The Militant (logo)  

Vol. 73/No. 31      August 17, 2009

 
L.A. workers win delay in
‘no match’ mass firings
(front page)
 
BY NAOMI CRAINE  
LOS ANGELES—One thousand workers at American Apparel and their supporters marched from the factory gate to the Federal Building July 29 to demand an end to mass firings of immigrant workers at this large nonunion garment factory and other workplaces.

Two days later, the company announced it was granting 30-day extensions to all of the workers who had received notice they would be fired.

About 1,800 workers at the company are threatened with firing, allegedly for not having valid authorization to work in the United States, based on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) audit of their employment records. American Apparel employs more than 5,000 production workers in Los Angeles.

On the day of the march, workers collected several thousand signatures, petitioning Dov Charney, company CEO, to give workers a 30- or 60-day extension. Dozens of workers participated in this effort. The petition passed from sewing machine to sewing machine. Custodians circulated it as they swept the floors. Petitions were circulated in the cafeteria, at the lunch truck, and on an extra bathroom break or two.

Workers built the demonstration broadly in the plant following a meeting the previous Saturday of some 250 workers from American Apparel organized by Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana. Some supervisors, most of whom are facing firing, attended the meeting.

The fight against the firings has won support from U.S.-born workers as well as immigrants. “Now is the time to get motivated for the cause,” said R. Henderson, an African American who attended the Saturday meeting. “I saw so many coworkers there. They are hard-working people, not criminals. We are all workers. That’s the point. We have the same problems.” Some Black workers in the fabric control and shipping departments also signed the petition.

“I have papers,” said José Gómez, “but I support the others. How are they going to find work?” Some workers with papers declined to sign.  
 
‘We’re defending our rights’
The petitions were delivered to Charney by Esther Hernández, a sewing machine operator who spoke at the rally. “We’re proud to be here because we’re defending our rights,” she declared, as she presented the stack of petitions to Charney, who went on the march. “We’re asking for more time. We don’t want to be trampled on, we don’t want to lose our jobs,” she added to shouts of agreement from her coworkers. Juan Calmo, a sewing machine operator, also spoke.

Isela Sánchez had been building the march all day in the plant. She has a letter from the company giving her 30 days to provide valid papers or be fired, with a deadline of August 6. “Immigration raids are a big problem,” she said. “But even bigger is the problem of them taking away our work for lack of documents. We can’t survive without work. We have a good boss. But the government isn’t letting us work. And the economy is getting worse.”

As they got off the job, workers crowded in front of the entrance to the plant, and assembled on the loading dock, urging their fellow workers to stay and march.

The march was originally planned to stay on the sidewalk, but workers filled the streets chanting, “Sí se puede!” (Yes, we can) and “Obama, fulfill your promise!” The central focus of the march, which was called by the Southern California Immigration Coalition (SCIC), was to demand that President Barack Obama stop the rampant I-9 audits and E-Verify, which are leading to mass firings.

I-9 audits are investigations conducted by ICE that review the legal status of workers and oblige employers to act on any “discrepancies.” E-verify is an Internet database bosses use to check a newly hired worker’s status with the federal government.

“Other companies are doing the same thing,” said Manuel, a second shift sewer who had received a letter from the company. “We want them to stop the firings. That is the objective of the march.”

“We need the government to legalize all workers. They say we’re criminals, but our crime is to be hungry,” said sewing machine operator Erendira Valades.

On July 1 ICE notified 652 companies—nearly 50 of them in Los Angeles—of plans to audit their employment records.

Pedro, a meatpacking worker, also spoke at the rally. “The companies take advantage of undocumented workers to lower the wages and keep us quiet. I’m active in the union at my plant. The only way for us to advance is to organize together. We need to move forward with this fight, which is just beginning,” he said.

Other speakers included Marcelino Arteaga of the Overhill Farms Workers Council; Nativo López, president of Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana; Daniel Montes from the SCIC; and State Senator Gilbert Cedillo.

Charney also spoke briefly toward the end of the rally. For years Charney has promoted a “Legalize LA” campaign for immigration reform, including giving T-shirts to immigrant rights organizations.

Nearly 300 people turned out August 1 for another rally sponsored by the SCIC. More than half of them were workers from American Apparel. “We won a round,” said Adan Hernández, commenting on the 30-day extension won on the job. “We have to make the politicians realize that what they’re doing has consequences for working people and they have to stop it.”

Arlene Rubinstein contributed to this article.
 
 
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