Above – marching to Assi Market

For the past five years, the Multi-ethnic Immigrants Workers Organizing Network (MIWON) and other community-based organizations such as the Institute for Popular Education of Southern California (IDEPSCA), Clinica Monsignor Oscar Romero and Actions for Grassroots Empowerment and Neighborhood Development Alternatives (Agenda) have worked together to bring the issue of Legalization for Immigrants to the Public eye and to engage in public discourse around struggles of low wage immigrant workers in the United States.

The “Caravan for Justice” traveled to three important points in Los Angeles to demand fair treatment for immigrant workers while targeting national, statewide and local issues effecting immigration. The first stop was at the federal building in Westwood where the Caravan addressed their concern over pResident Bush’s guest worker proposal and called on the federal government for fair immigration reform. Then the caravan went to the office of Governor Schwarzenegger to convey the demands of immigrant workers in California for a fair drivers license program and to stop cutting health care services. Lastly the caravan stopped at Assi Market to shine a spotlight on two companies which have violated the labor rights of immigrant workers.

Adapted from MIWON press release.

Stream Audio Files:
Jim Lafferty
Paul Sawyer

COPS!

duration 00:03:32

“By the way we have a permit for this street. Don’t you let anyone tell you we don’t have a permit, there may be a police officer here who is misinformed, but I tell you we have a permit for the street. Do not let anyone run you off the street, because what he is doing is acting illegally. That police officer at the moment is breaking the law and we will not stand for it…”
Jim Lafferty -- Lawyers Guild
http://www.nlg-la.org/index.htm

Duration 00:08:45

“This great May Day, International Workers Day from the 1800’s that grew out of the massacre in Chicago of the Great Haymarket Strike. At a time when working people in this country almost had a revolution. Shutting down the country with a general strike. The Armies was brought in and workers were killed the street.”

Paul Sawyer
Great Haymarket Strike workers battle for the 8 hour work day. http://my.execpc.com/~blake/haymar.htm

Letter from Australia
http://www.icujp.org/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=News&report=SingleArticle&ArticleID=0060

marching to Assi