Santa Clara is home to a large Palestinian community and the spirited action included college students, Palestinians from the neighborhood, and local trade unionists.

The protest was sponsored by the San Francisco and San Jose Coalitions to Rehire Alia and Hiam.

Atawneh, who is 29 years old, was fired by the Valley Fair store after a customer berated her September 27 about "her people's" responsibility for the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. When Atawneh asked the customer to explain his statement, he complained to her boss. The bosses at Macy's claim that Atawneh violated its policy of not making provocative or insensitive comments about September 11, which she denies doing.

Yassine, who is 39 and had worked at the store since 1997, was fired January 5 for offering a customer a 10 percent discount on a handbag without a supervisor's permission, which was a common practice in the store. Both women are Muslims, and Yassine wears a head covering. Atawneh has filed a discrimination lawsuit against Macy's, while Yassine has retained a lawyer.

The picket line was the first protest held at the store. Playing a prominent role in organizing the rally was Silicon Valley De-Bug, described in their magazine as an organization of mostly young people "who have worked on the low-wage end of Silicon Valley." These young workers joined with college students to bring to the protest youthful energy.

Ray Callaway, with the San Jose Minority Employment Task Force, told the Militant, "After September 11 some people think it is okay to discriminate and harass people. What happened to these women is outrageous." Curtis Portwood, an African-American Muslim, echoed this sentiment. "As a Muslim it is my duty to stand up against racism. Companies in this area will see this picket and maybe think twice before doing the same."

Rally speakers urged the store to immediately rehire Atawneh and Yassine and offer an apology for the unjust firings, compensation for their time off work, and unionization of the store's workers. While Macy's at Valley Fair Mall is nonunion, workers at the downtown San Francisco store are organized by the United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW). Representatives of two UFCW locals, along with other union officials, addressed the rally.

Macy's defended the firing of Atawneh in a press release: "We cannot and will not condone offensive, rude, provocative, or disruptive comments in the workplace." Macy's officials refused to discuss the cases of Atawneh and Yassine with a delegation sent from the picket line.

Bill Kalman is a member of UFCW Local 120 in San Lorenzo.
 
 
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