona concert with Puente and NDLON to protest anti-immigrant policies in Arizona and to honor mothers who are part of the powerful human rights movement in the state.
The rising star will offer the donation-based concert as part of her fourth US tour. She will be joined by local act Cihuatl Ce.
The daughter of Chilean exiles who fled Pinochet’s dictatorship, Tijoux relates personally to the situation in Maricopa County. The concert is the next in the AltoArizona series hosted by Puente Arizona and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network after September’s Manu Chao performance.
DOJ Suit Highlights Agency Battle with DHS Over Arizona Policy, President Must Take Responsibility
05.10.2012 Washington, DC. In response to the Department of Justice announcement that it will be suing Sheriff Arpaio of Maricopa County in its civil rights case against him, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network released the following statements,
Chris Newman, legal director states, “It is very clear a dispute has broken out between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, and it’s forcing a dilemma for the White House. The DOJ is arriving late to a civil rights crime scene caused in large part by the Department of Homeland Security. Janet Napolitano got Arpaio his immigration badge when she was Governor, and rather than correct her mistake as Secretary of DHS, she chose to create more Arpaio’s by expanding the dangerous “Se Communities” (SCOMM) program throughout the country.
Puente Calls for Immediate Federal Action, Shut Off S-Comm in State, as DOJ Arpaio Case Heads to Court
05.10.2012 Phoenix, AZ. In response to the DOJ announcement that it will be suing Sheriff Arpaio after negotiations in its civil rights case failed and the Sheriff’s subsequent promise to appeal in what will be lengthy court proceedings, Carlos Garcia of Puente Arizona released the following statement: “While suing and investigating the Sheriff’s office, the federal government should end its own role in…
Mere Tinkering With a Bad Program, S-Comm – NYTimes
The Obama administration announced last month plans to repair Se Communities, the program that compels state and local police to join its wide and expanding hunt for illegal immigrants. From now on, when illegal immigrants are stopped for traffic violations by local police, Immigration and Customs Enforcement will consider detaining and deporting them only after they have been convicted, not before. In theory, this minor policy shift could reduce the number of people arrested on a pretext and held for deportation. But that’s unlikely. And it doesn’t fix the fundamental flaws in a discredited program. The administration has faced fierce criticism from law-enforcement officials and immigrant advocates for ensnaring far too many minor offenders and noncriminals as it has rapidly expanded Se Communities and ramped up deportations to a record pace of 400,000 a year. It contends that most are criminals, though that still includes many minor offenders.
Day Laborers in NY Demand Back Wages for their Work and an End to Contractor Impunity
Andrés Garcia: (917) 340-6850; andres.nynice@gmail.com
Valeria Treves: (917) 324-3305; valeria.nynice@gmail.com
(español abajo)
Day Laborers Demanded Back Wages For Their Work
and an End to Contractor Impunity
Saturday, May 5, 2012
10:30 a.m.
38-01 Corporal Stone Street, Bayside, Queens, New York
This past Saturday, May 5th, members of New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE), a worker center in Jackson Heights, and their allies held a demonstration outside the office of Bongjun Park of Well-S Industrial Inc. to demand back wages and respect.
Park and his company were hired by Yong Jin Kim of Keystone Growth Corporation for a construction job at the Dwight School, an elite private school on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Park owes over $90,000 in back wages and damages to eight immigrant workers who did grueling excavation work.
With the legal assistance of the Community Development Project at the Urban Justice Center, workers have demanded unpaid wages from Park. Unfortunately, he has refused liability, claiming that the general contractor, Kim and Keystone Growth, did not pay him.
“Day laborers are often hired by subcontractors, rather than by the contractor that has the contract with the property owner,” says Valeria Treves, Executive Director of NICE. “What develops is a chain of contracts, with employers robbing workers of their salaries and simply passing the buck on to someone else. The Park/Kim case, is a classic example of that”
“Construction is one of several low-wage industries where multiple layers of subcontracting make it harder for employees to recover unpaid wages from the responsible employers,” said Tsedeye Gebreselassie, a staff attorney at the National Employment Law Project. “Unscrupulous employers frequently hide behind subcontracting arrangements to argue that they are not the worker’s employer in an attempt to evade responsibility for basic wage and hour standards”.
“Day laborers across the country are facing more and more instances where employers utilize subcontracting schemes to avoid paying their workers. Bongjun Park and other construction employers must hear this message loud and clear – day laborers will not be silent in the face of this exploitation,” says Nadia Marin Molina, Worker Rights Program Coordinator/ Staff Attorney at the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.
“It is a scandal that Mr. Park refuses to pay workers who worked for him,” says Andrés Garcia, Worker’s Rights Organizer at NICE. “If he hires someone, he has to pay them. That’s the law.”
“We decided to stand up against Mr. Park because we know that he will just continue to do the same to other workers after us. We want him to understand that we have rights as workers and that if he hires someone he must pay them and treat them with respect,” said Luis Alvarez, one of the eight workers who worked for Mr. Park.
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Para distribución inmediata:
Andrés García: (917) 340-6850; andres.nynice@gmail.com” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>andres.nynice@gmail.com
Valeria Treves: (917) 324-3305; valeria.nynice@gmail.com” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>valeria.nynice@gmail.com
Jornaleros Demandan el Pago de Sueldos y
un Fin a la Impunidad en el Sistema de Contratación
5 de mayo del 2012
Queens, New York
Este sábado, 5 de mayo, miembros de New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE), un centro de trabajadores en Jackson Heights, y sus aliados tendrán una demostración afuera de la casa de Bongjun Park, de Industrial Inc., para exigir el pago de sus sueldos y respeto.
Park y su compañía fueron contratados por Yong Jin Kim de la corporación Keystone Growth para un trabajo de construcción en la institución educativa Dwight, una escuela de élite privada en la parte oeste del alto Manhattan. Park les debe más de $90,000 en sueldos, daños y perjuicios a ocho trabajadores inmigrantes que llevaron a cabo un trabajo de excavación extenuante.
Con la ayuda legal del Proyecto de Desarrollo Comunitario del Urban Justice Center, trabajadores han puesto una demanda de sueldos no pagos frente al Sr. Park. Desafortunadamente, Park se ha negado a tomar responsabilidad, diciendo que el contratista general, Kim y Keystone Growth, no le ha pagado a el.
El negar la responsabilidad de pago es un problema demasiado común en esquemas con subcontratistas “Jornaleros son frecuentemente contratados por subcontratistas, en vez de por el contratista que tiene el contrato con el dueño de la propiedad,” dice Valeria Treves, Directora Ejecutiva de NICE, “Lo que se forma es una cadena de contratos, con empleadores robándole el salario a los trabajadores y simplemente echándole la culpa al otro. El caso Park/Kim es un ejemplo clásico de eso”.
Nadia Marin Molina, Coordinadora del Programa de Derechos Laborales y Abogada para la Red Nacional de Jornaleros (NDLON por sus siglas en ingles) esta de acuerdo “Jornaleros en todas partes del país están enfrentando cada vez mas y mas instancias donde los patrones usan esquemas de subcontrato para evitar pagarles.”
“Es un escándalo que Mr. Park se niegue a pagar a estos trabajadores que trabajaron para él” dice Andrés García, organizador de NICE. “Si él contrata a alguien, tiene que pagarle. Ésa es la ley.”
Luis Alvarez, uno de los ocho trabajadores inmigrantes a los cual les debe Park, dijo “Hemos decidido enfrentar al Sr. Park, porque sabemos que si no lo hacemos, el seguira haciendole lo mismo a otros trabajadores en el futuro. Queremos hacerle entender que si en contrata a alguien para trabajar, debe pagarles y tratarlo con respeto.”
La manifestación tomara lugar frente la casa del Sr. Park en 38-01 Corporal Stone Street en Bayside, Queens a las 10:30 AM, el Sábado May 5th.
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Valeria Treves
Executive DirectorNICE New Immigrant Community Empowerment
37-41 77th St. Second Floor
Jackson Heights, NY 11372
718-205-8796
www.nynice.org