Thousands of immigrants in the United States re-establish May 1st as International Worker's Day as the date to protest the demands of Workers: They demand General Unconditional Amnesty for all of the undocumented.
Press Statement (this is an UNOFFICIAL translation in English)
Almost 9,000 people marched in New York on May First, the vast majority of whom were immigrants.
The National Coalition for Dignity and Amnesty attained it's goal of uniting people of different nationalities and ideologies, different organizations and unions, to build and strengthen the fight for a General Amnesty for All Undocumented Workers in the United States.
The new force of the working class in the United States, with a new face - fifty percent of whom are from Latin America - revived the spirit/meaning of May First as a day to demonstrate the demands of labor on that date that the system in the United States has tried to forget. And that is in spite of the fact that in 1886 this day of struggle originated with the battle of the workers in Chicago who fought against a grueling 12 to 15 hour work day - which today undocumented immigrants are again suffering the misery of.
Comunicado de Prensa
Alrededor de 9,000 personas Marchan en New York el 1 de Mayo, la mayoría inmigrantes indocumentados.
La Coalicion Nacional por la Dignidad y Amistia logro su meta de agrupar a diferentes nacionalidades, credos, organizaciones, sindicatos, para fortalecer la lucha por la Amnistia General para todos los Inmigrantes Indocumentados en los Estados Unidos.
La nueva fuerza de trabajo en los Estados Unidos, con nuevo rostro venido el cincuenta porciento de Latinoamerica, recupero el sentido del Primero de Mayo, de manifestar sus demandas laborales en una fecha que el sistema de Estados Unidos ha tratado de olvidar, a pesar de que en 1886 esa fecha se origino en la lucha de los trabajadores de Chicago, que luchaban contra las extremas jornadas de trabajo de 12 a 15 horas diarias, que ahora los inmigrantes indocumentados vuelven a sufrir inmisericordemente.
Press Release, May 1, 2000
On May 1, 2000, the Coalition for Dignity and Amnesty mobilizes thousands of immigrants in 20 states: California, Colorado, Washington D.C., Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington.
Last year on October 16, 1999, the march organized 15,000 undocumented immigrants. During that event, Congressman Luis Gutierrez of Illinois was present to support the proposal of the demonstrators.
On the February 16, 2000, the AFL-CIO announced that it would favor a General unconditional Amnesty for all undocumented immigrants and against employers that recruit undocumented workers from abroad simply for the purpose of exploiting them.
Three days before the march, on the 27th of April of 2000 at Liberty State Park of New Jersey City, Invitees of Raymond M. Pocino, president of Laborers' International Union of America (LIUNA), four congressional representatives considered the challenge and joined together to support General Amensty for all undocumented immigrants: Robert Menendez, William, Pascrell, Jr., Steven R. Rothman, and Donald M. Payne.
In New York, at least 3,000 people are expected. The mobilization will begin at 12:00pm beginning with a cultural program at Union Square Park (14th & Broadway). And at 1:30pm, a contingent of diverse organizations, nationalities, creeds, and unions will walk on Broadway, making a stop at Federal Plaza, the Immigration building, and continue on to City Hall.
In front of City Hall, several representatives from the union movement will demonstrate: Sal Especial, Dennis Rivera, Sonia Ivanni, May Chan, and other community-based organizations such as Asociación Tepeyac, Haitian Mobilization, Bangladesh Society, Filipino Worker Center, etc. Clergy from some parishes including P.Josú Iriondo, P. Luis Barrios, P.Alan Ramirez, and representatives of international movements like Martin Longoria de El Grito de los Excluidos, and not to exclude the testimonies of some undocumented immigrants.
[posted 5/3/00]
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