La Opinion
(Editorial)
May 1, 2015
May
1 is a special date for immigrant workers in the United States, who mix
the tradition of celebrating International Workers' Day with the case
for the regularization
of undocumented immigrants. This is a special year, since both the
valorization of workers and the protection of millions of workers
against deportation are central issues to the current political debate.
This
day became a labor holiday due to the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago,
which claimed the lives of many workers on May 4, 1886. President Grover
Cleveland rejected the
idea of the May 1 labor celebration because of its proximity to the
massacre's date, opting the next year for the September date that is
still commemorated today. This is how May 1, which was remembered in the
U.S. by a minority considered part of anarchist
and extreme left groups, became a rallying point for immigrants
demanding the workers' most crucial right: to work without fear of being
removed from the country.
It is very difficult to disassociate work conditions with the migratory situation in the Latino community.
The
migrant worker is the most vulnerable in a system where the labor
sector's input is much less valued than that of the executive sector.
This has resulted in a redistribution
of income and profits which, for the past decades, has tilted against
the worker. Hence the extremely serious problem of a minimum wage that
entails much less purchasing power than before, preventing the worker
from leaving poverty. This is a crucial issue
for the worker, as well as for the economy, which also needs his
purchasing power.
The
migrant worker, because of being undocumented, also has to face the
most hard and dangerous work conditions, from construction to
agriculture. In many cases, without
adequate legal protections. DAPA, in lack of a comprehensive reform,
provides those workers some protection, which now hangs in the balance
because of political pressure.
May
1 in the U.S. is the day to advocate for the workers to be rest assured
that they will not be deported, and that they will not be victims of
employers who take advantage
of their lack of papers.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
No comments:
Post a Comment