For Immediate Release
September 4, 2015
Contact: SG Sarmiento, sgsarmiento@ndlon.org
Federal Judge Confirms Long Island Day Laborers are Protected by US Constitution
Long Island, NY—In response to a federal court judge striking down a NY town’s law banning day laborers from seeking work, representatives of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) made the following statements:
Gabriel Banos, Council President, Workplace Project, Long Island:
“Justice comes to those who demand it and persist. Long Island day laborers have been vindicated. We have the right to stand on a sidewalk and offer our labor. We are open for business. I hope that this ruling serves as an example and guidance for other towns. Enacting and implementing anti day laborer ordinances is not just illegal, it’s immoral. No one is above the need of a father or mother to provide for his or her loved ones.”
Pablo Alvarado, Executive Director of NDLON:
“After this Court decision, two things should be clear to those who want to alter our Constitution: (1) Today’s ruling affirms that it protects anyone who seeks an honest day of work in public sidewalks: citizens and non-citizens. (2) Migrants will defend it. We will fight every day for equal rights under the law, not just for ourselves but for everyone.
“The racist, overheated and dangerous rhetoric that Presidential Candidate Donald Trump promotes, is not above the most cherished bedrock civil rights protections of our country. Through our struggle for justice and equality, day laborers will honor the prior generations of migrants and their descendants who fought to advance equal rights for all.”
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