http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=4788659&nav=HMO6HMaY

Rights advocates have scrapped plans to back a May 1 nationwide worker boycott designed to call attention to the economic importance of illegal immigrants.


Organizers fear too many participants could lose their jobs and are concerned an economic boycott could alienate employers and fuel a backlash undermining any gains made after the massive April 10 march and rally in Phoenix that drew more than 100,000 supporters.

"We know that immigrants work very hard to support their families, and some have been warned not to take more time off of work," said Joel Foster of Somos America, the coalition of Phoenix-area groups that organized the April 10 demonstration.

Instead, organizers plan to promote alternative actions, including a candlelight vigil, a prayer vigil and possibly a human chain.

Organizers met Monday and agreed a May 1 boycott would be premature considering the U.S. Senate hasn't settled on an immigration bill.

Calls for workers and students to stay home and not spend money on International Workers Day as part of a nationwide economic boycott intensified over the past week after a series of massive protests staged in cities across the country drew hundreds of thousands of people demanding federal legislation allowing illegal immigrants a short-cut to legal status.

The boycott threatened to cripple industries that depend heavily on illegal-immigrant workers, including the construction, restaurant and hospitality industries.

Some billed the boycott "a day without an immigrant" to protest a tough bill passed by the House in December that would make illegal immigration a felony, rather than a misdemeanor crime.

But support for the boycott appears to have fizzled.