Important news and events for immigrant rights activists 26-June-09

EVENTS

OVERHILL FARMS’ WORKERS LAUNCH CONSUMER CAMPAIGN - Tuesdays
http://www.immigrationcoalition.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76:overhill-farms-unfair-and-racist&catid=39:events

Immigrant Rights Protest at Feinstein's Office - Sunday, June 28, 2009 @ noon
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=47024239998

In Defense of Alex Sanchez - Sunday, June 28, 2009 @ 6:00pm
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=101245082516

Overhill Farms' Workers File Class-Action Lawsuit: Call For Nat'l Boycott - Wednesday, July 1, 2009 @ 4:00pm
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=114361471560

Int'l Synchronized Action for Seafood Maquila Workers Wednesday, July 8, 2009 @ noon
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=219263655528

Also see SUIRSJ page and events for Immigrant RIghts Activism
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=72415272964

NEWS

Notice how they are attacking people like Nativo and Alex. In both situations, the charges are ridiculous.

CISPES letter of solidarity with Alex Sanchez and Homies Unidos
http://www.cispes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=594&Itemid=32

Veteran Latino-rights advocate charged with voter fraud
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/06/veteran-latinorights-advocate-charged-with-voter-fraud.html

Valedictorian says Accelerated School barred her from making speech
http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-valedictorian25-2009jun25,0,7536793.story?track=rss

Principal Jeanette Stevens at John H. Liechty Middle School Fax (213) 484-2700

June 23, 2009

Principal Jeanette Stevens
John H. Liechty Middle School
650 South Union Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90017

Principal Jeanette Stevens:

My wife and I are outraged by your wrongheaded punishment of students that showed both the courage and principle to protest a school board member whose actions are nothing short of reprehensible. Your punishment of these brave students is a tacit endorsement of LAUSD Board President Garcia's unconscionable budget slashing.

Ms. Garcia has done nothing to warrant these students' respect. Aside from enthusiastically voting for the crippling RIF notices to your hard working teachers, Ms. Garcia has guaranteed hyper-inflated class sizes for next year. Instead of weekly lunches with reactionary neo-liberal privatizers Steve Barr and Ben Austin, Ms. Garcia should be fulfilling her promises to the working class parents and students of District 2. LAUSD had a chance to do the right thing and stand with the community and UTLA in fighting these draconian budget cuts. Instead Ms. Garcia's betrayal of her constituents, and more importantly, of these students is nothing short of astonishing. Sadly LAUSD Board President Garcia has sold out the children of color and poverty in our community.

Principal Stevens, we really hope you change your position on punishing these brave students. If any apology is owed, it is that LAUSD owes an apology to these students.


Sincerely

RD Skeels and YJ Lee
Barrio Echo Parque residents for 14 years

Charter Schools Fall Short of Public Schools Overall

Charter Schools Fall Short of Public Schools Overall

LAPU's Ben Austin Creating Hysteria Again

Hired gun Ben Austin is out creating straw men again. In his latest diatribe against our hard working teachers [1], he mocks LAUSD and UTLA by insinuating that they somehow harbor "child molester teachers." These vile and unsubstantiated statements are used to segue into his pitch for his Corporate Revolution er, Parent Counterrevolution. In Ben Austin's fantasy world, Green Dot, unlike any other private corporation on earth, will somehow be accountable to our communities. That's why they pay him top dollar, to attempt to provide a liberal veneer to a reactionary corporate organization.

Since Green Dot's, I mean, LAPU's, I mean the Parent Counterrevolution's well paid staffers delete uncomplimentary comments on their astroturf blog in a timely fashion, I thought it fair to reproduce my response to Mr. Austin's disgusting piece.

Given that "child molester teachers" would be in prison if such accusations were true, Mr. Austin's rhetorical gimmickry here is proof of his mastery of the his barrister craft. What Mr. Austin really wants here is for the district to fire teachers for unproven allegations. Given his penchant for union busting, this isn't any surprise.

Your "Billionaires' Revolution," so named because your sponsors Eli Broad and William Gates are hardly advocates of progressive education or social equality, is no revolution at all. It is merely a continuation of the reactionary neo-liberal privatization of public services.

Mr. Austin if you were really an advocate for parents and students, then where were you when our communities were making a stand against Cortines' vicious budget cuts? I didn't see you at any of the rallies, camp-outs, protests, or marches. You must have been at your Beverly Hills bungalow, counting your ill earned gains (our tax dollars), that Mr. Barr pays you.

Revolutionary indeed!

[1] http://www.parentrevolution.org/index.php/blog/entry/news_flash/
intentionally not linked to prevent their site from increasing rankings

Principal Withholds Diplomas from Graduates After Silent Protest

Board President Garcia has done nothing to warrant these students' respect. Aside from voting for the crippling RIF notices to hard working teachers, Ms. Garcia has guaranteed hyper-inflated class sizes for next year. Instead of weekly lunches with reactionary neo-liberal privatizers Steve Barr and Ben Austin, Ms. Garcia should be fulfilling her promises to the working class parents and students of District 2. LAUSD had a chance to do the right thing and stand with the community and UTLA in fighting these draconian budget cuts. Instead Ms. Garcia's betrayal of her constituents, and more importantly, of these students is nothing short of astonishing. We promise the effort to recall her and replace her with a board member who won't sell out the children of color and poverty is going to be underway in our district.

Principal Withholds Diplomas from Graduates After Silent Protest

AlterNet: 'English-Only' Supporters Hold Conference, Can't Spell 'Conference'

The only thing more disgusting than Obama citing the need to "learn English" as part of his so called comprehensive immigration reform, is these filthy white supremacists suggesting Obama is wont to implement "institutional bilingualism."

With the extreme reactionary right staking out this position, it's no wonder Obama could present his own right wing agenda at the Esperanza National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast and have it received as being "progressive." We really have our work cut out for us in this atmosphere.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/140814/priceless:_'english-only'_supporters_hold_conference,_can't_spell_'conference'/

PR: Overhill Farms’ Workers Launch Consumer Campaign Against Panda Express

HERMANDAD MEXICANA LATINOAMERICANA
HERMANDAD GENERAL DE TRABAJADORES UNION INTERNACIONAL

PRESS RELEASE
June 11, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Person:  Nativo V. Lopez                                 
(714) 423-4800

OVERHILL FARMS’ WORKERS LAUNCH CONSUMER CAMPAIGN
PANDA EXPRESS IS THE FIRST TARGET

What:  Protest by workers of Overhill Farms

Where:  PANDA EXPRESS food outlet on the corner of Alameda and Florence in the city of Huntington Park

When:  Thursday, June 11, 2009

Time:  4:30 p.m.

Terminated workers of the Overhill Farms company announce their consumer education campaign in response to the racist and discriminatory abuse and mass firings by company President Jim Rudis.

PANDA EXPRESS is the first target of the consumer education campaign.  Panda Express is a major purchaser of pre-packaged food product manufactured by Overhill Farms.  Others include Jenny Craig, El Pollo Loco, Jack-in-the-Box, Costco, American Airlines, Northwest Airlines, and other companies.

“We will call on these companies to communicate with Overhill Farms management to cease its discriminatory treatment of its employees and return the terminated workers to their jobs.  Consumers of product from these companies have the right to know the truth about Overhill Farms.  And, we intend to make sure they know,” stated Teresa  Cortez, leader of the Worker’s Council of Overhill Farms.

Most of the dismissed workers have been with the company between five and twenty years, and those with the greatest seniority are women.  Overhill Farms is the powerhouse publicly-traded multi-million dollar food processing and pre-packaged food manufacturing and distribution company of southern California – thanks to its immigrant work-force.

Important notes and events for immigrant rights activists

Here are some important events for immigrant rights activists, including vibrant struggles in labor and eduction which directly effect immigrants. SCIC continues work on their "Legalize America Campaign," and need help with their petitions. Also, keep an eye on SUIRSJ for an upcoming protest at representative Pelosi's office.

OVERHILL FARMS’ WORKERS LAUNCH CONSUMER CAMPAIGN - Tuesday, June 9, 2009 @ 1:00pm
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=91727919140

March For Our Children's Future - Tuesday, June 9, 2009 @ 3:00pm
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=88018109658

Campouts Week 2 - Monday, June 8, 2009 @ 6:00pm until June 12
locations listed on event page
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=200999010721

SCIC Planning Meeting - Thursday, June 11, 2009
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=88079887103

Pride on the Picket Line - Saturday, June 20, 2009 @ 11:45am
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=91224371843

Also see SUIRSJ page and events for Immigrant RIghts Activism
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=72415272964

Spend the federal stimulus money on smaller classes

Spend the federal stimulus money on smaller classes

Support Los Angeles Parents, Students, and Teachers Against the Cuts

Please go and support the brave parents and teachers holding a camp out and hunger strike in the heart of one of Los Angeles' more economically depressed areas. Tonight is the last night of the camp-out in front of John Liechty Middle School, so it would really boost the spirits of those who have been there since Monday to see you.

For more details, see LAhungry4ED website.

On Thursday the camp-out moves to the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex. Teachers from Gratts Elementary and Miguel Contreras will celebrate our schools and community. Starting with with a pot-luck dinner the campout will continue through Friday night. Several of those on hunger strike will be there during various times over the two days.

Flyer for Miguel Contreras Event. For more details, see LAhungry4ED website.

For working people this is all our struggle, and it effects our communities. It's outrageous that in the richest nation on earth we can't maintain reasonable class sizes. These brave parents and teachers serving children of color and economically disadvantaged children deserve better than RIF notices. LAUSD children had nothing to do with mortgage backed securities, collateral debt obligations, credit default swaps, and all the other speculative gambling the finance capitalists used to bet all our futures on. The bottom fifth of California income earners pay 11.7%, while the top one percent only pay 7.1%. If we were to raise the top quintile to pay the same as the bottom quintile, there WOULD BE NO BUDGET CRISIS!

FB group hijacked - The Friends of Gustavo Gutierrez

The Friends of Gustavo Gutierrez has been changed to a group calling for the beatification of Marcel Lefebvre. Lefebvre was a reactionary right winger who vehemently opposed Vatican II and would have despised the good Father Gustavo Gutierrez for his struggles for peace, justice, and most of all the poor.

Most of us have withdrawn our membership from the group as a result. You might want to as well.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2224780757

Green Dot's Locke charter: Reality bites, and the press starts to get it

In Green Dot's Locke charter: Reality bites, and the press starts to get it Caroline Grannan looks at how the rosy relationship between neoliberal charter operator Green Dot and the media is starting to crack a little now that the figures from the hostile Locke take-over are now known. Steve Barr, Marco Petruzzi, and Ben Austin were boasting before the take over of Locke, that they would turn the school around in a matter of months. However, when they are given similar conditions to LAUSD without the ability to skim and cherry pick students they haven't produced 800 APIs, even with the millions from Broad and Gates. Instead of handing more money to these six figure salary types, we should be working to keep our schools public. It's time to support our students, parents, and UTLA instead of funneling our hard earned tax dollars into Steve Barr's lavish Silver Lake home.