Vol. 72/No. 20      May 19, 2008

“The struggles that are taking place now, particularly those against the raids and deportations of immigrants and for legalization for all, are key to building the militant, fighting labor movement that can forge such a party,” Calero answered. “More workers are refusing to accept the divisions the bosses try to create amongst us and are responding together to their attacks.”

Thirty-five students attended the meeting, which was organized by the campus group United Aid. Calero was invited to speak after some of the students participated in an April 16 UNT event featuring Mary-Alice Waters, president of Pathfinder Press, speaking on the book Our History Is Still Being Written: The Story of Three Chinese-Cuban Generals in the Cuban Revolution.

“The action you have organized here for May Day will be part of protests across the country where we will continue, as we did last year and in 2006, to take back this international workers’ day,” Calero told the students.

The students asked a wide range of questions including on abortion, religion, and labor history. They invited the socialists to their May Day march and rally.

Calero also received support when he campaigned at the University of Houston and at the Mount Pleasant Pilgrim’s Pride chicken processing plant in northeast Texas. The plant was raided April 16 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“I’m here to oppose the raids, arrests, and trumped-up charges of ‘identity theft’ against these workers,” Calero told workers coming off shift. “As president, I will introduce legislation for immediate, unconditional permanent residency for all 12 million undocumented workers,” he said.

One worker told Calero she had taken in five children from two sets of parents who had been arrested. Forty-five workers at the Mount Pleasant plant of 3,300 were arrested on the job or at their homes for so-called identity theft or fraudulent use of Social Security numbers. The raid was part of a coordinated multistate dragnet by immigration cops, hitting Pilgrim’s Pride plants in Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida, and West Virginia. In all, more than 280 workers were swept up.

Cars coming off day shift lined up to talk with the socialist campaigners who had a poster reading, “No to deportations and raids. Legalization now!”

The plant, which is located on the edge of the Black community, has a majority Latino workforce and a sizeable number of African Americans. While a few workers said they agreed with the ICE raid, most, including the majority of the Black workers that stopped, thought it was outrageous. “They just push and push,” said one woman, referring to company speed up pressures.

Anthony Dutrow contributed to this article.
 
 
Related articles:
Socialist presidential candidate addresses L.A. May Day rally
Socialist vice presidential candidate joins Chicago May Day demonstration  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home