OAKLAND, Calif.—Some 200 people rallied outside the Mi Pueblo supermarket here Oct. 20 against company attacks on undocumented workers.

Protesters carried signs calling for a boycott of Mi Pueblo in response to the intimidation and firing of workers fighting for union representation and the owner’s participation in E-Verify, a program that screens the immigration status of workers. They also demanded that Immigration and Customs Enforcement end their immigration audit of the company.

The call for a boycott of Mi Pueblo’s 21 outlets in the Bay Area, Salinas and the San Joaquin Valley was initiated by the Justice for Mercados Campaign, a coalition of unions, churches and community groups.

The demonstration was organized by the Dignity and Resistance Coalition.

A press statement released by the coalition on Oct. 8 said, “I-9 audits must be suspended when a labor dispute is in progress. Such is the case at Mi Pueblo where an ongoing organizing drive is being conducted by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5.”

—BETSEY STONE