In my state. The home of labor. Michigan. fifteen immigrant women were fired for attending one of the immigration rallies.
That stinks in a very bad way. In France, millions poured into the streets to stop the slightest hint that worker rights would be rolled back.
What will we do in America. My guess is nothing. But we ought to. Identify the products of this company. Or the companies that they service. Send a letter demanding that the women be re-hired. Or implement a boycott of the business/businesses involved.
The story reports the offending company as the Wolverine Packing Co. This should be confirmed, and they should be brought to task.
Some will probably say, “Hey, the women shouldn’t have left work.” I say baloney. This is about the power of people. If hundreds of thousands can be mobilized seeking justice on a legislative issue, than those same good souls ought to mobilize to help these women who sought to help that movement. Solidarity.
It is time in this country to start fighting back against corporate power (he says, right before he runs off to try to scrape two nickels together via some crass commercialist endeavor).
I hope someone has time to take up this cause.
well-received remarks yesterday at the march/rally in Tucson was from City Councilman Steve Leal who said (paraphrased)
“We all have one thing in common, whether we’re legal, illegal or American-born. The corporate masters are taking advantage of us all.”
It was refreshing to hear the truth.
The truth is dangerous! Could get that Councilman un-elected.
This is just terrible. Damn! Now I am feeling sick reading about this and Manny’s diary about arrests in Tucson.
I had such an amazing time yesterday–the march and the rally were unbelievably great–well organized with lots and lots of energy. Couldn’t stop yelling Si Se Puede for hours after the rally….
if they haven’t already, and help these ladies get new jobs.
One of the advantages of working in the US without benefit of having purchased one’s papers from the Washington retailer is that while jobs don’t pay much, and suck, they are also not difficult to get.
The way their jobs are viewed by mainstream affluent Americans and people working with non-Washington “papers” are very different.
The mainstream affluent individual is to begin with, more likely to have some degree of affinity or interest in their job. They may also count on that job for access to medical treatment that they could not otherwise afford. There may be other “benefits” associated with the job, and some may even see the job as a stepping stone, or part of a career plan. Plus, the mainstream worker is working under his or her own name.
Migrant workers tend to work at whatever job is available based on pay, convenience of location and/or ride to same, for example if a roomate works at the same place. Few people work using the names their parents gave them.
If they lose that job, they have not really lost much, and finding another one will not present a problem. If they wish to change names and purchase new documentation, that can mean additional inconvenience as well as expense, a couple of hundred dollars is a lot of money when one’s pay is so low. However, in none of their jobs are they going to be receiving benefits, especially a deep discount on purchase of a luxury item like medical treatment. And even born in US workers in low paying jobs are dropping out of the 401K plans in droves, simply because they need the $20 a week to stay in housing, and the amount in the 401K will in no way be enough for them to live on when they are elders. If they are lucky, it might be enough for them to purchase an automobile, after 30 years or so.
This is one of the aspects of the protests: If people fire these workers from their jobs, it is the company who is likely to lose more than the worker. In some cases, the worker can just go back to that same company and apply with a different name, due to the “all look same” syndrome of some mainstream Americans, and the fact that migrant workers are “invisible.”
So while I agree that the company was wrong to fire the ladies, I believe that it will be the company who is the loser, and if they ladies have not already found new jobs, they will be almost certain to have done so by the end of the week, and I hope their new jobs will pay more, be more convenient to get to, and more pleasant and interesting than the lost one.
I’ve been kinda waiting to read stories like this…thinking that would be akin to the union busting practices by employers.
Maybe the businesses that start firing people for joining in these demonstrations should be treated the same way and the word put out that no one should try and get jobs at these places and look for jobs elsewhere. Maybe that isn’t practical for people who need jobs but it’s a thought.
I was trying to look up the company on the internet but my search skills aren’t that great but I did find out that the owner is a republican and donates to republicans(surprise).
their web-site how about giving them a call???
I called today, but office closes at 4:30. I received an e-mail call to action to make the call. I encourage it. They have a press release up getting out their side, on the website.
I think they got a bit more publicity than they bargined for-Olberman had them as Worst Person in the World today and I see that overseas newspapers have reported this also.
A large meatpacker Excel, in Dodge City was going to sanction those who didn’t go work on Monday. As they started handing out warnings..600 other workers left the line and went to cafeteria and refused to work unless the warnings were lifted.
http://www.hutchnews.com/news/regional/stories/Excel041206.html
That’s a great story. Solidarity.
Cool. It made Olberman?