Community

Local Labor and Community Activists Celebrate International Workers’ Day with March In South Hills to Promote Human Rights & Dignity for Pittsburgh’s Immigrant Community


Pittsburgh –(ENEWSPF)–April 27, 2016.  Local labor and community organizations, including the Pittsburgh Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), Casa San José, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU),  United Steelworkers Local 3657, the Human Rights City Alliance, the ANSWER Coalition, the Thomas Merton Center, the Coalition OF Labor Union Women (CLUW), and the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network (PIIN) will hold a rally and march starting at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Beechview to demonstrate support for Pittsburgh’s immigrant community.

“We thought that in light of all the hate speech directed at Latinos and Muslims by presidential candidates this election cycle, and the hateful vandalism that has been directed at our own Latino immigrant community here in Brookline, it was important that this year’s May Day march for immigrant rights be held in the South Hills,” said Guillermo Perez, president of the Pittsburgh chapter of LCLAA, a national organization affiliated with the AFL-CIO that advocates for Latino working families.

Organizers say they are building support and engagement for this event from diverse groups around the city to raise awareness about the conditions immigrants face. “We want to counter the ‘culture of hate’ reflected in the media with a ‘culture of human rights,’” said Jackie Smith of the Human Rights City Alliance.

Organizers are demanding an end to detention and deportation of undocumented workers, asylum seekers and their families; tuition equity for undocumented students at the Commonwealth’s public colleges and universities; comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship; living $15 an hour wages and the right to organize for all workers; and dignity and human rights for all residents, regardless of their immigration status.

The event is in conjunction with the YWCA’s annual Stand Against Racism, raising awareness about the negative impact of institutional and structural racism in our communities. The march will end with live music and free tacos and pupusas at Casa San José, a nonprofit social service agency based in Brookline dedicated to assisting Latino immigrants in Allegheny County.  Casa San José is housed in St. Mark’s Lutheran Evangelical Church in Brookline.

Event Details:

The rally, march, & celebration (food and music following march)  will take place Sunday, May 1, at 2:30 p.m. rally and 3 p.m. march at St. Catherine of Siena Church, 1810 Belasco Avenue, Pittsburgh 15216 (Beechview)  3 p.m. march to Casa San Jose, St. Mark’s Lutheran Evangelical Church, 933 Brookline Blvd., Pittsburgh 15226.

Source: Pittsburgh Labor Council for Latin American Advancement


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