Supporters of the 200 undocumented workers fired from Pacific Steel Casting Company held a “March for Dignity” Friday, expressing their frustration, demands for immigration reform and a commitment to continue fighting.
More than 400 workers, family members and supporters marched peacefully from City Hall beginning at 10 a.m. to the Pacific Steel plant in West Berkeley to protest a government audit of Pacific Steel that led to the recent firing of hundreds of undocumented workers who were employed there.
The protesters emphasized what they called the humanitarian costs of American immigration laws and announced that this would be the beginning of a prolonged struggle for change.
“We are workers … we are humans, we are families” said Jesus Prado on the steps of City Hall.
Protesters marched west on San Pablo Avenue, holding signs with slogans like “Treat humans humanly” and “Pacific Steel your heart is made of ice,” stressing the impact the recent firings have had on the workers and their families.
“It’s been scary … I’ve lived in the Bay Area my entire life, and now I might not be able to stay,” said Metzli Blanco Castano, the daughter of two workers at the plant.
The organizers of the event — although it was planned in response to Pacific Steel’s firings — were mainly against federal policy regarding immigration, specifically the I-9 audits, which they called “silent raids.”
“We want to bring visibility to the issue of I-9 audits and its impact on families and workers,” said Cinthya Munoz, one of the event’s organizers.
An I-9 audit, which is mandated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is intended to check workers’ eligibility for employment through the evaluation of the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9s that employees submit.
“For the audit, the blame is on the government,” said David Bacon, another of the event’s organizers. “There are a lot of things in this world that could be Pacific Steel’s fault, but this is not one of them.”
The march ended at the Pacific Steel plant around 2 p.m. with the protesters saying they would hold another march on May 1.
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According to news reports there were a total of 50 people at the Occupy march that ended up at UC, and Occupy Oakland marchers did not get to Berkeley until close to 10 p.m. Yet this poor gentleman contacted the police at 8:45. When I lived in Portland, OR the police sent out a statement to all news stations simultaneously flooding the internet and airwaves about a rape suspect that had to wait over 3 hrs. before anyone responded. Portlanders were outraged-at the cops. The cops received so much backlash that they finally released the whole story that the poor victim was actually raped days before, and that was a main reason they made her wait, not solely because of Occupy. They saw a chance to use a story to outrage the community while targeting Occupy and they jumped at it.
Just a bunch of white people who have made nothing of there life, and now they want to be taken care of. There are many white people who feel a since of pride just for being white and when they feel that pride wasting away they freak the hell out and sart a BS group like this. LOL LOL LOL Get a Life !
According to the Chron, the police didn’t respond to the initial call by the man who was subsequently killed because they were covering the Occupy demonstration at I-House with most of their manpower. In other words, Occupy is an accessory to murder because their law-breaking required such a police presence that the Berkeley cops felt they couldn’t respond to the initial call by the subsequent victim who asked that the suspect be removed from hanging out in front of his door. When the police didn’t arrive, the victim confronted the man again and was murdered.
Chock up another homicide victim to Occupy. Remember, a man was killed at the Occupy site in Oakland and who knows how many Oakland residents were killed or wounded because so many police had to deal with the Occupy people at Frank Ogawa Plaza (no, its not called the plaza Occupy has named after that thug Oscar Grant).
Thanks, Occupy. You have so deviated from your original substantive message that people have been killed because of your legal transgressions. You are true morons…
Daniel Jordan Dewitt is the person who allegedly committed the murder.
Here is a photo of the suspect:
http://www.maxpreps.com/local/player/photo/full_size.aspx?athleteid=2a4f201b-ff56-46b9-aaab-c16512844818&ssid=a64eb952-14c9-45bb-aa51-2e09948db58c#photoid=dbd2579f-3ea7-454e-8241-ee23c82b29b3
So is there where the Berkeley Police were when the homeowner on Grizzly Peak was beaten to death by an intruder at 8:45 p.m. Saturday night and thus didn’t respond to a call?
Occupy Cal, Occupy Berkeley, Occupy Oakland…why not Occupy My Backyard? This movement is so fractured and multi-directional it’s pathetic. Add to this the fact that they have alienated those they claim to represent and the whole thing is farcical. You “take on the establishment” by trampling all over the common man. You take the common man’s lunch room and turn it into a cesspool tent city, you take away the common man’s protection by monopolizing the Police resources of cash strapped, violent cities. You take food away from the common man by shutting down the ports and causing lost wages…All while posting from your iPhone. I bet those rich d-bags in NYC and D.C. are really shaking in their boots.
Tonights local tv news reported Berkeley City Police excuse for not responding to this address was blamed on 40 peaceful American citizens were walking down the street. God Bless and protect all of us from poor judgement.
The protesters never posted a bond guaranteeing peaceful protest and never guaranteed that violent anarchist vandals would not be among them, so a police presence was necessary.
occupy oakland are the real terrorists
Them are some scuzzy looking motherfuckers in the video, eh?
Zachary RapingWolf should be charged with arson for lighting our American flag on fire.
guttural groaning and pathetic rhyming couplets really are poor substitute for articulate, logical clearly stated enunciated and balanced statements of fact, leaving absolutely no room for misconception of the ears of a listener who may or may not be otherwise persuaded why rabble rousing masked figures who can afford pizza and snazzy northface tents. i bet their mascot pit bull wears a bandana too, but not around the muzzle tightly knotted as should working class victims of capitalism on a work night getting their sleep after smoking their dope. funny, i wouldn’t be surprised at all, not one little bit, take the movement to sacramento where decisions are made, not my school, a veritable training grounds for super heroes who Will Persevere to bring contentment to the hearts of generations next
So what if they broke the law. Why is such a big deal being made about that? (Answer appreciated please) The greatest movements in America have often moved forward by breaking the law.
[So what if they broke the law. Why is such a big deal being made about that? ]
By that token, I don’t agree with your movement, so why don’t I bring a baseball bat down there and crack your skull. If you don’t like that, all I can say is “So what if I broke the law”?
You narcissistic assholes are really over the top. I hope the cops tell you the same thing the next time you whine and cry about being roughed up by them…
It’s so apparent you’re a fit of white, macho, anti-immigrant (basically racist), traditional-valued American emotion (um ‘hatred’ I think). You’re the perfect example of middle and lower class people who want to start fights with others in the same class so much that they let the super rich get away with murder(talk about heinous crimes in breaking the law – look at investment bankers and corporate insiders – they’re breaking laws in the most gigantic of ways). Believe me, a huge percentage of those people did not work hard for their money (and basically they just laugh at people like you).
No, you haven’t stepped back to see the forest from the trees, and people like you are going to bring us all down because of ignorant infighting based on race and stereotype. Occupying a property is a miniscule breaking of law compared to what the super-rich are doing. Failure to see that will make us turn into a hugely stratified country like Mexico, Russia or India and you will lose so many of the rights that you think of as our inherited ’American rights’. It doesn’t matter if we’re hippies, cholos, arabs, pot-smokers, spoiled kids or narcissists. Put aside your stereotyping emotion for a second and just think about it.
”It’s so apparent you’re a fit of white, macho, anti-immigrant (basically
racist), traditional-valued American emotion (um ‘hatred’ I think). ”
It’s apparent that you’re so emotionally invested in Occupy that you can’t even recognize the blatant hypocrisy of your own movement. You think you have the right to break the law and use force to deny rights to others to get your message across, but whine about how the cops are breaking the law when they respond in kind. Sorry, you can’t have it both ways.
[It's so apparent you're a fit of white, macho, anti-immigrant (basically
racist), traditional-valued American emotion (um 'hatred' I think).
Yep, throw the usual smears at me when you can’t come up with a coherent argument. As if you’re some educated, enlightened, multi-cultural man of the world. Something tells me you have never held a real job, and probably rely on mommy and daddy a lot more than you admit, as must of your screed is indicative of impotent adolescent rage.
You’re the perfect example of middle and lower class people who want to
start fights with others in the same class
And you think the cops you fight with, the shopkeepers whose businesses you vandalize, the students whose studies you disrupt, and the peaceful citizens you shy away from enjoying recreational activities in public spaces because they are full of filthy, hysterical, intoxicated, and potentially violent foaming lunatics are the 1%? Really now.
15 made it all the way to the end.
God, this is a pathetic group if they can not get more supporters at Berkeley.
I read it was a mere ten.
I’m hella confused.
Here is Dewitt’s photo. Appears to be African American…
http://www.maxpreps.com/local/player/photo/full_size.aspx?athleteid=2a4f201b-ff56-46b9-aaab-c16512844818&ssid=a64eb952-14c9-45bb-aa51-2e09948db58c#photoid=dbd2579f-3ea7-454e-8241-ee23c82b29b3
Not mentioned: The UCB police presence was not requested by International House. The officers observed the FTP march from Oakland (clandestinely, because not one cop was seen from Oscar Grant Plaza until arrival at International house). The IH manager told me that they entered the building and arrayed themselves in aggressive stances, putting on riot gear and carrying shotguns (rubber bullet type) without any communication to or from any UC civilian authority.
They checked IDs and “papers” of every student going into the House–many were international students and showed obvious apprehension when the storm-trooper-style clad men and two women requested their ID’s in voice muffled with helmets and chin guards.
Very definitely a scary example of the police state power–no civilian authority requested their presence at an extremely lively and perfectly peaceful meetup. They decided to do that on their own.
Exaggerate much? This is like a police state? Yeah, sure.
You have NO idea what a REAL “police state” is, you little turd. If that were my place of residence and a mob of thugs were headed there, I would want the cops there as well.
occupy needs to go home. No one cares about you but yourselves and a few disturbed students
“Police state?” Oh please. You wouldn’t last a second in a real police state if this is the kind of exaggeration you’re up to.
Shit it just hit me! These are the assholes I heard yelling in the middle of the night from my dorm while trying to sleep. This shit better not happen again.
Woah someone forgot to test their CSS before deploying it live… things in the menu bar are all messed up…
It’s still messed up, given I’m reading your post under the article of the man killed in Berkeley.
Wow, them are some scuzzy looking people in the video. Guess that’s what too many drugs does, eh Tony?
”We just want a peaceful night” says the shag, because they are such poor fucking victims always harassed by the police… Fucking losers!
I do not see a problem here. Undocumented foreign nationals illegally took jobs that should go to American citizens and permanent residents. An audit revealed who the interlopers were and they were terminated. Justice was done.
Justice would be arrest, prosecution, seize all assets, and deportation. Apparently they (illegal aliens) weren’t deported: They simply got fired.
Cuz we all know how “Americans” (i.e. you are talking about middle and upper-class white people) are going to just be snapping up all of those janitorial jobs…just like we should throw out all the Mexicans in our fields because we would love to do what they do!
Don’t be naive. In terms of a free market, illegal immigration is the biggest boon to the nation’s employers since China.
items not in the article: jobs, immigration, audits
something most definitely found in the comments section: a troll calling himself Armandocdll81, and lets face it, he’s not doing a very good job of trolling.
”items not in the article: jobs, immigration, audits” – Just because the author of this article was too lazy to include any relevant details doesn’t mean we’re not allowed to bring them up, given that there’s no context without them.
Holding that sign en espan~ol isn’t going to score you any points among legal citizens, pendejo.
They also have worked harder in their lives and produced more
for society than most of you privileged UC Berkeley fucks ever will.
I doubt that
I agree. These people have no idea how much work it takes to steal social security numbers, get free medical care, get subsidized housing and free 1-12 education.
Oh, really? I work 50-60 hours a week, a schedule I have maintained pretty much for the last 25-30 years, and I currently pay about 28-30% of my income in various state, federal, and local taxes. How much in taxes do these illegals pay?
In addition, I didn’t come from a wealthy family, and I was by no means “priveleged”. I started attending a local CC after getting out of the military, busted my ass, and maintained a high enough GPA to be accepted to Cal as a transfer student. In other words, I got there on my own merits and did it without breaking the law. Take your “privileged” comments and shove them…
they broke the law
They also have worked harder in their lives and produced more for society than most of you privileged UC Berkeley fucks ever will.
They still broke the law
I’m making a sign that says: hasta la vista vatos
Oh, you again.
Fact is that the ONLY things illegal aliens work hard at are lying, cheating, and thievery: serial criminality. There is NO “dignity” in that.
Illegal aliens and their advocates are despicable.
someone using the moniker ‘current student’ is unlikely to actually be a current student – think about it