Religious Leaders, Students Announce Participation in Historic Action to Support Immigrant Workers
Labor Desk
September 27, 2006
Clergy, Students to Join More than 400 Risking Arrest at Largest Civil Disobedience in L.A. History.
Los Angeles — 20 students and 10 religious leaders joined immigrant workers yesterday to announce that they had signed up over 100 students from a dozen campuses around California and 60 religious leaders from congregations around the state to risk arrest on September 28th. UNITE HERE and the We Are America Coalition are planning a historic civil disobedience action on the Century Corridor to take place this Thursday at 4:30PM. The action will take place during rush hour and will shut down Century Blvd. for hours as 400 protesters conduct a non-violent sit in and plan to ignore police orders to disperse.
Joana Herrera, an immigrant from Peru and a student at Cal State Long Beach whose mother works at the LAX Hilton, explained the importance of this action, “Thursday will be a historic day. Over 100 students from campuses as far away as Cal State San Diego and Cal State Humboldt and local community colleges like East LA Community College are going to stand with immigrant workers on this day. We are going to risk being arrested by peacefully shutting down Century Blvd. to demand and end to the exploitation of immigrant workers.”
Most of the hotel workers on Century Blvd. are immigrants, and earn 20% less than hotel workers in Los Angeles County as a whole. Many of these workers live in the surrounding communities of Lennox, Hawthorne and Inglewood where 1 in 4 residents live below the poverty line and 40% of children come from poor households.
These are hard working immigrants who make these corporations very rich. There is no question that the right thing for these employers to do is to pay their workers a living wage and provide affordable health insurance,” said Bridie Roberts, Pastor at Pico Union Shalom Ministries a United Methodist congregation made up mostly of immigrants. “That is why so many of us in the religious community are going to participate in civil disobedience. Something needs to be done to end the exploitation of immigrant workers.” Over 60 religious leaders from congregations and religious organizations around the state have pledged to risk arrest in the largest civil disobedience in the history of Los Angeles.
Patty Simmons, an immigrant and a server at the LAX Hilton, expressed her appreciation for the sacrifice hundreds of people will be making on September 28th by going to jail. “This is something that has never been done before in Los Angeles, this gives us hope that we are not alone as we risk our jobs everyday by standing up for our rights. “ Immigrant workers from around the city will also be participating in the civil disobedience on Thursday. “We need to stand together and fight for our rights as immigrants. I’m risking arrest because we don’t have a choice, it is either stand up and defend our rights in this country or live our lives in the shadows. I refuse to live my life in fear,” said Victoria Vergara a housekeeper at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel.
Los Angeles — 20 students and 10 religious leaders joined immigrant workers yesterday to announce that they had signed up over 100 students from a dozen campuses around California and 60 religious leaders from congregations around the state to risk arrest on September 28th. UNITE HERE and the We Are America Coalition are planning a historic civil disobedience action on the Century Corridor to take place this Thursday at 4:30PM. The action will take place during rush hour and will shut down Century Blvd. for hours as 400 protesters conduct a non-violent sit in and plan to ignore police orders to disperse.
Joana Herrera, an immigrant from Peru and a student at Cal State Long Beach whose mother works at the LAX Hilton, explained the importance of this action, “Thursday will be a historic day. Over 100 students from campuses as far away as Cal State San Diego and Cal State Humboldt and local community colleges like East LA Community College are going to stand with immigrant workers on this day. We are going to risk being arrested by peacefully shutting down Century Blvd. to demand and end to the exploitation of immigrant workers.”
Most of the hotel workers on Century Blvd. are immigrants, and earn 20% less than hotel workers in Los Angeles County as a whole. Many of these workers live in the surrounding communities of Lennox, Hawthorne and Inglewood where 1 in 4 residents live below the poverty line and 40% of children come from poor households.
These are hard working immigrants who make these corporations very rich. There is no question that the right thing for these employers to do is to pay their workers a living wage and provide affordable health insurance,” said Bridie Roberts, Pastor at Pico Union Shalom Ministries a United Methodist congregation made up mostly of immigrants. “That is why so many of us in the religious community are going to participate in civil disobedience. Something needs to be done to end the exploitation of immigrant workers.” Over 60 religious leaders from congregations and religious organizations around the state have pledged to risk arrest in the largest civil disobedience in the history of Los Angeles.
Patty Simmons, an immigrant and a server at the LAX Hilton, expressed her appreciation for the sacrifice hundreds of people will be making on September 28th by going to jail. “This is something that has never been done before in Los Angeles, this gives us hope that we are not alone as we risk our jobs everyday by standing up for our rights. “ Immigrant workers from around the city will also be participating in the civil disobedience on Thursday. “We need to stand together and fight for our rights as immigrants. I’m risking arrest because we don’t have a choice, it is either stand up and defend our rights in this country or live our lives in the shadows. I refuse to live my life in fear,” said Victoria Vergara a housekeeper at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel.
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