New Yorkers Protest Secretary Napolitano’s Immigration Policies

Posted on May 8th, 2010 by admin

July 29, 2009, New York City. When President Obamas Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano arrived in midtown Manhattan early this morning to deliver a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations, she was greeted by dozens of picketers from the citys immigrant, faith, labor, and civil liberties communities, who carried placards questioning why the Obama administration is embracing and even expanding ineffective Bush-era immigration enforcement policies.

Earlier this month, Secretary Napolitano, who heads up the presidents immigration reform effort, announced the expansion of a program known as 287(g), which enlists and trains local police to act as immigration agents. Many police chiefs say the program is counterproductive and impedes their ability to fight crime, however, because it undermines local community-policing efforts and sets the stage for rampant racial profiling.

We are getting to the tipping point. Immigrant communities that helped to elect President Obama strongly believed that there would be reforms. Now, there is a creeping sense of betrayal and questioning about why the administration would wholeheartedly embrace and expand some of the most counterproductive and ineffectual immigration enforcement policies of the Bush era, said Ms. Chung-Wha Hong, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, which organized this mornings protest.

The folks who are hurt most by these enforcement policies are the very people who President Obama said should be legalized under comprehensive immigration reform, added Hong. There is a huge disconnect and contradiction between what the president is saying and what Secretary Napolitano is doing. You cant have it both ways. Instead of expanding the dragnet, Secretary Napolitano should move us forward on immigration reform so we finally can have a system that works and treats people fairly.

Other participants echoed those sentiments. Last November, we voted for real change, but all we are seeing is more of the same when it comes to immigration enforcement policies. Our communities are suffering tremendously, said Sandy Placido, a community organizer with the Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrants Rights.

Police chiefs across the country agree that local enforcement of federal immigration law is counterproductive, and the record shows that it’s a recipe for racial profiling, said Udi Ofer, advocacy director with the New York Civil Liberties Union. President Obama must reject programs that undermine American values and instead focus on providing millions of immigrants with a path to legalization while at the same time protecting Americans constitutional rights.

Here in New Jersey, faith and advocacy groups are working closely with immigrant communities to push back against efforts to deputize local law enforcement as immigration agents, said Chia-Chia Wang, civic participation coordinator with the American Friends Services Committee of New Jersey. We know that 287(g) will only perpetuate racial and ethnic profiling—anyone who looks or sounds foreign will be the first to be stopped and questioned about their immigration status.

Participants also urged Secretary Napolitano to stop expanding the use of the deeply flawed e-Verify database, which employers would be required to use to check peoples eligibility to work. Government studies have shown that the database is full of errors that could cause millions of workers, including citizens and legal residents, to lose their jobs.

The New York event was part of a national day of action to send a message of reform to Secretary Napolitano and President Obama. Groups participating in the event plan to closely monitor the Department of Homeland Securitys actions and advocate with the administration and Congress to craft comprehensive immigration reform legislation in the coming months.

The New York Immigration Coalition is an umbrella policy advocacy organization with 200 member groups in New York State that works for justice and opportunity for immigrants. For more information, visit www.thenyic.org.

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Duration : 0:3:30

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SIIA Gathering Sword Swallower #2

Posted on May 5th, 2010 by admin

Ladies and Gentlemenboys and girls! Step right up to witness the most amazing and wondrous sites you have ever seen. Were bringing together some of the most incredible performers and curiosities on the Midway. A variety of Circus sideshow acts and performers gathering to entertain and mystify! Its a mysterious blend of Barnum & Bailey meets the Addams Family. Presented by SIIA along with its sponsors, OptumHealth, Coalition America, & Midwest Employers Casualty Company.

Duration : 0:7:11

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New Ad from Chamber of Commerce Lies About Economy & Small Businesses

Posted on May 2nd, 2010 by admin

(Via http://www.mediamatters.org ) The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Employers for a Healthy Economy coalition has released a new anti-health care reform ad that misleads viewers into thinking Democratic proposals will endanger their jobs. As SEIU points out below, in reality, the legislation would benefit small businesses, the national economy, and individual Americans across the country.

Duration : 0:0:33

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Workplace Accommodations for Nursing Mothers Act – Colorado

Posted on April 28th, 2010 by admin

Overview of the Workplace Accommodations for Nursing Mothers Act in Colorado (also relevant in other states).

Duration : 0:7:42

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Bryan Leyland – ETS

Posted on April 25th, 2010 by admin

TX 15 Apr 2010~Theres a growing list of organisations putting the Government under pressure to delay the Emissions Trading Scheme.

Under the ETS, companies would pay a levy depending on how much greenhouse gas they produce but whatever the effect on global warming, many seem to be getting cold feet.

These include the Employers and Manufacturers Association, the Major Energy Users Group and the Domestic Energy Users Network.

Energy analyst Bryan Leyland of the Climate Science Coalition says a Royal Commissions needed to look into the reason for the scheme.
He spoke to Allan Lee.

Duration : 0:6:31

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Florida’s Tomato Industry: Growers Who Care

Posted on April 23rd, 2010 by admin

The Florida Tomato Growers Exchange is an agricultural cooperative of Florida tomato growers who operate as socially accountable farm employers by participating in comprehensive programs that certify employment, health, housing and safety practices. The industry is strongly committed to supporting long-term solutions that improve the lives of their employees.

Duration : 0:9:36

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U.S. Chamber Forgot to Include Facts in New “Titus” Ad

Posted on April 20th, 2010 by admin

(Via http://www.mediamatters.org ) On November 11, 2009, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Employers for a Healthy Economy coalition released new anti-reform ads. Their “Titus” ad attacks Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV) for her pro-reform vote, but because the Chamber’s attacks are based on faulty information, the ad’s message is just a few seconds of fear mongering.

Duration : 0:0:31

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SIIA Gathering Sword Swallower #1

Posted on April 17th, 2010 by admin

Ladies and Gentlemenboys and girls! Step right up to witness the most amazing and wondrous sites you have ever seen. Were bringing together some of the most incredible performers and curiosities on the Midway. A variety of Circus sideshow acts and performers gathering to entertain and mystify! Its a mysterious blend of Barnum & Bailey meets the Addams Family. Presented by SIIA along with its sponsors, OptumHealth, Coalition America, & Midwest Employers Casualty Company.

Duration : 0:6:46

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Wage Theft Task Force

Posted on April 14th, 2010 by admin

On February 18, the Miami-Dade County Commission created a new law to help low-wage, immigrant workers. The Wage Theft Ordinance requires employers to give employees the pay that workers were promised; if employers delay in resolving claims, they can be liable for triple wages as well as the costs of an administrative hearing.

In the video, students from the law schools of Florida International University, University of Miami, and Nova University talk about the wage theft ordinance together with some of FIACs Workplace Justice clients, who have become Community Stewards promoting immigrant and worker rights in the community.

Congratulations to all residents of Miami-Dade County, who have gained a valuable tool for enforcing a basic human right the right to be paid for ones work.

Congratulations also to all the members of the Wage Theft Task Force, including in addition to FIAC – the Florida Immigrant Coalition, Florida Legal Services, Unite for Dignity, We Count!, the Womens Fund of Miami-Dade Advocacy Project, South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice, the Research Institute for Social and Economic Policy, the South Florida AFL-CIO, SEIU 32BJ, UNITE HERE, and others.

Duration : 0:4:24

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Ergonomics Injuries in the US 1998 OSHA

Posted on April 10th, 2010 by admin

Ergonomics is the science of designing work systems taking into account the “human factors,” so as to make them efficient as well as healthful. The philosophy is one of “fitting the job to the worker.” A wide variety of ailments can occur when jobs entail repetitive motion, forceful exertions or awkward postures. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported 740,000 lost-workday cases during 1999 due to sprains and strains and another 45 thousand due to carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) or tendinitis, which together accounted for 46% of all lost workday injuries. While sprains and strains are similar in severity to other types of injury (a median of 6 days away from work), CTS cases have a median loss of 25 workdays. As the number of reported cases increased rapidly in the 1980s, OSHA started paying more attention to ergonomics, relying on its general authority pending development of a formal standard. Notable cases were brought and remedial settlements reached in the meatpacking and automotive industries. In 1992, OSHA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking, and in 1994 circulated a draft proposal, and in 1995 a revised draft. The 1994 proposal received a negative reaction from major industry groups, and the National Association of Manufacturers helped form the National Coalition on Ergonomics to oppose its adoption. The 1995 draft was somewhat less extensive, particularly in coverage. Rather than requiring comprehensive action by all employers, the revised approach was to have employers do an initial self-evaluation to identify whether certain “signal risk factors” were present. Although OSHA was prohibited by appropriations riders, during most of fiscal 1995 through 1999, from promulgating formal ergonomics proposals, the agency was able to continue development work, and issued its final standard on November 14, 2000. The final regulation was a program standard, meaning that employers would be required to establish ergonomic programs in their workplaces under the general guidelines of the standard. The specific preventive and corrective measures to be taken were to come out of those programs, rather than being mandated in detail by OSHA. Not all employers would need to establish programs. The obligation to do so would be triggered if and when a work-related “musculoskeletal disorder” (MSD) is reported, if it occurs in a job that has certain risk factors forceful exertions, repetition, vibration and awkward postures playing a significant part in each workday. As soon as the rule was issued, opponents launched actions to overturn it in various forums, both judicial and legislative. Two industry groups filed suit in the U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, arguing variously that the standard exceeded OSHA’s authority, that the agency did not follow proper procedure, and that the standard was vague, incomprehensible, and not based on sound medical science or economic analysis. However, the more expeditious course for opponents proved to be the Congressional Review Act. . In the first-ever application of that statute, a “resolution of disapproval,” passed by the Congress President Bush signed the measure into law and the standard was nullified. For more details, go to http://www.policyalmanac.org/economic/archive/crs_ergonomics.shtml . This is clipped from the 1998 OSHA video, Ergonomic Programs That Work. The entire film is available at the Internet Archive.

Duration : 0:0:40

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