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Main Street on the Move: Road Tour from Milwaukee to Washington, D.C.
March 12, 2010On March 17 Voces de la Frontera will launch a 5-city tour, starting in Milwaukee and arriving on March 21 in Washington, D.C. for the March for America rally. The tour will highlight local labor struggles in places like Milwaukee, where county workers are fighting to keep their jobs and in Indiana, where Whirlpool workers are fighting to prevent a plant closing that will affect 1000 workers and their families.
According to Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera, "the recent crisis has resulted in millions of people joining the ranks of the unemployed, and there is more to come. It is essential that working people start to build a mass movement for full employment. We must support workers who are fighting to keep their jobs, build greater solidarity among working people and demand more from the federal government. This also includes supporting immigrant workers' struggle to achieve federal immigration reform and an end to enforcement only measures that have criminalized working people and cynically used immigration laws to undermine labor rights in this country." Events will feature the testimonies of a variety of people, including:
- Dexter Keys - Keys was born and raised in Milwaukee where Iron Mountain permanently laid him off after 15 years on the job. "Since being laid off, I have lost my car and am struggling to make my rent," says Keys. "The government and employers need to know that there are a lot of good workers out here. We have to work together to get out of this crisis. All of us need to get out of this."
- Omar Damian Ortega - Ortega is an immigrant worker and welder in Milwaukee. When he filed a workers' compensation claim for a back injury with West Bend Mutual Insurance, the company investigated his immigration status, and used "identity theft" charges against him in order to avoid paying the workers' compensation claim. Alejandra Acevedo, his U.S. citizen sister, will speak on Ortega's behalf.
Day 1: March 17
Milwaukee, Wis. - 11: 30 a.m. press conference and rally at the Milwaukee County Labor Council, 633 S. Hawley Road.
Chicago, Ill. - 3 p.m. press conference at the Haymarket Memorial, Desplaines & Lake Streets. Sponsored by Workers from Republic Windows and Doors and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR).
Day 2: March 18
Toledo, Ohio - 10 a.m. event at the Jerusalem Baptist Church, 445 Dorr St. Sponsored by the Ohio Organizing Collaborative.
Day 3: March 19
Cincinnati, Ohio - 6 p.m. send off rally at Su Casa Hispanic Ministry, 7036 Fairpark. Sponsored by the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers' Center.
Day 4: March 20
Travel to D.C.
Day 5: March 21
Washington D.C.- 2 p.m. march on the Capitol
Day 6: March 22
Washington D.C.- Lobby day to pressure congressional offices on job creation and immigration reform.
Voces de la Frontera is a low-wage and immigrant workers' center that informs workers about their employment rights and promotes community and youth organizing to achieve economic and social justice. Voces will be reporting along the way with daily updates and video available at the Voces website and via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
According to Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera, "the recent crisis has resulted in millions of people joining the ranks of the unemployed, and there is more to come. It is essential that working people start to build a mass movement for full employment. We must support workers who are fighting to keep their jobs, build greater solidarity among working people and demand more from the federal government. This also includes supporting immigrant workers' struggle to achieve federal immigration reform and an end to enforcement only measures that have criminalized working people and cynically used immigration laws to undermine labor rights in this country." Events will feature the testimonies of a variety of people, including:
- Dexter Keys - Keys was born and raised in Milwaukee where Iron Mountain permanently laid him off after 15 years on the job. "Since being laid off, I have lost my car and am struggling to make my rent," says Keys. "The government and employers need to know that there are a lot of good workers out here. We have to work together to get out of this crisis. All of us need to get out of this."
- Omar Damian Ortega - Ortega is an immigrant worker and welder in Milwaukee. When he filed a workers' compensation claim for a back injury with West Bend Mutual Insurance, the company investigated his immigration status, and used "identity theft" charges against him in order to avoid paying the workers' compensation claim. Alejandra Acevedo, his U.S. citizen sister, will speak on Ortega's behalf.
Day 1: March 17
Milwaukee, Wis. - 11: 30 a.m. press conference and rally at the Milwaukee County Labor Council, 633 S. Hawley Road.
Chicago, Ill. - 3 p.m. press conference at the Haymarket Memorial, Desplaines & Lake Streets. Sponsored by Workers from Republic Windows and Doors and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR).
Day 2: March 18
Toledo, Ohio - 10 a.m. event at the Jerusalem Baptist Church, 445 Dorr St. Sponsored by the Ohio Organizing Collaborative.
Day 3: March 19
Cincinnati, Ohio - 6 p.m. send off rally at Su Casa Hispanic Ministry, 7036 Fairpark. Sponsored by the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers' Center.
Day 4: March 20
Travel to D.C.
Day 5: March 21
Washington D.C.- 2 p.m. march on the Capitol
Day 6: March 22
Washington D.C.- Lobby day to pressure congressional offices on job creation and immigration reform.
Voces de la Frontera is a low-wage and immigrant workers' center that informs workers about their employment rights and promotes community and youth organizing to achieve economic and social justice. Voces will be reporting along the way with daily updates and video available at the Voces website and via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Mitos y hechos
Mito: Los inmigrantes de Wisconsin no quieren asimilar
Hecho: En el 2006, 42.6 por ciento de la población de Wisconsin nacida en el extranjero eran ciudadanos naturalizados. Muchos otros solicitantes de la ciudadanía están enfrentando retrasos largos en su proceso.
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