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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Justice for Janitors Day Celebrations Begin With Fasting |
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by SEIU
(No verified email address)
Phone: Renee Asher, 301-581-0682 or Dan |
15 Jun 2001
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Justice for Janitors Day Celebrations Begin As Immigrants and Their Supporters Begin One-Day Fast for Immigration Reform |
WASHINGTON - June 14 - Tens of thousands of immigrants across the U.S. began a one-day fast today to draw attention to the need for immigration reform that gives hard-working immigrants who pay taxes and contribute to our economy an opportunity to earn U.S. citizenship.
"Real immigration reform must provide legal status to hard-working, taxpaying immigrants in this country," said Andrew L. Stern, president of SEIU, the largest union in the AFL-CIO and the largest union representing immigrant workers. "We don't need a new "guest worker" program; we need a "legalized worker" program for those who are already here."
Stern and other U.S. union leaders recently met with Jorge Castaneda, foreign minister in Mexican President Vicente Fox's Cabinet, to discuss the need for immigration reform that makes it easier for hard-working immigrants to receive legal status.
Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Jon Corzine (D-N.J.), and U.S. Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), Bob Filner (D-San Diego), Diana DeGette (D-Denver) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Chicago) today attended a kick-off for the National Fast for Justice in front of the U.S. Capitol. Immigrants from more than a dozen nations are taking part in the 24-hour fast and vigil at the Reflecting Pool in front of the Capitol.
The fast is part of Justice for Janitors Day, which marks the 11th anniversary of the Century City police riot, in which striking office building janitors and supporters were brutally beaten by Los Angeles police. The incident marked a turning point in the nationwide Justice for Janitors movement. Since then, hundreds of thousands of mostly immigrant janitors have united for better wages and affordable health insurance by joining SEIU.
This summer, 20,000 janitors along the east coast, including the northern New Jersey suburbs of New York, the Philadelphia suburbs, Baltimore and Montgomery County, Md., are uniting in the Justice for Janitors 2001 campaign. Many of them are paid as little as $5.50 an hour without health benefits, and are threatened with deportation if they speak out for fair treatment.
With 1.4 million members, SEIU is the largest and fastest growing union in the AFL-CIO, and the largest union of immigrant workers. |
See also:
http://www.seiu.org/political_action/index.cfm
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