For Immediate Release // Media Advisory for Wednesday Oct 2, 2018.
Amidst 3-day strike, Teamsters Join the Journey for Justice with Major Mobilization in LA Detention Center
Los Angeles, CA – On Wednesday, the Teamsters Union alongside other powerful labor groups and organizations will join the Journey for Justice with a major mobilization in the Metropolitan Detention Centers in Los Angeles. The Teamsters, comprised of warehouse workers and truck drivers have thousands of TPS holders who are members of the powerful Union. They are joining the National TPS Alliance’s Journey for Justice in chanting IMMIGRANT RIGHTS ARE WORKERS RIGHTS! Thousands of TPS holders, all of which have been threatened with deportation via the termination of TPS by the Trump administration, work as truck drivers & warehouse workers in the ports. Most of them are Teamsters Union members and will be participating throughout the days of action.
The powerful 3-day strike organized by the port workers highlights the labor violations occurring at the port, including wage theft, employee misclassification, and other exploitative practices used by certain employers against truck drivers and warehouse workers. The National TPS Alliance which is made of up of thousands of TPS Holders from across the nation announced their support and unequivocal solidarity with the Teamster strike.
“The Journey for Justice for TPS workers and families will continue until we recognize the dignity of immigrant labor and ensure a permanent solution for all TPS working families” said Edwin Murillo, of the National TPS Alliance. “We must abolish the myth that says immigrant workers are in tension with Unions & US-born workers. The truth is that for years we have fought together, and we will continue do so until our labor is recognized and respected. TPS Holders are Teamsters. We are workers & we have families to protect. We are in this struggle together.”
What: Tractor Trailer Caravan Around the LA Detention Center
When: 9:00am, October 3rd, 2018
Where: LA Metropolitan Detention Center
Who: Striking port truck drivers, including many threatened with deportation because of the revocation of their status in the TPS program, striking warehouse workers, Teamsters, National TPS Alliance, LA County Federation of Labor, CARECEN, National Day Laborer Organizing Network, Working Families United
Visuals: 6 Semi Trucks, followed by 30 vehicles will surround the Metro Detention Center with a Caravan throughout the 110 freeway.
What: Rally at the Ports to Support Striking Drivers, Demand Action on TPS
When: 11:00am, October 3rd, 2018
Where: Wilmington Waterfront Park
Who: Teamsters, National TPS Alliance, LA County Federation of Labor, CARECEN, National Day Laborer Organizing Network, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE), Working Families United, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE)
Media contacts:
National TPS Alliance: Armando Carmona, armando@ndlon.org, (323) 250-3018;
Teamsters: Kara Deniz, KDeniz@teamster.org, (202) 497-6610
Working Families United, B. Loewe, , bloewe@onpoint.pro, 773.791.4668, Barb Maynard, barb@actnowstrategies.com, (323) 351-9321
Background:
On Wednesday October 3rd the Metropolitan Detention Center will be surrounded by a convoy of half a dozen tractor trailers driven by members of the Teamsters union in support of port truck drivers and others threatened by deportation if the courts don’t stop the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Congress doesn’t act to pass permanent protections.
Thousands of port truck drivers across America who haul containers on and off the docks of seaports and rail yards are among the 300,000 workers with TPS demanding action for permanent protections and a path to citizenship.
On Wednesday, October 3rd, they will demonstrate the contribution they make to this country and the urgency with which they need Congress to act to address and resolve this crisis.
After rallying at the downtown detention center, the drivers will caravan down the 110 Freeway to the Port of LA’s Wilmington Waterfront Park, where they will hold a rally on the third day of their strike.
Visuals: Taking of the streets, Immigrant Rights groups and labor will risk arrest, Rally, Press Conference, Signs, Banners
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