The real reason to fear the Singularity

"John Tierney poses the question whether machines far smarter than us will become our masters or our partners. There is another alternative, that superintelligent machines will be the partners of rich and powerful humans, making them masters of the rest of us."

What did the union know, and when did it know it?

I've been thinking a bit about this latest immigration raid in Laurel, Mississippi, and I have a lot of questions.

ICE certainly seemed to stir the pot by stating that a union member's tip a few years ago set the raid en marcha. AP has been pushing the line that workers cheered as immigrant workers were hauled away, and the head of the Mississippi AFL-CIO didn't help matters by calling Laurel a little Mexico

One post at an anti-immigrant forum, apparently from a union member at Howard Industries, sees the raid as positive for contract negotiations:

Yeah, I work at Howard Ind. and ICE finally came!!! It was awesome. Helicopter, hundreds of agents, made my day. . . I.C.E. finally enforces our immigratin laws at Howard Ind. in Laurel, MS Not sure really of the exact numbers working at Howard's but it is well over a thousand for sure. All I can say is it is about time!!!!!!! . . . We are currently renegotiating our contract with the company and with all the non-union illegal aliens that WERE working here we didn't have much of a foot to stand on. WE DO NOW!!!!

David Bacon, as always, has a refreshing perspective, arguing that the raid was an attempt to divide immigrant and Black communities, and that IBEW was stepping up to the plate organizing immigrant workers into the union.

So this is what I want to know:
1.) Many reports give the impression that most union members were Black and most immigrants were non-union. Is this true?
2.) MSM also gives the impression that immigrant workers were getting overtime, and union members weren't. Were they on the same pay scale?
3.) If immigrants were on a different pay scale, what pay scale are new hires at Howard Industries receiving?
4.) How common is it for union establishments in right-to-work states to hire immigrant workers to weaken the union? This is a brilliant tactic, since most unions don't have a culture of educating their own leadership let alone members, and so would be very slow to respond to the challenge of organizing these Spanish speaking invaders.

I have yet to see anything directly from IBEW on the matter, and have no idea how serious were their efforts at organizing the immigrant community. But in a situation like this, if you are serious about building power with immigrants, you need to spend tremendous resources educating all communities involved, and you have to build trust by building power among the immigrant community outside the workplace as OTOC did in Nebraska. [1, 2] The main impression I get here is one of seething resentment, not one of an organizing drive on the verge of a breakthrough.

Under the Convention's Red Glare

Under the glare of the convention, ICE carried a massive raid in Laurel, Mississippi. 595 people were arrested, making the previous "largest single-site immigration raid in U.S. history" pale in comparison. The May raid in Postville, Iowa (pop. 2500), arrested 389 workers, broke up an organizing drive, and derailed a DOL investigation. Two months later, 1000 rallied in the workers' defense.

The Laurel plant of Howard Industries produces electrical transformers, and was in the middle of contract negotiations with IBEW. David Bacon has a pretty positive take on the situation, but AP is certainly trumpeting union support for the raid and the Mississippi AFL seems to be going along. Other news coverage is focusing on black workers in the plant cheering as ICE took people away. I'm a little heartened by the on-line poll at the Laurel Leader Call, with 57% blaming business and not the workers for the immigration mess, but there's some truly hateful comments out there about this.

Many of the detainees were sent to the detention center in Jena, LA. Hope they get them out before the hurricane. Apparently Spanish language media are running PSAs from ICE that no Gustav evacuees will be detained. I don't know if i'd believe it.

Thanks to Nezua for opening my eyes to this story.

Idea for a McCain Ad

John McCain was swiftboated in 2000 by ads accusing him of fathering an illegitimate child, and his wife of abusing prescription drugs.

John McCain promised he would never adopt Karl Rove style tactics.

Has John McCain forgotten his promises?

Any other good ones?

So about the conflict in Georgia

Many friends have been asking me my take on Russia and Georgia, and I’ve been meaning to write something about the conflict in Georgia as a way to reanimate this dormant blog. I’m a little rusty here, so please forgive the dry prose.

I just watched Obama’s convention speech, and was reading reactions on the web when I saw this little nugget on the BBC: Vladimir Putin accused the US of provoking the conflict in Georgia to benefit McCain’s candidacy. This crystallized for me what I’ve been thinking, sure Russia invaded Georgia because of the precedents and opportunities set by Kosovo and Iraq, but really they invaded because of the threat of an Obama Presidency.

Russia held war games in July to plan its invasion, and was able to do so under the cover of American war games in Georgia. While the world thought it was a political show to respond to the American presence, it allowed Russia to run a dress rehearsal on its operation. It seems pretty clear that Georgia was first to move tanks into South Ossetia, but it also seems clear that Russia goaded them in. Tensions escalated throughout the spring and summer, including documented instances of Russia shooting down Georgian aircraft,
and reached a boiling point when South Ossetian paramilitaries stepped up a campaign shelling locations inside Georgia. The FT has a very tidy little timeline here.

Russia isn’t quite licking all the icing off its chops, but it accomplished what it set out to do, and at remarkably little cost. They knew it would be a cake-walk because the US has been so severely weakened and overstretched by the foolish invasion of Iraq—certainly physically, but also morally. Just as Bush is reviled here at home, the US is reviled abroad, so even if it wanted to the US could not mount a credible campaign to rein in Russia. In the current climate, it is breathtaking to think that the Georgian authorities actually thought the US would rally to their side. Sure, there is a lot of bluster and chest-thumping about Russia’s need to live up to its “international commitments,” and even lack-luster attempts by pundits to paint the Europeans as weak in responding to the crisis. “If only those weak-kneed Europeans would stand by us we could roll back Russian aggression. This bad joke was put to rest by this week’s spectacle of US warships sailing to Poti, the Georgian port patrolled by Russian troops, and then turning tail and running to Batumi as soon as Russian warships were sent in their direction.

The fact of the matter is that Russia has been announcing their right to unilateral action since the US invaded Iraq, and their specific intentions for Georgia ever since Kosovo gained independence (not to mention payback for placing a missile-defense system in Eastern Europe.) Russia received the green-light to invade when it strong-armed Nato into denying Georgia and Ukraine membership in the alliance, but Russia’s hawks gained a sense of urgency when Obama visited Europe and was met by throngs of adoring fans. An Obama Presidency raised the specter of a renewed moral authority, one that could effectively rally the world to contain Russia’s interests, meaning that Russia needed to take action and solidify its gains prior to US elections in November. Overeager Georgians were only happy to comply.

It was surely coincidence, but a great gift to the McCain campaign to be able to take a strong rhetorical stance on Georgia against the backdrop of Obama in his swimming trunks on vacation. McCain was all bluster—the US is militarily unable to confront Russia at the moment, and the US public would not mobilize for a massive war in defense of a small nation—but it played well and allowed him to look strong and determined in front of a camera.

Say what they may, the US and its major Nato allies are all breathing a deep sigh of relief that Georgia was not allowed into the alliance. Not because this would have meant automatic defense of Georgia, but because this would have meant the end of the alliance. Neither the US, nor any country in Europe would have risked a nuclear war to defend Georgia’s claims to South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia does not feel that it has the conventional capability to confront the US in open war, and so has adopted a doctrine of immediate and even pre-emptive nuclear retaliation for any confrontation with the US or Nato allies. As it stands, Western European public opinion is not in favor of confronting or even isolating Russia over Georgia, and this in great part can be laid at the doorstep of the US. The US has destroyed the international order under W., something immediately apparent to people around the globe.

The US is a funny thing—a democratic empire full of contradictions, and the election of Barack Obama on a platform of appealing to the better angels of our nature would show that the “promise” of the US is true, while rallying the globe to restore the international order. Obama is already wildly popular around the globe, and his election would transfer that popularity to the nation as a whole and restore the moral authority of the US to a level it probably hasn’t experienced since the Berlin airlift.

That’s the context of Putin’s statement. No nation likes foreign interference in their domestic affairs, and Putin gave a very subtle endorsement to Obama in an effort to elevate McCain. A McCain presidency would mean increased power and prestige for Russia, while the promise of an Obama presidency poses a threat to Russia and authoritarian regimes around the world. Including this one.

McMansions

In monopoly money, how many houses make a mansion?

All this talk of McCain's "houses" is nonsense, and shows Democrats are still only lobbing softballs. The Republican response noted Obama's million-dollar mansion. McCain has beachfront villas and estates, not houses. Propaganda 101, please.

About time

Que milagro. Hace mucho que no hablamos. Como te he extrañado.

Rallies Across the Country Greet Immigrant Worker Freedom Riders

by Teofilo Reyes for Labor Notes

Close to 1,000 Freedom Riders set off from ten cities across the country to converge on Washington, D.C. on October 2 and Queens, New York on October 4 to demand an end to the abuse heaped on immigrants. Tens of thousands of union and community members rallied for the grand finale.

Along the way, the buses took their message to more than 100 towns and cities across the nation, holding public forums, chanting loudly, marching, and rallying for immigrant rights, while at the same time drawing attention to local union causes.

Inspired by the civil rights Freedom Riders of the 1960s, immigrant workers boarded buses from nine cities, touring the United States to campaign for the rights to apply for citizenship, to reunify their families, and to organize unions without regard to legal status. Photo: Jim West
from ten cities across the country to converge on Washington, D.C. on October 2 and Queens, New York on October 4 to demand an end to the abuse heaped on immigrants. Tens of thousands of union and community members rallied for the grand finale.

Along the way, the buses took their message to more than 100 towns and cities across the nation, holding public forums, chanting loudly, marching, and rallying for immigrant rights, while at the same time drawing attention to local union causes.

The buses from Chicago alone drew attention to the struggles of operating engineers in Buffalo, sheet-metal workers in Syracuse, asbestos workers and parking attendants in D.C., janitors in New Jersey, and hotel workers in New York.

AFRICAN-AMERICANS

One significant accomplishment of the Freedom Rides was that it brought African-American and immigrant communities closer together, especially in the South. Atlanta had the largest single rally greeting the Freedom Riders-some 5,000 strong-and hundreds more showed support in Knoxville and Memphis, Tennessee.

In Durham, the Freedom Riders were welcomed by 350 community members at the North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company, an African-American-owned business since 1898.

According to Theresa El-Amin of the Southern Anti-Racism Network, “Every M.L.K. day we show up there: no planning, no word put out, we just show up. We decided to choose that place to make the link between our struggles.”

Durham’s mayor read a resolution in support of immigrant rights. El-Amin said: “It pledged that city workers would not be used as INS agents, meaning housing inspectors, police, others would not question people about their immigrant status while delivering city services.”

The African-American mayors of Toledo, Ohio, Rochester, New York, and Washington, D.C. also greeted the riders, and presented resolutions in support of immigrants.

This show of unity was not a one-way street. The Portland and Seattle buses cancelled a scheduled stop in Cincinnati to honor an African-American civil rights boycott of that city’s downtown, in place following riots in 2001.

Dan Rathford, Secretary-Treasurer of the Cincinnati Central Labor Council, had set the Freedom Riders up to stay at a downtown hotel. When questioned, he gave riders a choice: either break the boycott or don’t come at all. The buses went to Columbus instead.

According to Sherry Baron, an organizer for Cincinnati Progressive Action: “This was a major victory, bringing together the African-American and immigrant communities, showing people have a lot in common and are willing to stick up for one another. Because of this, meetings that wouldn’t have been possible before will now be possible.”

WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS

A second significant outcome of the Freedom Rides was that it got many more unions on board.

The most striking example of union leaders who had opposed immigrant rights being brought on board the Freedom Rides was in Buffalo, where Jobs with Justice convinced Dan Boody, president of the Building Trades and Area Labor Federations, to greet the Freedom Riders and pledge support for the struggle of immigrants.

The Buffalo Building Trades have organized raids against undocumented workers in the past, and their web-site still includes an “Illegal Immigrant Tipline.”

Besides the building trades, American Federation of Teachers members greeted and hosted the Freedom Riders in cities across the country. At the Toledo rally they were one of the main contingents, after the Farm Labor Organizing Committee.

In Cleveland, Freedom Riders were greeted by a large contingent from United Food and Commercial Workers Local 880. The union organized a busload of folks from Dover and Kidron, small towns in Ohio, to greet the Freedom Riders. The Kidron contingent included many Guatemalan workers from Gerber, an Amish poultry plant the UFCW is organizing.

TAKING RISKS

The most dramatic moment for the Freedom Rides happened when two buses from Los Angeles were stopped at an immigration checkpoint near El Paso.

The Freedom Riders were well prepared for any questions by Immigration. All carried a special badge listing their name, picture, and originating city. The badge included a card making clear that no rider would say or sign anything without first speaking with an attorney.

If for any reason a bus was detained, all the riders pledged to give no information and present only this ID. That way, if there were any undocumented riders, they would be protected by everyone’s nonviolent resistance.

According to Maria Elena Durazo, Hotel and Restaurant Employees (HERE) vice president and Freedom Ride coordinator: “In El Paso, we were detained by Border Patrol and learned the power of nonviolence. They stopped us, took us down, separated us, interrogated us, tried to pin us against each other.

“The only words that came out of our mouths for four hours non-stop: ‘We shall overcome’ We could hear it from room to room and it gave us great strength.”

After four hours of rapid response and negotiations with the office of Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, with calls and media pouring in from across the country, the riders were released.

The Chicago buses included two women facing deportation proceedings, Elvira Arellano and Julieta Bolivar. Their children, all U.S. citizens, were also on the bus.

Arellano had cleaned airplanes for years before the FBI arrested her under Operation Tarmac. A Pennsylvania state trooper arrested Bolivar when one of her tires blew out on the way to a Day Laborer Conference-instead of offering help, the police asked everyone for proof of citizenship.

Several other Freedom Riders were fired after their employers received “no-match letters,” sent by the Social Security Administration when an employee name does not match a number in their database.

Although the letter states that it is not cause for termination, many employers use them to fire troublemakers and workers with high seniority.

In D.C., when Chicago Congressman Luis Gutierrez spoke, the Freedom Ride children from his district joined him, illustrating dramatically the impact immigration policy has on many families, and the principle of family unification.

VISIBILITY

The Immigrant Worker Freedom Rides were most successful when facing down risks, speaking out as undocumented workers in public forums, or keeping silent when interrogated by Immigration.

Durazo, speaking in D.C., gave homage to the original Freedom Riders, whose struggle paved the way for the Freedom Rides today:

“Never, ever forget the struggle of African-Americans. They suffered hundreds of beatings, and now we believe civil rights are for everybody and no population should be excluded, otherwise you can’t call this a land of opportunity and freedom.”

Newspapers large and small covered the Freedom Rides extensively, but they did not receive as much television publicity as organizers had hoped, and none of the Democratic presidential candidates took a stand on the issue during the Rides, as some of the organizers for HERE had expected.

Some speakers pushed Gutierrez’ legalization bill, HR 400; others pushed the DREAM Act that would allow immigrant students to continue on to college, or driver’s license bills. In Toledo, the event revolved solidly around the FREEDOM Act, a legalization proposal supported by the National Coalition for Dignity and Amnesty.

On the local level, immigrant rights coalitions were born or strengthened in Arizona, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and other states and cities across the country.

In Illinois, groups that organized the Freedom Rides, including Pueblo Sin Fronteras, ACORN, SEIU, and HERE, are mobilizing to pass a bill allowing immigrants to get driver’s licenses without a Social Security number, including plans for a freedom ride tour to convince communities across the state to get on board with the initiative.

Teofilo Reyes was a Freedom Rider on the Sin Fronteras bus from Chicago. Their story can be found online here and here. With help from N. Renuka Uthappa.

¡No Somos Uno, No Somos Cien, Pinche Gobierno Cuentanos Bien!

The Freedom Rides rocked. It was too hectic to post anything the last couple of days. We rolled into DC to a very exciting welcome at the Bible Way Temple. The riders entered the temple by their departure city and each tried to outdo the previous group. It was loud and wonderful. Emma Lozano and Raul Padilla from our bus took the Mexican flag and the Virgen of Guadalupe up with them to represent us - which was great, even if it did give the organizers fits. John Lewis, Congressman and original Freedom Rider, gave the key-note speech. Maria Elena Durazo also gave a fantastic welcome that i'll post part of shortly.

A freedom rider, Angelita Rodriguez, from California spoke about her son - a US resident who went out to get milk for his kids and never came home. The police stopped him and he was sent to Missouri due to a warrant for a traffic violation. They didn't believe he was a resident and held him in a deportation center. By the time his family found out where he was, he was in the hospital - i'm sure due to the superior care he received from immigration. They were able to fly over with his papers proving his residency, but it was too late, he had died in custody. Everyone was chanting: "Justicia!", furious and sad. She recited a poem, wishing she were a dove so she could fly into the White House and tell Bush what was up. "What are we going to do to fix this?" she asked. She was the highlight of the night, both for carrying her son's story and for giving us all strength to continue.

The next day we had a rally at the Capitol, lobbied Congress, rallied in favor of Asbestos workers with LIUNA, rallied at the AFL, and finally marched in support of parking attendants with HERE. Long busy day.

Day seven we headed off to Liberty Park, but not before stopping at a building complex owned by Carnegie to support an SEIU janitor organizing campaign. SEIU 32 B-J bought a billboard welcoming the freedom riders and brought five busloads to a silent march in the middle of an office complex. We were quiet, but it was hard to do. Many of us chanted in silence, and we got good press. We made it to Liberty Park for the very tail end of the rally, but that was fine for our bus. We only wanted to confront the Statue of Liberty with the Virgen of Guadalupe. Most of the Freedom Riders used the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of freedom, we saw it as a symbol of broken promises. It was a very powerful moment for our bus, and some folks felt they could hear the Virgen and the Statue of Liberty arguing with each other. We closed the day with all three Chicago busses giving a surprise visit to a certain Mr. Nasser, primary owner of the Congress hotel in Chicago. He has a residence in Switzerland and in Chicago so we took advantage of the opportunity to go visit him. The doorman said he had moved out, but that wasn't true. We scandalized him for a good hour, shaming him in front of his neighbors, letting everyone know what he was doing to hotel workers in Chicago. The Freedom Rides - trouble on wheels.

The final day was the rally at Flushing Meadows Park. The best part for me was when I had to enter the surrounding neighborhood to look for a DV tape. I didn't find one, but I did find a bunch of Indian and African workers at Home Depot very excited about our rally and glad someone was fighting back. They had a lot of complaints about abuse towards immigrants. They had to work but they were with us in spirit. The rally was huge, but not as big as organizers had planned. The press said around 100,000 but it was hard to tell. Everyone was dispersed into separate sections, making it seem much less than that. But there were a lot of people all around. I spent my time getting interviews for Elvira and Julieta, and managed to get Julieta's kids on Fox. They were the only English news channel interested in the story of US citizens whose Mother faced deportation. Sandra Feldman spoke, which is good. The AFT was a strong presence at many of the IWFR stops, so it's good that the leadership is also on board. The rally ended with a concert by Bronco and Wyclef Jean. The music is always the best part. I'll flesh this out with some other testimonies and stories, and links to news from along our route, but I just wanted to get this up here ASAP.

Solidarity.

Images from the Freedom Ride

Images from the Freedom Ride - Day 8

Flushing Meadows Rally in Queens, NY - Pt. 1

Flushing Meadows Rally in Queens, NY - Pt. 2

Images from the Freedom Ride - Day 7

Departure from DC

SEIU Rally for Janitors NJ

Rest Stop

Liberty Park Rally Pt. 1

Liberty Park Rally Pt. 2

HERE Lightning Rally for Congress Hotel Workers at Nasser Residence in NY

Images from the Freedom Ride - Day 6

Rally at Capitol - Pt. 1

Rally at Capitol - Pt. 2

Visit to Congress

LIUNA Rally for Asbestos Workers

Rally at AFL-CIO

HERE March for Parking Attendants

Images from the Freedom Ride - Day 5

Forum in Newburgh

En route to DC

Arrival in DC

Forum at Bible Way Temple - Pt. 1

Forum at Bible Way Temple - Pt. 2

Coverage by Student Freedom Riders

Students on the Freedom Rides are posting their experience at haceculturaonline.org. Check it out.

"Inspired by the Freedom Riders of the Civil Rights Movement, the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride sets out from 9 major cities with a message of hope and self determination. Immigrant workers and supporters are working for protection of their civil rights and civil liberties as individuals living and paying taxes in the United States. The goal of the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride is to draw a new map leading to workers' legalization, citizenship and family reunification.

Northeastern Illinois University Chicago Teachers' Center, hACE Project, SEIU and the GEAR UP Alliance, will be working with the Chicago Public School teachers, students and their families to follow the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride with curriculum activities, on-line connection to Riders on the buses and culminating art projects that demonstrate youth's relationship to these issues and their understanding of these critical civic issues."

Images from the Freedom Ride

Images from the Freedom Ride - Day 4

Breakfast at Guardian Angel Church in Rochester




Public Forum at St. Vincent Church in Syracuse

Sheetmetal Workers Rally at UTC Carrier in Syracuse

Freedom Ride Rally in Albany

Chicago Freedom Rides - Day 4

by Teo Reyes, September 30
Rochester -> Syracuse -> Albany
------------------------------------
I don’t have any supplemental material today, but I did manage to post all of the pictures so far. It’s been a bit of a chore finding an internet connection, but I’m always looking for one everywhere we go. Need to stop depending on the grid!

Long day on the Freedom Bus today. Sin Fronteras had home stays last night – so we spread out among several families and reunited with the busses at 8:00am at Guardian Angel Church in Rochester. We had a morning breakfast send-off including another rousing performance by the Raging Grannies. There was animated discussion at all the tables, and the home-stay folks were raving about the families they stayed with. On the bus, several riders plotted sending personal thank you letters ASAP.

I had the privilege of staying with Marilyn Anderson, an artist who has spent a great deal of time working in Guatemala, and Jon Garlock, an executive board member of the Rochester labor council who comes out of the Teachers’ Union and who explained Rochester’s labor history to me. He also gave all the Freedom Riders a box of materials including an educational pamphlet on the “American Economy and American Family,” a map of Rochester Labor History, and a coloring book, “Our Community of Workers,” put together by him and Marilyn. The kids on our bus loved the coloring book, and I imagine their parents did too.

We jumped on the bus for an Interfaith Service and Public Forum at St. Vincent DePaul Church in Syracuse, NY, where we were greeted by De Colores and an immigrant rights version of We Shall Not Be Moved. The Reverend Sung Kim read a verse from Leviticus in Korean and English, and several Freedom Riders and local immigrant workers gave personal testimonies. One of the most powerful was the testimony of Magda Bayoumi, an Arab immigrant who spoke of the unjust criminalization of all immigrants.

After a great lunch, we darted over to a rally that the Sheet metal Workers organized outside of UTC Carrier – an air conditioning manufacturer. The rally was against globalization, since Carrier is slowly shifting jobs overseas. The union is fighting for a good contract and not giving in to the company’s blackmail about relocating, according to one of the union reps. As with most of our other events, this was a small, but high-energy event that helped draw attention to local struggles and the Freedom Rides.

I was asked to translate a few media interviews, but was frustrated by the questions. They were only concerned with how globalization was affecting plant conditions for immigrant workers and not in the broader context of how immigration has been speeded up by globalization. But the folks they interviewed stayed on message.

After the rally we jumped on the bus for Albany. We were met in Albany by close to 200 folks who were already rallying for Freedom for Immigrants. The police presence was a little over the top – police dogs were kept a block from the rally, and several mounted police were on hand, perhaps to demonstrate that their horse trailers were as long as our busses. Everyone present welcomed the Freedom Riders, and the rally continued. Unlike the previous events, this one contained a lot of culture – poetry, music, theater, and the rally finished with a well-planned chant and drum circle. Everyone practiced the chants and the Freedom Riders began dancing to the beat – it was great fun. We then marched two blocks – led by a pair of Scotsmen playing their bagpipes – to a Methodist church for dinner and a great DJ. Everyone was happy to dance after so many days riding the bus.

On the bus we watched two documentaries about the original Freedom Rides and the Civil Rights Movement. Very powerful. The original Freedom Rides were very much about forcing the government to uphold federal law and court decisions banning segregation, while the Immigrant Worker Freedom Rides aim to change unjust federal law. Our rides also revolve around well-planned stops with strong institutional backing of unions and churches, so we don’t need to fear the same kind of attacks the original Riders suffered. Their courage and determination is an inspiration to us today. We also watched Head of State, which was more light-hearted fare with a message.

The other two Chicago busses are coalition busses – meaning that a certain number of seats were set aside for each union or organization on the bus (including HERE, IBEW, ACORN, and others). The Sin Fronteras bus is all Sin Fronteras (including the Christian Base Communities of Waukegan and the Puerto Rican Cultural Center.) This is good – it is an almost entirely immigrant bus – but the drawback is that there is not as much interaction between busses. The other two busloads are staying in hotels, while we are staying in homes and churches, so there is not as much space for social interaction. But everyone had a chance to dance together today, and that was very good.

I’ll finish with a quote from Rudy Lozano, Emma Lozano’s brother who was assassinated for being a union and immigrant organizer, and for helping forge the African American – Latino alliance that helped elect Harold Washington as Chicago’s first African American mayor: “No hay grandes hombres ni mujeres en este mundo, solo gente común y corriente que tiene que responder a grandes retos.” (There are no great men and women in this world, only ordinary people who must face extraordinary challenges.)

Images from the Freedom Ride

Images from the Freedom Ride - Day 3


Early Morning Ride to Buffalo

Community Forum in Buffalo

Rally at Adam’s Mark Hotel in Buffalo

Laborers photo shoot





CITA Rally near Rochester

Public Forum in Rochester

Chicago Freedom Rides - Day 3

by Teo Reyes, September 29
Cleveland -> Buffalo -> Rockport -> Rochester
------------------------------------

Today was an interesting day. The Sin Fronteras bus spent the night in the gym of Sagrado Corazon, We got an early start with the kids playing basketball at 6:00 am and headed off to Buffalo, NY at 7:00. Buffalo is the city where a few months ago the Building Trades organized press conferences to brag about how they had called immigration to round up undocumented workers. We were to be hosted by a coalition that included these same folks – they had somehow been convinced to change their tune, but we were also asked to tone down our presence a little bit – not chant so much in Spanish, for example, since this coalition was a work in progress. In essence, we were asked to help bring these folks along and not put them off from the get-go.

The Buffalo event was driven by the Coalition for Economic Justice, the local JWJ folks, and they were able to convince these one-time enemies to get involved. We were welcomed by Dan Boody (President of the Area Labor Federation), who pledged to support the struggle of immigrant workers. I was told that he had run TV ads calling for more migra raids, so if his change of heart was genuine - wow.

When we crossed into New York we were joined by State Troopers that escorted us to Buffalo, and it lead to some funny jokes. The previous morning we had opened our bus ride with an open mic for jokes and one of them was of an atheist who brought meals to an elderly woman. The atheist was upset because the woman always thanked God for providing for her, even though he was doing all the work. The punch line is that the atheist tells the woman – “God had nothing to do with this, I’m getting you these groceries,” The woman then prays to God: “Thank you God, for forcing the Devil to provide for me.” Anyway, a few statements were made that recalled the joke: Gracias a Dios, que mando al Diablo para protegernos. Even though we had been told the state troopers were there to provide an escort, we prepared to maintain silence if it was anything else, State troopers were the ones who demanded Julieta and her fellow day laborers show green cards on her fateful trip in August, but luckily we didn’t have to worry about that this time.

Our bus pepped up our riders who were charged with winning over any not-entirely-convinced hearts that might be receiving us in Buffalo. Julieta Bolivar and Elvira Arellano both spoke, as did Emma Lozano. They all did a brilliant job. Julieta’s and Elvira’s statements are included as posts, but Emma spoke about how her family was made up of solid union organizers from Texas, and how they had seen their co-workers deported and separated from their families. She emphasized that her family didn’t cross the border, the border crossed them. Before they spoke, we had the honor of hearing Karima Amim, an African storyteller, who told the story of a slave who became a free man as soon as he was convinced in his heart that he was free.

After the community forum we marched to Adam’s Mark Hotel, a union busting, immigrant hating business according to the word on union street. We rallied and picketed, before getting on the bus to Rockport.

Our first stop in Rockport was a ten minute photo-op with Laborers Local 435, before we all headed to a rally and press conference with the local labor council and with the Centro Independiente de Trabajadores Agricolas, CITA. The rally was energetic but was followed by a very moving exchange between the Freedom Riders and the farmworkers, members of CITA, who attended the rally. Many of the farmworkers had just come from the fields picking squash and cabbage, and were in their work clothes. Several of the Freedom Riders were brought to tears when they heard that they sometimes only made $80 a week in the fields. One union brother from IBEW spoke passionately about the need for them to stick together and draw on the support of the community. Elvira told them that they needed to speak out – that only by speaking out would they find justice. After the rally was over and Riders were being herded onto their busses, Sin Fronteras brought the farmworkers together with the Virgen de Guadalupe and asked Father Mike from Waukegan to do a special prayer for them. Everyone prayed together then did a collection for the farmworkers so they could eat well that night. Over $300 was collected from the Sin Fronteras bus and the other two busses did their own collections as well.

Another group of farmworkers had arrived earlier and had skipped work that day to greet us. They offered their blessings to the Freedom Riders and everyone hugged goodbye. The Freedom Riders said these rides were for them – the farmworkers, and the farmworkers said they were heartened by the Freedom Rides. They were shy about chanting when they first got there, but were chanting loudly by the end of the meeting. It was an enriching meeting for everyone. El pueblo, unido, jamas sera vencido.

After the rally we headed for a dinner and public forum at the Colgate Divinity School in Rochester, where Martin Luther King, Jr. had once studied. The mayor of Rochester greeted us and spoke forcefully on the need for immigrant rights and the righteous goals of the Freedom Riders.

One of these days I’m going to write of the work of Sin Fronteras and the Comunidades de Base, and the different struggles represented on all the busses, but I’m doing the best I can to post as much info as possible in a limited time.

Oh yeah! I talked to some of the folks involved in the Cincinnati Freedom Ride event plans, and they said that the Director of the Central Labor Council told everyone they had no alternative – either stay downtown and break the boycott, or cancel the Freedom Ride event. The local folks were sorry about the missed opportunity, but were glad that the Freedom Riders had honored the boycott. One person told me: “ they made the right decision. This creates a good opening for better relationships between immigrants and the African American community – it shows we are on the same side of the struggle.” That unity is definitely the case with the Chicago Freedom Riders – or as Sin Fronteras would put it: Latino y Africano, luchando mano a mano.

Open Letter from Freedom Rider Julieta Bolivar

September 14, 2003

To whom this may concern,
I hope that when you get my letter you are feeling very well. But also I hope that your family is too. My name is Julieta L. Bolivar; I am Bolivian, which is in South America. I have 3 children, one beautiful girl named Miriam O. that is 13 years old, and 2 charming young boys named Ivan A., 10 years old and Jesus O. that is 8 years old.
If you may not know my life has changed since last year on August 2002 because I am in process of DEPORTATION to my native country of Bolivia. On that day my family of four and 5 other people were on our way to a Day Laborer National conference taking place in New York. On our way we had a problem. Because our tire had exploded in the middle of the highway. So then, we drove to the edge of the highway to change our tire. But we couldn’t. A moment later came a State Trooper named France. We all thought that he was going to help us since we were in a very lonely place. We were so happy when we saw him because we thought of all the help he would give us. But to our surprise he did the opposite. Instead of asking if we were all o,k, He saw the tire and knew what had happened to us. And right away he started to command saying “SHOW ME YOUR GREEN CARDS!!” Like me and two other people didn’t have our “green card’s” we couldn’t show it to him. Instead I took out my State I.D. from Illinois and he said that all the ID’s that were made in Illinois were fake; not real. I could tell on the look on my children’s face I knew that hey were very scared, but mostly with fear. They were very scared because they did not know what was happening and why I was getting arrested and handcuffed. I saw the hugging each other crying, but repeating to me what was happening and why I was getting handcuffed and put into the police car. They arrested me like if I was a criminal and like I had done a serious crime. But only crime that my partners and I did was not having the “green cards” that he had asked us to take out and show to him like he had asked us to. Just imagine for a moment, the fear that my children were facing because we were getting separated for that moment, since the state trooper said that I had to go with him to the police station and that my children would have to stay with the people that I hardly knew. I hardly knew them because we were all coming from different places and organizations that were in favor of defending the rights of the Immigrant workers. When I got to the police station, 2 people from the Immigration were already there waiting for us to take us with them. At that moment they had no clue that there were children and a women involved in this situation. I was so desperate that I wanted to see my children and know how they were after all that happened. And then I asked the lady from the INS if I could see my children. She said that it was impossible for me to see them. Like she said that was impossible I asked her why? And she responded saying that I was arrested and that I had to come with them. I asked her again how could I see my children and what I had to do to see them. And then she told me that if I wanted to see my children I had to sing the Voluntary Departure papers. I didn’t think that twice and I immediately I asked her where I had to sign. At that moment she didn’t have the papers with her. So she called the office if the INS and asked for them to send the Voluntary Departure papers by fax. I don’t remember how long I had to wait for the papers to get to the police station because I was so desperate and so nervous of what was going to happen to my children and thinking to myself if I would ever see my children again!! As I am writing this letter its like living this terrible moment again tears are still coming out. Finally when the papers got to the police station I signed them immediately. In the papers I put that I wanted to see a judge and a lawyer so I could stay with my children here where they were born. That’s why in the name of my 3 children I ask you to consider and support me in this situation so I could stay in this country where I also consider it mine. I consider it mine because I have lived here almost 17 years. I have worked hard to support my children and be there when they needed me. I have been active in different committees like schools, communities and organizations. And everything that I do is voluntary. I have learned English so I could help my children and other people. And that’s why people like me should have the opportunity to stay here and continue their life’s next to their children and not get separated. Because the children will not be better off with anyone else than with their mothers. That’s why I ask you not only for me but also for the people that already live in this country all their lives taking care of their families, to support the LEGALIZATION FOR ALL IMMIGRANTS FROM THE SOUTH, WEST, EAST AND ALL OTHER COUNTRIES. Because we are all humans and we should work together as a family. Because we do not come here to hurt anybody. Instead we come to work and help the economy.

PLEASE……….
1. Let us have legalization
2. Do not let anybody, but especially families get separated
3. Give the opportunity to the entire Immigrant children to have the right to an education because they are the future.

GOD BLESS YOU!! AND THANK YOU FOR TAKING YOU TIME TO READ THIS!

Sincerely and with all respect,
Julieta L. Bolivar

Open Letter from Freedom Rider Miriam Bolivar

To whom this may concern,
Good afternoon/Morning, my name is Miriam O. Bolivar and I am 13 years old. I am citizen of the United States. I was born in Missouri. I also have 2 brothers named Ivan A, Bolivar and Jesus O. Bolivar they are both also citizens of the United States, they were born in Illinois. One of the things that the United States have given me is my family and life and I am thank full for that.
But as you may probably heard here in the United States they are going to the different airports like O’Hare and arresting people because either their Social securities do not match. But also, arresting different kind of people on the highways because of not fair reason. All these reasons are going to separate 99% of families. As you may probably know you wouldn’t like to have your family separated because some legal documents that they don’t have, would you?
I have had a close up relationship with a lady that was about to be deported on the 9-18-03 but Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez made her stay because she had a United States citizen child that was born here. And that would’ve probably been a big Impact on the child because he was born here and has been here all his life.
Another real close relationship is the one that right now I am facing with my family. And that problem all started because of a tire that exploded. We were on our way to New York for a Day laborer conference with 5 other people who wanted to join, but unfortunately the tire exploded. Then as all people would do, we stopped on the edge of the highway and tried to change the exploded tire. Then a car stopped and offered help, but they couldn’t do anything because the tire had been stuck and there was no way to take it out.
After the car had left and then there came a state trooper named France. All of us were so happy because we thought if a State Trooper had come, they were going to help us. He didn’t! Instead he said “SHOW ME SOME GREEN CARDS!” My mom and another 2 men didn’t have their “green cards.” The 3 people got arrested and accused with immigration and on their way to Deportation. After they were all handcuffed, they were put in a police car and took to the police station. My mom asked to see us, her children but that right was dragged away from her because they told her that the only way she could see us was by signing the Voluntary Departure papers. And like any other mother would do, she didn’t think it twice and singed the voluntary departure papers.
She had a limit of 30 more days here in the United States. But she fought so she could stay. Until now she is still fighting because she was here already 17-18 years and has not done any crimes, the only crime that she has done is working and not having the Legal Documents. She also has 3 United States citizens’ children that have done all their life here and do not know what it is to go to the country that their mother came from.
It will hurt me dearly if my mother has to leave. And as you may probably know... “THERE IS NO LOVE LIKE A MOTHER’S LOVE!!!” so please here in your state, make the best of it that families won’t get separated because of some papers. Let their family stay united and not like scattered people with broken hearts that all their lives are ruined. Because everybody has the right to be loved and to give love to their family. PLEASE help me and my family stay here in the United States and not get separated because of some papers that my mom doesn’t have. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Miriam O, Bolivar

Somos Sin Fronteras

by Beti Guevara
sing to the tune of We Are the Union

Si preguntamos quienes somos
Somos un Pueblo
Sin Fronteras

Queremos Amnistía
Todo para todos
Queremos licencia
Todo para todos

Queremos que los niños
Estudien sin problemas
Sin problemas
Que estudien nuestros niños

Nuestra virgen
Anda con nosotros
Y su hijo Cristo
El Salvador

No somos criminales
Solo trabajadores
Trabajamos muy duro
Y nos tratan como perros

Toda América
Luchando mano a mano
Juntos logramos
Todo para todos
Todo para todos
Sin condiciones

Si preguntan quienes somos
Somos un pueblo
Sin fronteras.

Images from the Freedom Ride

Images from the Freedom Ride - Day 2

Mass at St. Anne's in Detroit

Rally with FLOC in Toledo

Public Forum at Sagrado Corazon in Cleveland

Chicago Freedom Rides - Day 2

by Teo Reyes, September 28
Detroit -> Toledo -> Cleveland
------------------------------------
First the breaking news! Another important step in building an African American - Latino/Immigrant alliance occured today. The Immigrant Freedom Rides cancelled their appearence in Cincinnati, scheduled for tomorrow(?) because a lead union organizer there refused to honor a boycott of downtown Cincinnati called by the African American community after police brutality set off violent resistance a year or so ago. The Cincinnati organizer refused to move people to a union hotel outside of the boycott zone - the ultimatum, downtown stay or no event - and so the folks on the Freedom Ride busses opted for solidarity and cancelled. I'll write more details as soon as I have them.

We celebrated mass this morning at St. Anne's Church in the Mexican neighborhood of Southwest Detroit. The Freedom Riders were welcomed by the local parishioners, for whom today's mass was a truly conscience raising experience. The folks on the Pueblo Sin Fronteras bus were very glad to go to mass, and that it was in the Mexican barrio.

We headed off for Toledo right after the march and watched an hour-long documentary: "La Causa - 500 years of Chicano History." It was heavy stuff, but inspiring. The documentary highlighted individual well know and less known heroes as well as the major movements and events in Xicano history - from la conquista to the Treaty of Guadalupe to the struggles of the United Farm Workers and the Farm Labor Organizing Committee. The documentary ended with a call for greater unity among different peoples, and was the perfect mood-setter for our arrival in Toledo. As we got off the bus we practiced chanting: "campesino, seguro, a Mt. Olive dale duro!" in solidarity with FLOC's struggle to organize Mt. Olive pickle workers in North Carolina.

We turned a corner and saw a field of FLOC's red eagle flags gathered to greet us. They marched towards the buses as the Freedom Riders assembled and marched towards them. The two crowds met in the middle of the street with tremendous energy and LOUD chanting. Baldemar Velasquez, President of FLOC, and Jack Ford, mayor of Toledo, then led the march to a park for a public rally, lunch, and dance.

The rally was also energetic, and the mayor and city council presented resolutions supporting the Freedom Rides. One of the Freedom Riders, a day laborer and member of the Union Latina spoke about the day laborers struggle to set up a democratic workers center (hiring hall) in Albany Park in Chicago. The day laborers had set up such a worker center to help ensure contractors did not cheat them out of their wages, but they were tricked into a meeting by the city to discuss a permanent home for such a center. While they were in the meeting, the city bulldozed the center the Union Latina members had built.

FLOC members spoke about the need to support the FREEDOM act sponsored by FLOC and the National Coalition for Dignity and Amnesty. The FREEDOM act would set up a process to legalize undocumented immigrants currently in the country, and provide a mechanism for future flows of immigrants to enter the country in a way that would ensure their rights and dignity. Baldemar closed the rally with a tremendous speech, first in Spanish describing how immigrants are brought here to work the jobs no one else wants, then in English preaching about the need to defend the strangers among us and how Jesus taught us basic Solidarity. He also offered a job picking tomatoes to anyone who thought immigrants were taking their jobs away. Around 70 tomato packers were at the rally and had to leave quickly to make sure they made it to work on time. AFT and UFCW also had visible contingents.

After lunch and a great Rock en español band, we headed to Cleveland for a rally at la Sagrada Familia Catholic Church. On the way we watched Braveheart at the request of some of the younger folks on the bus.

The meeting at Sagrada Familia was also very high energy, and included the participation of two busloads from Dover, Ohio (about two hours away) where the UFCW has filed for an election at Gerber Poultry, an Amish poultry processing plant. The NLRB is sorting out who has the right to vote in the election, and the election will likely take place in two years. Dover boasts a large group of immigrants from Northern Guatemala, and the rally at Sagrada Familia was a sea of yellow UFCW shirts, with UNITE t-shirts also visible. For the Freedom Riders, Elvira Arellano represented as did a political exile from Ethiopia who lived undocumented in Europe for a few years. Cleveland immigrants, with their own horror stories of abuse, and inspiring stories of resistance, also spoke.

I had a chance to learn more about how the Christian base communities are structured, but I'll have to post that tomorrow. It's been a great day.