"But the Labor Day celebrations will be tempered by a sobering reality: Unions face mounting pressure to protect their members from the Trump administration's immigration raids, cuts in Medicaid services and a weakened National Labor Relations Board. "We know how important we are to preserving and protecting democracy," said Lorena Gonzalez, head of the California Labor Federation. "We have a special role in that. We are not going to get silenced, and we're not going to be paralyzed.""
"From farm fields to car washes, labor groups have scrambled to support families of the hundreds detained and deported in numerous chaotic and violent raids that have resulted in the deaths of two people -a day laborer and a farmworker - killed while fleeing federal agents. The raids reverberated across the state's local labor community in June when David Huerta of SEIU California was injured and detained by law enforcement while documenting the first major immigration enforcement raids in Los Angeles."
""Farmworkers are afraid....They don't know what's going to happen from one day to the next with these raids, but they understand the only way we're going to have power is if we come together," said Teresa Romero, president of United Farm Workers. Romero and other union leaders said their focus remains on organizing more workplaces, while also working to educate people on their rights and staging legal and nonviolent protests against government policies."
Thousands of workers and union organizers across California will gather for Labor Day picnics and marches to honor working people's contributions. Unions face pressure to protect members from immigration raids, Medicaid cuts, and a weakened National Labor Relations Board. Labor groups have scrambled to support families of hundreds detained and deported in chaotic raids that killed two people. The raids reverberated when a SEIU California organizer was injured and detained while documenting enforcement actions. Farmworkers fear unpredictable raids and see collective organizing as the path to power. Union leaders focus on organizing workplaces, educating people on rights, and staging legal, nonviolent protests.
Read at Los Angeles Times
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]