Thread: ‘Unity rally’ may include group from Philadelphia

http://www.standardspeaker.com/index.ph ... 6&Itemid=2

‘Unity rally’ may include group from Philadelphia
Saturday, 19 August 2006
By L.A. TARONE
tarone@standardpeaker.com
A “unity rally” in opposition to the recently-enacted Illegal Immigration Relief Act is planned for Memorial Park on Sept. 3. The rally has been organized by Dr. Agapito Lopez, who has emerged as the opposition leader.

However, news of the rally has made it to Philadelphia, and that has attracted the attention of a group with ties to numerous “immigrants’ rights” organization.

It is planning to bus people here to attend.

Philadelphia Jobs With Justice is a left-wing organization that has staged protest rallies around the Delaware Valley. It is trying to organize a contingent of people to attend the rally.

Its official Web site, http://www.phillyjwj.org, has a block in its top-center, which reads, “Hazleton, PA passes extreme anti-immigrant legislation. Click here for more information.”

When you click “here,” you find, “The recent passage of the Illegal Immigration Relief Act in Hazleton, PA has brought out the worst racism in the small cities citizens. After passage of the act, due to go into effect on September 13th, 2006, Hazleton Latinos have been targeted by the harsh actions of their neighbors.

“The act targets the city’s Latino population by forcing employers to dismiss workers who cannot prove their legal status by levying $1,000 per day fines and revoking their of business licenses,” the site continues. “More than 300 workers have already been dismissed and, without enough workers to remain open, the American Pork processing plant and the VanHoekelen Greenhouse have closed their doors.”
Whether anyone has been dismissed because of the act could not be verified.

But neither business listed as having closed has actually closed.

“Latinos have had their business vandalized with rocks thrown through their windows and many Latino families report that city employees stopped picking up their trash from the curb three weeks ago. Signs on bar fronts warn that they serve “Legals only” and that customers must ‘Speak English or Leave.’

“A civil, and economic crisis is mounting on a level not seen since Montgomery, AL in 1968,” it continues. “Now, workers, community members, workers, students and people of faith are called to act in the name of freedom and equality. We encourage citizens and organizations to join us in this march to justice!”

The online flier references a planned rally last Sunday, which never happened. The city confirmed a request for a permit was filed, granted and withdrawn.

But JWJ had planned to bus people to Hazleton from Philadelphia. The flier states the buses were leaving Philadelphia at 10 a.m.

The Web site also has a cartoon depicting Mayor Lou Barletta and Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., who was not at all involved in IIRA, wearing golf spikes, joining hands and dancing on the caricature of a man wearing a large Mexican sombrero. The caption reads, “Mexican Hat Dance.”
How JWJ found out about the rally and whether it was invited by local organizers wasn’t clear Friday night.

Philadelphia JWJ is the regional office and one of 30 chapters of the national Jobs With Justice organization.

Formed in 1987, JWJ describers itself as “a coalition of labor organizations and community groups dedicated to protecting the rights of working people and supporting community struggles to build a more just society.”

http://www.phillyjwj.org/hazleton.html

Anti-Immigrant Racism in Hazleton, PA
(en español)

The recent passage of the Illegal Immigration Relief Act in Hazleton, PA has brought out the worst racism in the small cities citizens. After passage of the act, due to go into effect on September 13th, 2006, Hazleton Latinos have been targeted by the harsh actions of their neighbors. The act targets the city’s Latino population by forcing employers to dismiss workers who cannot prove their legal status by levying $1,000 per day fines and revoking their of business licenses. More than 300 workers have already been dismissed and, without enough workers to remain open, the American Pork processing plant and the VanHoekelen Greenhouse have closed their doors.

An envoy of leaders from the PA Statewide Latino Coalition and Jobs with Justice during the weekend of July 29th found the words “KKK” and “Spics” prominently graffitied in the town. Latinos have had their business vandalized with rocks thrown through their windows and many Latino families report that city employees stopped picking up their trash from the curb three weeks ago. Signs on bar fronts warn that they serve “Legals only” and that customers must “Speak English or Leave.”

A civil, and economic crisis is mounting on a level not seen since Montgomery, AL in 1968. Now, workers, community members, workers, students and people of faith are called to act in the name of freedom and equality. We encourage citizens and organizations to join us in this march to justice!

National Solidarity Rally Against Hazleton's Anti-“Illegal” Immigration “Relief” Act

August 13, 2006—2 pm
Hazleton, PA (buses leave 10 AM from Philly)

click here for a flier with more information


"What I worry is that this will be a pretext for people to allow their racist feelings to show," said David Vaida, an attorney in Allentown, Pa., who signed the legal challenge to Mayor Barletta. "It will allow people to take that deep, dark side of them and let it come out. It will pit neighbor against neighbor, and then the city will be worse off." --LA Times

news articles and information about what's going on in Hazleton:

ORDINANCE 2006-10: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION RELIEF ACT ORDINANCE
City Vents Anger at Illegal Immigrants (LA Times)
Hazleton, Pa., leads the way in passing racist local laws: The bigots declare war on immigrants Hazleton Law poses problems for illegals (Associated Press)
Clergy leading call for humane immigrant laws (Mercury News)