Thread: Darn!!Missed Opportunity at Job Fair

Crud!!!! My 12 year old son came in to tell me that he had seen our local news at noon and they said there was a Latino Job Fair at our Portland Convention Center. I had no way to get down there and my day already was planned for, that would have been the perfect place to hand out fliers. Although I was trying to get someone else to go with me as my 12 year old son (as big as he is for his age its not big enough) would not have been a good "buddy" for such a potentially risky situation I might have been in. Like I said, people here get nasty when they beleive you are being racist, but hey isn't it already being racist to hold a job fair only for Latino's? I think that if I contacted employers and said "hey I'd like you to represent your company at a "Anglo" job fair next month" could you imagine how the whole country would go berzerk? Then is it not racist to have a job fair aimed only at one race?

Anywho........I also made my first posting in the big wide open, posting ALIPAC's fliers and about hiring illegals on the county library's messge board, by the main entrance. I was alone (except the kids) and felt a little concerned as there were a lot of Mexicans (illegals probably in this area) coming in and out. Going back in a couple of days to check to see if they are down, and put more up if they are. Also putting fliers up in known posting spots around town with doc protectors and lots of tape!

Props to your bravery! That gives me an idea, you should make up a bunch of phony posters promoting an "Anglo job fair". Better not let anyone see you distributing them ,though.


pa

Liz,

It should be easy to file a civil rights lawsuit against the promoter of this fair. If they have any assets it shouldn't be too hard to get a lawyer to take it. Who put the fair on?

Tim, great idea!! According to my son it was channel 8 (NBC station) that was promoting it (probably along with other sponsors). So I am going to investigate it, find out who all was sponsoring and find a lawyer. To be honest Tim, I have never in Portlands history seen any other kind of racially based job fair other than Latino. To me that is really wrong, it should just be a "Job Fair" period, only for people needing a job, all people. This is the kind of thing that Martin Luther King was trying to get away from, anything based on ones race is wrong and if we as Americans want to get away from that issue and become totally united then we have to stop allowing these things to go on within our country.

Elizabeth, I agree with you about that JOb fair. It is just what we must fight against. I guess because they are "minorities" that is supposed to make it right. But it doesn't, and that has got to be tested in our courts so this ugly thing can be eradicated from our country. Your kids are going to look back and thank you for fighting like a tigress for THEIR rights.

G-d Bless.

I agree with the idea that we should start seeking legal relief against advertisers of things strictly for Hispanics, Latinos, or any other specific group that should be for the general population.

The problem is where to draw the line. The ACLU gets jacked out of shape because girls can't join the boy scouts. Because people form private clubs, etc. I don't see those type issues as disputable because they don't make any sense and yet the Boy Scout/girl Scout thing could be a problem because they do receive public funding.

We have to tie in public funds. Public funds do not pay for private country clubs, for example, but we often DO fund things that sponsor only a certain race or creed. LULAC and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for example. Public funds have got to be the key.

In this case a TV station is involved? Then they TV station should be brought up on discrimination charges for their part.

The 1964 Civil Rights acts strictly forbids job and employment discrimination due to race, national origin, or ethnicity. Since the job fair seems to be promoting this, they are in violation of this act. There are lawyers around who make a living suing people who violate these laws. All Elizabeth needs is a non-Hispanic who is looking for a job to claim the job fair violated their civil rights. Maybe Elizabeth is looking for a job.

Have no mercy, sue the heck out of them for everything you can get. And don't let them weasel out by saying "I didn't know, or didn't intend to discriminate".

Tim, I agree. But I also think we should start demandind that the government stop funding groups that discriminate as well.

Well, I planned to go down there, I will fish around to see what kind of responses I get when asking about jobs. Officially I am "out of work" (I am a housewife and homeschool the kids but...). I had hoped to get a companion to go with me to witness anything that might hapen, I may still yet, we'll see, most of my friends are not very confrontational, might just have to bring a family member, they think like me!!

I have to agree that this should fall under our discrimination laws since the TV stations and the employers are targeting Latinos. I wonder how avid they will be about that when I show up. I had thought that trying to get a fair amount of people (non-Latino) to go who are actually looking for work would be great, what would the employers do say no? They are looking for employees, right? Or are they just looking for ones they can pay less to? I think it's the latter.

I will keep you all posted, just keep watching the board I'll post a new thread on this when it's come about.