Unions in New York organized several busloads of workers, particularly Local 79 of the Laborers International Union of North America in New York and New Jersey and Local 169 of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Workers (UNITE) in New York.

"The union has the power--it relies on the membership," said Juan Méndez, 25, a demolition worker and shop steward for Laborers Local 79. "If we unite, we can fight and win our demands and our rights. Workers born in the United States should support our struggle because we're fighting for better working conditions for them, too."

Hundreds of other marchers were construction workers belonging to Local 79 together with their relatives, many originally from Ecuador. The union chartered 10 buses that included hospital workers from Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union, the Garment Workers' Justice Center, busloads from the Tepeyac Association, and various church-related groups.

The marchers were originally from Mexico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Central American nations, and several African countries. One contingent was a group of 250 Mexican workers from Staten Island, New York.

One of the demands of the demonstration was to modify legislation that offers expedited legal residence to Cubans and Nicaraguans and to extend these provisions equally to immigrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti. The existing law is based on Washington's hostile policy toward the Cuban revolution and its opposition to the workers and farmers government that existed in Nicaragua from the 1979 revolution through the 1980s.

Francisco and Janet, both garment workers in Manhattan and members of UNITE Local 25-35, took the day off to come to the rally because "we want general amnesty for all of us," Francisco said. "They exploit immigrants and we are opposed to those conditions. We work up to 10 hours a day, and the bosses don't shut the doors properly, so rats come in while we are working."

Other demonstrators carried signs reading, "Enough of anti-immigrant laws," "Stop workplace raids," and "Fix '96," referring to the reactionary Illegal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act of 1996.

Charles, a 19-year-old demolition worker and member of Laborers Local 79, stated, "We are here to demand equal rights for all Americans--born here or not. I support all immigrants. The way they [the bosses] exploit us must stop--working us 12-14 hours and not paying overtime." Charles had also participated in the immigrant-led May Day march in New York this year.

Javier, 21, a construction worker, said that before he was in a union-organized worksite, "We worked with a lot of dust, but the company wouldn't give us masks. They would yell at us and the boss would even hit us." He said he joined the union to get better pay and get respect. Wages for nonunion, immigrant demolition workers, he noted, run as low as $6 to $8 an hour, compared to $15 to $25 or more at union scale.

Juan Méndez echoed the sentiments of many demonstrators, stating, "Papers or no papers, everybody should have better conditions. We're fighting, and one day we will get what we want: papers, equal rights, and an end to exploitation."

Elena Tate is a member of the Young Socialists in New York.  
 
 
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