Saying that immigrants are critical to the future of the Minnesota economy and the labor movement, officers of the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees union announced a $15,000 donation to the Centro de Derechos Laborales (Workers Rights Center) in Minneapolis.
"The hotel industry and the restaurant industry in this community cannot operate without immigrant workers," said Jaye Rykunyk, principal officer of HERE Local 17. At the same time, "there is an operating assumption that employers make - if they hire immigrant workers, they can be exploited. And that has to stop."
The Centro de Derechos Laborales is a project of the Resource Center of the Americas, non-profit organization focusing on economic and social justice in this hemisphere. The goal of the Centro is to serve and educate immigrant workers about their rights, including the right to join a union.
"It's our mission to encourage new immigrants to know how the system works," said Centro organizer Jorge Flores.
Although it is illegal for employers to hire undocumented workers - immigrants who are in the United States illegally - once those workers are on the job they are covered by federal labor protections, Rykunyk said. All workers, regardless of their immigration status, have the right to earn at least the minimum wage, to be paid overtime, to have a safe workplace and to be free from sexual and racial harassment and other discrimination.
Thousands of undocumented immigrants live in the Twin Cities, including about 35,000 Mexicans whose labor is critical to the local economy in the hospitality, meatpacking and other industries. Local 17 has engaged in several organizing struggles in support of undocumented workers, including a groundbreaking case at the Holiday Inn Express in Minneapolis, in which the hotel was found to have violated the workers' labor and civil rights.
Pam Costain, director of the Resource Center of the Americas, said her organization is pleased to expand its partnership with the labor movement. "Immigrants will be the future of the unionized workforce in the United States and they are the future of American cities as well," she said.
Rykunyk presented Costain with a check for $5,000, the first installment of the union's gift, and challenged other labor organizations to give as well. "If unions are going to be relevant in workers' lives, they need to put their money where their mouth is," she said.
For more information
Visit the website of the Resource Center of the Americas: http://www.americas.org
Share
Saying that immigrants are critical to the future of the Minnesota economy and the labor movement, officers of the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees union announced a $15,000 donation to the Centro de Derechos Laborales (Workers Rights Center) in Minneapolis.
“The hotel industry and the restaurant industry in this community cannot operate without immigrant workers,” said Jaye Rykunyk, principal officer of HERE Local 17. At the same time, “there is an operating assumption that employers make – if they hire immigrant workers, they can be exploited. And that has to stop.”
The Centro de Derechos Laborales is a project of the Resource Center of the Americas, non-profit organization focusing on economic and social justice in this hemisphere. The goal of the Centro is to serve and educate immigrant workers about their rights, including the right to join a union.
“It’s our mission to encourage new immigrants to know how the system works,” said Centro organizer Jorge Flores.
Although it is illegal for employers to hire undocumented workers – immigrants who are in the United States illegally – once those workers are on the job they are covered by federal labor protections, Rykunyk said. All workers, regardless of their immigration status, have the right to earn at least the minimum wage, to be paid overtime, to have a safe workplace and to be free from sexual and racial harassment and other discrimination.
Thousands of undocumented immigrants live in the Twin Cities, including about 35,000 Mexicans whose labor is critical to the local economy in the hospitality, meatpacking and other industries. Local 17 has engaged in several organizing struggles in support of undocumented workers, including a groundbreaking case at the Holiday Inn Express in Minneapolis, in which the hotel was found to have violated the workers’ labor and civil rights.
Pam Costain, director of the Resource Center of the Americas, said her organization is pleased to expand its partnership with the labor movement. “Immigrants will be the future of the unionized workforce in the United States and they are the future of American cities as well,” she said.
Rykunyk presented Costain with a check for $5,000, the first installment of the union’s gift, and challenged other labor organizations to give as well. “If unions are going to be relevant in workers’ lives, they need to put their money where their mouth is,” she said.
For more information
Visit the website of the Resource Center of the Americas: http://www.americas.org