Rally to Call on Gov. Brown to Protect Civil Rights of Californians and Expand Protections for Long-Excluded Workers

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Domestic Workers, Day Laborers, and Supporters Urge Gov. Brown to Sign Two Landmark Bills into Law


Los Angeles – Hundreds of Californians from throughout the state will hold a major rally in Los Angeles September 29, 2012, urging Governor Jerry Brown to sign two measures that would expand basic protections to long-struggling workers and protect Californians from family-shattering deportations. Each proposal would create a national model for powerful, progressive policy.

It is a matter of leadership, vision, and state pride, say supporters of the two bills.  The California Domestic Worker Bill of Rights (AB 889 – Ammiano) would end the outdated exclusion of domestic workers from basic labor protections by extending rights such as overtime pay and meal and rest breaks to the caregivers, childcare providers, and housecleaners caring for California’s families and homes. The TRUST Act (AB 1081 – Ammiano) would bring relief to families who fear deportation as a result of the most trivial of arrests, and rebuild confidence in law enforcement. The bill prevents the costly detention of aspiring citizens in local jails for deportation purposes, only allowing immigration “holds” for those charged or convicted of a serious or violent felony. 

“WE ARE NOT DISPOSABLE!”

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                                                                               For Immediate Release, September 17, 2012

Contact: Nadia Marin-Molina | nadia@ndlon.org |  (516) 984-5755                                                                          Ligia Guallpa |ligia@workersjustice.org | (646) 479-4769                          

 
                “WE ARE NOT DISPOSABLE!” 

                   Construction workers marking death of Winston Gillett with Vigil, Call for Action

   

Brooklyn, NY – On Monday, September 24, 2012 at 6PM, the Workers Justice Project (WJP) along with other worker centers will gather in front of 227 Carlton Ave. Fort Greene, Brooklyn to strongly condemn dreadful working conditions and labor exploitation in residential construction sites in and around New York City, where low-income men and women are employed. 

Winston Gillett, 62, was crushed to death after a roof collapsed at one of the townhouses. Gillett was working at the Carlton Mews Townhouse project, which was being built by Professional Grade Construction Corp. However, this year many other workers have also died while being crushed under the weight of thousands of pounds of building materials, being buried alive in a trench, or falling to their death from a scaffold with no harness.

In New York City residential construction, these types of incidents are so common that the contractors, building owners and developers, and the city do not pause for breath before ordering workers to climb back on the scaffolds. They all know that low and sometimes no wages, complete disregard for health and safety protections, and treating workers like they are disposable are part of a regular day’s work in residential construction. Meanwhile, residential construction spending increased to $2.9 billion in 2011 and is expected to climb to $4.8 billion in 2012, benefiting immensely from this exploitation.   

Camilo Hernandez, a member of Workers Justice Project (WJP), feels fortunate to have only cut off part of his on his left hand while working on a roof at a home rather than losing his life like Mr. Gillett. “I know how it feels not to have security on the job and being treated as disposable,” he says. “Our safety is a priority and a responsibility of everyone. We must all work together to take action and bring justice.”  

Join us on Monday, September 24, 2012, 6 p.m. to raise our voices against exploitation in residential construction and to ensure that the deaths of Winston Gillette, Santos Garcia, Adrien Zamora, and many other workers in the construction industry result in real protections for workers in the future.

Letter from ICE Director John Morton to Hate Group, FAIR, Stirs Controversy

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s practices with local police are facing scrutiny this week as the injunction on the racial profiling provision of SB1070 was lifted and section 2b went into effect. ICE had previously rescinded Maricopa County’s 287(g) agreement–which enabled local sheriffs in Arpaio’s office to act as immigration officers–after the Department of Justice exposed…

President Obama Must Do Everything to Stop Abuse in Arizona as SB1070 Goes into Effect

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Day laborers pledge to continue fight against discriminatory law at community level, Look to California for Alternate Direction
 
September 18. Phoenix, AZ.
In response to the lifting of the injunction against section 2b, the racial profiling provision of Arizona’s SB1070, Pablo Alvarado, the director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, issued the following statement,
 
“Laws requiring people to be judged by the color of their skin have no place in the US.  Not today and not ever.  While courts have yet to stop all of SB1070, all of us who believe in human rights and cherished constitutional values have an obligation to do everything we can to ensure that Arizona’s current lawmakers are on the losing side of history.
 

New Wave of Local Intiatives Seek to Restore Trust Damaged by DHS Arizona Style Policies, Push Back Against Se Communities Program

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California TRUST Act, DC Bill Set New ‘Commonsense’ Trend 

 

7.10.2012. Washington, DC. 

Days after the California senate passed a “Post- Arizona SB1070” bill called the TRUST act, and on the day the Washington DC council is signed a similar bill (Bill 19-585) into law, more than twelve cities launched efforts to develop local policies that restore the trust in law enforcement damaged by the Department of Homeland Security’s coercive “Se Communities” deportation program. Groups are calling for an end to the program and urging local officials to join a trend of municipalities led by Cook County, IL, California, and Washington, DC to counter the criminalization of immigrants, to protect against racial profiling, and to prevent the wrongful extended incarceration of residents for the sole purpose of deportation by setting commonsense standards for how to respond to immigration authority’s voluntary hold requests.

“Sort of True” Still “Good Enuf” for ICE

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Newly Disclosed Documents Confirm ICE Detainers are Voluntary, Suggest ICE Misled Public About Costs of Compliance July 9, 2012—Newly disclosed internal documents from the Immigration andCustoms Enforcement agency (ICE) repeatedly describe immigration detainers asvoluntary “requests” and confirm that there is no “procedure[] to force a[ local lawenforcement agency] to honor detainers.” The documents also show…

New Ana Tijoux Music Video Stands with Arizona’s Immigrants

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Español abajo

 
  “Shock” Video Blends Tijoux’s Unique Style with U.S. Immigrants’ Rights Movement

Phoenix, AZ – French-Chilean musician Ana Tijoux is the latest artist to stand with immigrants in Arizona as part of the “Alto Arizona” campaign, an ongoing effort to bring visibility, recognition, dignity and to migrants who have been targets of hate in Arizona and around the world.

Tijoux spent her childhood in France after her parents had to flee a repressive regime in Chile. It was there where she discovered hip hop music, and where she began her musical career. Her name was recognized in the international market after collaborating with the Mexican artist Julieta Venegas in the songEres Para Mi. Her album entitled 1977, which has songs that touch on issues such as political injustice and her life in France, was nominated for a Grammyin 2010.

Now she’s out with a new music video “Shock” (http://bit.ly/LZ3GfB) directed by Alex Rivera (Sleepdealers) from the album “La Bala” which features Tijoux with protesters of Arizona’s infamous Sheriff Arpaio and the anti-immigrant law, S.B. 1070, which the United States Supreme Court ruled was largely unconstitutional on June 25, 2012.   Filmed after a concert with Puente Arizona, Tijoux’s concert served efforts that pre-date SB1070 to challenge the state’s anti-immigrant climate and defend and advance the rights of migrant families.