Folks,
Greetings from the Burgh, where I am slowly recovering from a bad case of the flu.
Big thanks to all those, who donated to help me take some time off to recover.
Congresswoman Summer Lee Supboneas Epstein Files
Earlier this week, House Speaker Mike Johnson shut down Congress early to avoid a vote on subpoenaing the Department of Justice’s file on Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship to Donald Trump. Many Republicans were previously on record calling for the release of the Epstein files and Johnson wanted to avoid a vote that could embarrass Trump.
However, Congresswoman Summer Lee, who is the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement, called for a vote to subpoena the files knowing that three Republican members of her subcommittee were on record calling for their release.
The motion successfully passed 8-2.
“Today we are one step closer to justice for victims of Jeffery Epstein’s crimes and those of his accomplices,” said Rep. Lee in a statement celebrating the vote. “We cannot claim to be protecting children while allowing powerful people connected to Epstein to hide in the shadows. They are not above the law. That’s why I introduced this motion—and I’m proud that today, the subcommittee passed it. The American people deserve transparency, accountability, and the full truth—no matter how uncomfortable or politically inconvenient it may be.”
For more on the vote, check out the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Carpenters Union Member Detained by ICE at Court Hearing
Last week, Jesus Teran, a member of the Carpenters Union, was detained at a scheduled iCE Hearing. Teran, a 35-year old refugee from Venezuela, was in the process of seeking asylum and ordered to show up for regular court hearings.
Members of St. Partrick’s Catholic church, which he attends in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, have been rallying for his release Recently, Teran, led an effort to convert an abandoned plot into a community garden. From the Washington County Observer-Record:
“It’s been a heartbreaking experience. He’s been faithfully appearing at ICE appointments for more than four years, he was following the protocols of ICE, he was complying with everything he’s supposed to do. All of a sudden, he’s detained,” said the Rev. Jay Donahue, senior parochial vicar at St. Oscar Romero Parish.
On Sunday, congregation members and others turned out for the blessing of a community garden at Canonsburg’s St. Patrick Church, a plot that Teran and his wife, Liseth Carvajal, and their two children, Kamila, 14, and Lukas, 5, played a large role in transforming into a garden.
The community garden was launched to bring together the local church community and the Latino church community, many of whom attend services at Miraculous Medal, where Donahue celebrates Mass in Spanish.
Teran helped till the ground, repaired a faulty tiller, and his family helped with planting and watering, with Liseth bringing along her homemade watermelon juice for refreshment.
Chris McAneny, director of housing for the nonprofit Wellness Collective, which led the garden installation, said Teran, who also delivers food to the needy, “is the neighbor that everyone would want.”
For more, check out the Washington County Observer-Record.
Donate to Help Cover Deportation Fight in Western PA
Both the Carpenters’ Union and the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese are fighting the deportation of Jesus Teran. This will be an interesting fight that could inspire union members in other parts of the country to fight similar fights.
Donate to help us cover this crucial fight. Please, if you can, sign up as one of our recurring donors today.
Atlanta Immigrant Reporter Detained by ICE
Mario Guvera has been a reporter for more than two decades in Atlanta since coming to this country from El Salvador. While covering “No Kings Day” protests in June, Guevara was arrested while livestreaming.
While Guvera has not been granted residency in the United States, a judge did give him a permit to be here legally.
In 2019, his work was profiled by The New York Times. The success of it led to Guervera launching Noticias MG to cover immigrants’ rights in Atlanta.
His work has often been critical of the police and now local groups and the Committee to Protect Journalists are accusing police of detaining him in retaliation for his work.
“It seems like law enforcement coordinated and colluded with the federal agents,” Jerry Gonzalez of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO) told The Guardian. “The facts and the timeline indicate that pretty clearly to anybody that’s been following this.”
For more, check out The Guardian.
AFP Warns Their Last Journalist in Gaza Will Die of Starvation
In an unprecedented move, the Agence France-Press (AFP) is warning that one of its reporters may die of starvation in Gaza.
“Since AFP was founded in August 1944, we have lost journalists in conflicts, we have had injured and imprisoned colleagues among us, but none of us can recall ever seeing a colleague die of hunger,” AFP Society of Journalists said in a statement.
For more, check out Al-Jaazera.
Fenway Workers Urge Red Sox Owner John Henry to Avert Strike
For years, Red Sox owner John Henry has been a major backer of Democratic politicians. Now, concession workers, represented by UNITE HERE Local 26, are calling on Henry to put pressure on Fenway Park concession contractor Aarmark, to settle a union contract.
“We’re asking you to tell Aramark to bring reasonable proposals to the table that recognize our value and our role in making Fenway thrive,” members of UNITE HERE Local 26 wrote to Henry,
For more, check out Boston.com.
Volkswagen Used Slave Labor in Brazil
Finally, The Washington Post has an enormous expose on how Volkswagen used slave labor during the Brazilian military dictatorship in the 1970s:
The dossier identified 69 alleged victims, with testimonies spanning 1977 to 1987. There were notarized declarations, police statements, court filings and lawmaker reports, alongside decades-old press clippings in Portuguese, French and German.
Page after page, the documents recounted how labor recruiters contracted by Vale do Rio Cristalino Co., the Volkswagen Brazil subsidiary, had lured hundreds of seasonal and informal workers to the Amazonian property in Santana do Araguaia with the promise of good pay and a better life. But once on the farm, the workers said, they were trapped — geographically isolated, ensnared by debt, sickened by malaria and forced to toil under threat of violence. Their job was to destroy the forest and make room for cattle.
“We worked Monday to Monday, often without eating,” one man said. “They promised to kill us.”
The labor contractors, known as Chicô and Abilão, were among the Amazon frontier’s most notorious and brutal figures, according to contemporaneous records. Under their command was an armed cadre of “inspectors” who used any means necessary, the records allege, to force the men to work.
“They stomped on [a laborer], broke his teeth, brought him to the hospital and put him back to work in the jungle,” said José Camilo da Silva, 29, of Anápolis, Goiás.
For more, check out The Washington Post.
News & Headlines Elsewhere.
- 8,000 Indiana Kroger workers vote down contract a second time
- Fired Netflix labor relations executive sues Netflix for sexual harassment & discrimination
- Federal jury awards $1 million to IAFF members fired for union organizing
- 100+ Boston criminal defendants have their cases tossed due to attorney strike
- Can a new labor institute advance Black workers’ rights in the South?
- Hungary opposition figures urge Democrats to organize against autocratic takeover by Trump allies
- Finally, one in six workers pretends to use AI to please bosses
Alright folks, that’s all for today. Keep sending tips, story ideas, comments and complaints to melk@paydayreport.com
Donate to help us cover the fight to free a local carpenters union member from ICE. Please, if you can, sign up as one of our recurring donors today. Thanks again for all the support.
Love & Solidarity,
Melk
