August 15, 2017: New York, NY - In the wake of the violence in Charlottesville this past weekend, Jewish Labor Committee President Stuart Appelbaum issued the following statement:The Jewish Labor Committee joins with all people of good will in our outrage at the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, surrounding the so-called "Unite the Right" rally on August 12, 2017. There is no place in our society for bigotry, prejudice, racism, and anti-Semitism. This language and those people who espouse it must be condemned at every turn.Our heart goes out to the victims of the neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacists who marched shouting hateful slogans against African-Americans and Jews.They must be condemned, and defeated, in the press, on the streets, in the classrooms, in the workplaces, and in the halls of government, from the highest levels in the White House to every town hall and union hall across the United States.
Victory: MA Supreme Judicial Court Rules Against ICE Detainers
On Monday, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that ICE detainers are illegal. An ICE detainer is a request that ICE makes of local and state law enforcement to hold a person in custody for up to 48 to allow for the investigation of their immigration status.Ending ICE detainers is a key piece of the Safe Communities Act. The court's ruling affirms the legality of ending ICE detainers in the state. But SCA includes additional important provisions.Please continue to contact your state senators and representatives to urge them to pass the Safe Communities Act!
Click here to read the statement & summary from MIRA: Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition.
Click here to read more.
Act Now: Update on Francisco Rodriguez's Case
Francisco Rodriguez was detained on Thursday, July 13 at his check-in with ICE. Francisco is an active member of the Chelsea and Boston communities, a union janitor at MIT with 32BJ SEIU, and a father of two daughters with a third child on the way.You can read more about Francisco's case here and you can read his letter to the public from inside detention here.
Take action today to stop Francisco's deportation:
- Donate to Francisco's fundraiser here: https://www.gofundme.com/help-
stop-franciscos-deportation - Call our Senators and Representative, thank them for their work on the case thus far, and ask for their support for Francisco’s immediate release from detention & and to weigh in personally with DHS to stop Francisco’s deportation
- Senator Markey: (617) 565-8519
- Senator Warren: (617) 565-3170
- Congressman Capuano: (617) 621-6208
- Sign this petition and call Governor Charlie Baker and ask for his support for Francisco Rodriguez’s immediate release from detention and to weigh in personally with DHS to stop Francisco’s deportation
- Petition: http://bit.ly/
2v7J1Rh - Governor Baker: (617) 725-4005
- Petition: http://bit.ly/
- Contact ICE and let them know you want Francisco Rodriguez to be immediately released from detention:
- Call:
- New England Field Office Director Chris Cronen: (781) 359-7526
- Community Relations officer Alexia Koplewski: (781) 359-7511
- Email:
- Write:
- Immigration Officer Gary Roltsch/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Boston Field Office/1000 District Avenue/Burlington, MA 01803/(Re. Francisco Rodriguez 099-665-463)
- Call:
Important: If you've had a bad experience calling ICE re. Francisco's case, please write down the date, time, and the name of the officer that you spoke with and what happened and email it to me lily@massjwj.net.Sample Script for Senators/Representatives:
"Hi, my name is __ and I live in __. I’m calling to ask you to help stop Francisco Rodriguez ’s deportation and for his immediate release from detention. Francisco is a dedicated community member with young children. I appreciate the work your office and the Senator/Representative has taken on with regards to Francisco's case. I'm calling to ask him/her to personally weigh in with ICE and DHS and to continue to do all he/she can to keep Francisco in our community. If he is deported, we would all suffer greatly. Thank you for your time."
Sample Script for Governor Baker:
"Hi, my name is __ and I live in __. I’m calling with regards to the case of Francisco Rodriguez. I'm calling to urge the Governor to do everything in his power to stop the deportation and advocate for the immediate release of Francisco from detention. Francisco is a dedicated community member with young children. Governor Baker has the power to do the right thing and personally weigh in with ICE and DHS to keep Francisco with his family and community. Our Commonwealth would suffer greatly if he is deported. Thank you for your time."
Sample Script for ICE:
"Hi, my name is __ and I live in __. I’m calling to ask you to help stop Francisco Rodriguez ’s deportation and for his immediate release from detention. His A-Number: 099-665-463. His A-Number: 099-665-463. Francisco is a dedicated community member with young children. Despite following ICE's orders, he was detained on Thursday, July 13. I'm calling to urge ICE to use its discretion and keep Francisco in the community and with his family."
Keep Francisco Home: Week of Action
MIT Rally & Press Conference
When: Tuesday, July 11 | 12:00-1:00 p.m.Where: MIT Student Center, 84 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge 02139
The MIT community calls on ICE to stop Francisco's deportation! Join Francisco, MIT officials, faculty, and staff, 32BJ SEIU members, MIT students, and greater Cambridge politicians and community members.
ICE Check-In Support
When: Thursday, July 13 | 9 a.m.
Where: ICE Field Office, 1000 District Avenue, Burlington 01803
We will gather with community and union members to support Francisco as he attends his mandatory check-in with ICE and receives information about the future of his case and ability to stay with his family in the United States.
#HereToStay Vigil
When: Thursday, July 13 | 5:00-6:00 p.m.
Where: US Immigration Courts at JFK Federal Building, 15 New Sudbury Street, Room 320, Boston 02203
Come hear the campaign update and celebrate Francisco's good news OR call for his immediate release if he was detained at his check-in! Stand in solidarity with Francisco and all immigrant workers and their families who have faced detention and deportation.
About Francisco's Case:
Francisco Rodriguez is a union brother and devoted community member facing deportation.
Last month, we joined more than 40 community members from faith, student, and labor organizations to accompany Francisco to his immigration check-in. We went to support Francisco and his family and to show ICE that we are watching. After this meeting, Francisco received a call moving up his next check-in date from December to July.
We must continue to show up and put the pressure on ICE to do the right thing and keep Francisco here with his family.
Other ways to support Francisco:
1. Call
- New England Regional ICE office Immigration officer Gary Roltsch: (781) 359-7500 X7625
- Community Relations officer Alexia Koplewski: (781) 359-7511
2. Email
3. Write a letter or postcard to Immigration Officer ASAP:
Immigration Officer Gary Roltsch
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Boston Field Office
1000 District Avenue
Burlington, MA 01803
 |
 |
Sample script for calls, emails, letters: "Hi, my name is __ and I live in __. I am calling to ask you to grant Mr. Francisco Rodriguez Guardado's stay of removal. His A-Number: 099-665-463. Mr. Rodriguez has lived in the U.S. since 2006. He is a father of two American citizen children and with a baby on the way. He is a member of his children's school parent committee, of the community organization Chelsea Collaborative, of the Church Tabernaculo biblico seguidores de Jesus, and a union member of 32BJ SEIU (Service Employees International Union) at MIT. Mr. Rodriguez always pays his taxes and contributes to his community, church, children's school and at work. He is a beloved member of Chelsea. In addition, Mr. Rodriguez's mother who is currently a permanent resident will become a citizen next year and shortly after she will petition for her son's pathway to residency and eventual citizenship."
Strike Averted at Citizens' League for Adults With Special Services, Inc. (CLASS) in Lawrence
We are pleased to report that staff at CLASS, Inc., who directly care for individuals with disabilities, reached a settlement late Friday evening with CLASS management and avoided a strike. Their victory is the result of strong organizing and community support. The workers at CLASS are represented by SEIU 509.Facing a strike that was set to begin today (Monday) management at CLASS, Inc. returned to the table late Friday for a negotiation session overseen by a federal mediator and convened by Massachusetts Senator Barbara L'Italien. The resulting settlement is subject to a ratification vote next week by affected CLASS, Inc. workers, who returned to work today.Friday's settlement marks an inflection point in a years-long campaign by CLASS workers, organized through SEIU Local 509, to address the crisis in caregiving created by low wages at the agency. The one-year tentative agreement is a critical step towards reducing staff turnover and improving the standard of care for individuals with disabilities in the Merrimack Valley.The tentative agreement will result in a $.75/hour raise for direct care staff over the course of the one year contract, a significant raise for workers at CLASS, Inc. who are among the lowest paid at peer agencies across the Commonwealth."At the end of the day, we won a better contract," continued Thomas Baca, a driver at CLASS. "But the fight continues to make sure the individuals we care for can access the care they deserve."
Strike Alert: Nurses at Tufts Medical Center 1-Day Strike on July 12
When: Wednesday, July 12 | Rallies at 12 noon and 5 p.m. | Pickets from 7 a.m.-7 a.m.
Where: 800 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111
The 1,200 registered nurses at Tufts Medical Center, who are represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), plan to hold a one-day strike beginning at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, July 12 and running until 6:59 a.m. on Thursday, July 13 over issues of staffing and wages.
The Tufts RNs have been in talks with management for a new contract since April 2016, and more than 30 negotiating sessions have been held to date, with no resolution.
"We do not want to strike," said Mary Havlicek Cornacchia, an OR nurse and bargaining unit co-chair. "But management has left us with no other choice. They won't hear us. They don't believe us when we say that the contract improvements we are fighting for are necessary in order to keep patients safe, and in order to keep Tufts Medical Center competitive in a city full of top-notch hospitals. We want to be inside on July 12 caring for our patients, but if striking is the only way to get management to hear us and to take our issues seriously then we will be on the streets instead."
Tufts RNs are likely to face a 4-5 day lockout at the hands of Tufts Medical Center management as retaliation for exercising their right to strike. Please stay tuned for updates as the situation unfolds.
In the current environment at Tufts, nurses across all units and floors are contending with unsafe staffing situations on a daily basis, with many units reporting constant unsafe staffing levels. The result is too many RNs are regularly carrying patient assignments that are too large and unsafe.
Simultaneously, hospital management uses a system of temporary reassignment as a way of trying to deal with its chronic staffing challenges, resulting in RNs being directed to work on units and floors where they are unfamiliar and/or untrained to safely care for patients.
Tufts Medical Center has also become the hospital that offers its nurses the lowest wages and retirement benefits in the city.