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SFIWJ in the News

August 17, 2009 -
USA Today
"More lawmakers
tackle rise of
wage-theft
complaints"

August 17, 2009 -
USA Today
"Bad economy
sparks more
complaints of
wage theft"
Organizing against wage theft and fasting
for immigrant rights in Florida
1/13/2010 - Renaye Manley, IWJ Blog

It may be cold outside in southern Florida, but
South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice (SFIWJ)
has been engaged in hot action on immigrant
rights and wage theft.

Yesterday SFIWJ and members of the South
Florida Wage Theft Task Force won a major
victory in its efforts to pass an anti-wage-theft
ordinance in Miami-Dade County. Members of the
task force, including Fred Frost, President of the
South Florida AFL-CIO, spoke at a public hearing
of the Board of County Commissioners
Government Operations Committee, where the
ordinance passed by a vote of 4 to 1, which
means that it advances "with a favorable
recommendation" from the committee to a full
County Commission meeting scheduled for
February 18. Two of the commissioners who
voted in favor asked to be added to the ordinance
as co-sponsors.

SFIWJ has also been supporting immigrant rights
activists who are entering their 13th day of a fast,
hoping to reach Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano with
their pleas to stop deportations that tear families
apart. Jenny Aguilar and the other participants
are surviving on water, Pedialyte, and Gatorade,
while they issue a desperate plea to DHS to
review their current, inhumane policy of
deporting undocumented immigrants who have
children or spouses in the U.S. Read more about
it and take action by clicking here.

Read more about Wage Theft
Trail of DREAMs

On January 1st, 2010, a small team of brave,
passionate young immigrant students from Florida’
s Students Working for Equal Rights (SWER) will
embark on a 4-month long, 1,500 mile walk – the
Trail of Dreams. As they travel through the
southeastern United States, this courageous
group will be seeking meetings with political and
civic leaders, joining in rallies and vigils, and
reaching out to the media - galvanizing support
for immigration policy reform in communities that
might otherwise be without a voice. Their Trail
will lead them all the way from Miami’s Freedom
Tower to the United States Capitol in Washington
D.C., where they will join with thousands of
others on in a mass rally for reform on May 1st,
2010.
Portrait of Women's Economic Security
in Greater Miami
Report by the Women's Fund of Miami-Dade
about women in low-wage jobs
Bishop Leo Frade of the Episcopal Diocese
of Southeast Florida announced Tuesday
that he stands behind the efforts of the
Fast for Our Families.  Said Bishop Frade,
"The Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida
supports the Fast for Our Families in its
effort to stop the separation of families, a
principle to which the Episcopal Church is
committed."

If you or your organization would like to
join Bp. Frade in supporting the mission of
the Fast for Our Families, please follow this
link to send Department of Homeland
Security Secretary Napolitano a fax or email
asking her to hear the requests of the
fasters.
Our prayers are for all those affected by
the tragedy in Haiti.  We stand in solidarity
with our sisters and brothers in Haiti as they
respond to this disaster, and with all those
in South Florida and around the world who
are waiting for news of their loved ones.   
Haitian Women's Artisan Exhibit
January 14, 2010 at 6 PM

ACND Art Gallery, 4949 NE 2nd Ave, Miami

Witness the life stories of the artisan women from
Jean Rabel Haiti transcribed to picturesque
paintings and handcrafts.
    They Never Tell You About the Bees  
    3 Fasters Go To Hospital

The doctor came today. Sebastien, the sixth faster
who joined on Day 4, may have diabetes. He’ll be
leaving the fast after 9 days.  He’s quietly talking
with Ana right now. He says that he doesn’t want
to leave the fast. He must. He can stay in
solidarity but this is serious.

Ana’s sugar is low. We’re waiting to see what the
doctor says. She’s sitting in a bright yellow FIU
sweatshirt and trying to comfort Sebastien,
explaining to him how he’ll need to change his
diet in the future.

Jenny looks the worst that I’ve seen her with
circles under her eyes and no vibrancy at all.
Jenny is usually so “vivo” but what else could we
expect on Day 14 of a fast? Her son, Jacinto,
turned 13 yesterday. His 15-year-old sister,
Stephanie, made him a cake. I can’t help but
wonder, if Jenny is sent back to Honduras, how
many other birthday cakes will she miss with her
children?

The doctor is here. Three fasters are going to the
hospital. Francisco may have had a heart attack –
the after symptoms point that way. He needs
tests. He quietly asked me if he could come back
to the fast after they do the tests. “I won’t let
them give me food and I can come back, right?”
It broke my heart.

Jonathan says he feels fine but the doctor insists
that he go to the hospital as well. He has
shortness of breath and an issue with his
electrolytes that could point to something more
serious. He’s determined to come back.
The doctor is recommending that Jenny and Ana
go to the hospital as well. Jenny’s pulse and
blood pressure are very low. Ana’s sugar is
dangerously low. They pressure the doctor. “It’s
my baby. It’s my life. You have to understand,”
Jenny is declaring. I have tears in my eyes. The
fast could cost her life and leaving her children
could cost her life. How does one even begin to
fathom that choice? How does it even come to
that?

Ana is sitting quietly in the corner, swatting away
a bee with one hand. The bees started to come
about a week ago. Apparently they are attracted
to the fruit smell that the fasters give off. The
bees really bother Ana. She was swarmed by bees
in the desert on her way back to her children.
We just said good bye to Francisco, Sebastien,
and Jonathan. Ana, Jenny, and Wilfredo are still
here. Please don’t forget them. Call Janet
Napolitano (866-587-3023). Now is the time for
her to come to Miami. Our community is in pain.
Haitians can’t locate their families. People are
fasting in tents to stay with their families. Now is
the time to speak out – speak out for the families
in our community. They need you. We need you.

Jeanette
South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice
305-598-1404
www.fastforfamilies.org
Press Conference on the Situation in Haiti
January 14, 2010 – 11 AM

“On behalf of South Florida Interfaith
Worker Justice, we demand that President
Obama take action now to give immediate
Temporary Protected Status to Haitians.  
Haitians in the U.S. need to be able to live
without fear.  They need to be able to earn
a paycheck so they can support their loved
ones both here and in Haiti.  We demand
that all Haitians that are imprisoned and
that are awaiting deportation be released
immediately.”  -Jack Lieberman, SFIWJ
Board Member
CIW announces "Farmworker Freedom March," Tampa
to Lakeland, Florida, April 16-18, 2010 to call for
"Freedom from forced labor; Freedom from abuse;
Freedom from poverty and degradation."

The CIW has also announced a mobile "Modern-day
Slavery Museum" that will tour Florida in the lead-up to
the Farmworker Freedom March. This traveling museum
about agricultural slavery will be in the form of a box-
truck outfitted as a replica of the trucks involved in the
latest farmworker slavery prosecution and will contain
multiple educational displays about modern-day slavery
in Florida agriculture, its history, its roots, its causes,
and its solutions. If you are interested in hosting the
museum in your community or congregation, contact us
at info@interfaithact.org. Read More.
On January 25, 2010, representatives from
SFIWJ, WeCount!, and the Miami Workers
Centers participated in a rally in Washington,
D.C., calling on the end of the separation of
immigrants from their US citizen families.