Folks,
Greetings from the Burgh, where I am getting sick and fear I may have to take some time off.
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United Farm Workers Won’t Back Farm Workers Strike This Week
Earlier today, farm workers in Southern California began a roving series of wildcat strikes. The strike comes after a farm worker died attempting to escape an ICE raid last week.
“This is our cry for justice. We’ve harvested this nation’s food through fire, floods, and a pandemic,” one farm worker organizer told Hip Latina. “Now we’re asking the people to stand with us in this strike—to boycott the companies that exploit us and silence our voices. We are done being invisible.”
However, the United Farm Workers union says it will not be backing the grassroots effort.
“The UFW always supports workers deciding to take action, but we are not engaged in this effort,” said United Farm Workers spokesperson Antonio De Loera-Brust in a statement to LA Taco. “Effective strikes demand enormous long-term planning, organization, strategy, and worker-led energy. We will always support workers who take action and make sacrifices to improve their lives as they see fit.”
SEIU Backs August 12th Immigrant Strike
While the United Farmworkers have not backed the farmworkers strike, SEIU California has backed a strike of immigrant workers on August 12th.
“We need to send a strong message that this country runs on immigrants,” said SEIU 721 Organizing Director Martin Manteca at an event this week announcing support for the strike.
For more, check out MyNewsLA.com
LA Bus Drivers Won’t Cooperate with ICE
LA bus drivers are also organizing on a grassroots level to resist cooperating with ICE raids on public transportation in LA.
“I’m not going to open my doors, regardless if there’s retaliation or not. I’m going to do what is right,” one bus driver told LA Public Press. “If I don’t stick to my beliefs, I’ll be failing [my immigrant mother] and I’ll be going against everything I stand for and come from.”
For more, check out LA Public Press.
Apps Help Immigrants Track ICE Raids
Many apps have been developed to help immigrants track ICE raids. Now, the Trump Administration is cracking down on them. From CBS News:
To do his job, Oscar relies on the app Coqui, which shows him if ICE agents are nearby. On a recent trip hauling horses from New York to South Carolina, he spotted ICE activity, forcing him to take an alternate route.
Coqui is one of several apps that have been developed recently to let people know when ICE agents are nearby. ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan told CBS News she thinks such apps are dangerous and could be used to spot and ambush ICE agents.
"There's always a form of free speech and a lot of things in technology, and we understand that and respect that, but where it crosses a line is when it becomes dangerous, not only to the ICE officers ...," Sheahan said, adding, "If it's impeding in law enforcement effort, that's where that line comes in as well."
MLB Players Union Tells Players to Keep Immigration Documents On Hand
More than 28% of all baseball players are immigrants and many fear the threat of immigration raids. This week, the Major League Players Association advised immigrant ballplayers to keep their immigration documents with them at all times.
“We continue to communicate with our guys and assure them, whether they’re at the minor league level or at the major league level, this is how best to protect yourself in the near term, and carrying the documentation while having an open line of communication is what we’ve found has worked so far,” MLB Players Association President Tony Clark told the LA Times.
For more, check out the LA Times.
News & Headlines
- J Street declines to back ADL in fight with teachers union
- Striking workers could lose unemployment benefits in blue states under GOP proposal
- Striking Teamsters at Republic Services this week are dramatically escalating their war against the waste giant by extending picket lines to Los Angeles and a major landfill in Ohio.
- 1,100 medical technicians vote to unionize in Oregon
- 1,100 U.S. Geological Survey workers vote overwhelmingly to join NFFE-IAM
- Hundreds of legal services staff strike as larger walkout looms
- KQED lays off 45 workers, cuts programs amid $12 million deficit
- Finally, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette strike has reached 1,000 days
Alright folks,that’s all for today. Keep sending tips, comments and complaints to melk@paydayrepor.com
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Love & Solidarity,
Melk