top
Immigrant Rights
Immigrant Rights
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Tue May 23 2006
Rally to Say: No Use of Immigration Status to Abuse Workers
Young Workers United to Send a Message to Employers Like Si Señor Taqueria on May 24th
There will be a rally to send a message to owners of businesses like the Si Señor Taqueria that the community will not tolerate the use of immigration status to abuse workers. The rally will take place on Wednesday May 24th at 11:30am, at Si Senor Taqueria, 53 Stevenson St (one block down from Market and 2nd towards Mission, then left on Stevenson).

Sonia Cano and Carlos Barrancos are the couple whose story Indybay covered this winter: Carlos was taken into ICE custody and sent out of state when Sonia was 9 months pregnant with their first child.

Sonia first started working with Young Workers United in June 2004 after she filed a claim against Si Señor, the restaurant where she had worked, with the Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement, which is the agency that enforces the minimum wage of $8.82 for San Francisco. Right before Sonia filed her claim, she told her employer she was three months pregnant. Two days later she was suddenly fired for “indiscipline.” The employer often spoke against pregnant workers, and used racial slurs denigrating workers’ Mayan heritage.

In the following months, YWU, Sonia and Carlos worked to bring together other Si Señor workers to file minimum wage claims and demand respect from the owners. Workers stood up to the owner, demanding a stop to the racial harassment. Seeing the presence of workers organized with YWU, the racial harassment stopped and workers filed minimum wage claims. In direct retaliation for Sonia fighting for her rights and organizing her co-workers, the owners sent an anonymous letter making false and defamatory accusations against the family to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE acted immediately without any investigation, and on December 16th they raided Sonia and Carlos’ home and took Carlos into custody. He was held in Arizona for five weeks. Immediately Carlos began organizing his fellow detainees. He told them not to sign the voluntary deportation forms and to call YWU.

Sonia Cano won the minimum wage case, and this month she settled a claim with Si Señor for charges of discrimination, defamation, and retaliation with firing and sending ICE. Cano stated: "Don’t remain silent. Stand up for your rights and look for support from the community because we all deserve our rights at work."

Young Workers United | Photos and Report from YWU from 5/17 | Women's Employment Rights Clinic
2024-03-20 Victory! EFF Helps Indybay Resist San Francisco Police Warrant and Gag Order Front Page | Police State & Prisons | Media Activism & Independent Media | San Francisco2024-02-09 Catholic Anti-Choice Marchers Get an Earful from Abortion Rights Activists in San Francisco Front Page | Health, Housing & Public Services | Womyn | San Francisco | South Bay | U.S.2024-01-10 Wall of Shipping Containers Intended to Keep the Public Out of People's Park Front Page | Police State & Prisons | Environment & Forest Defense | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | East Bay | California2023-12-08 Largest Ever Pro-Palestine Marches in NorCal Demand End to US Aid for Israel's War on Gaza Front Page | Anti-War | Central Valley | San Francisco | South Bay | Peninsula | U.S. | International | Palestine | Santa Cruz Indymedia2023-10-31 Three Activists Detained at Climate Protest for Crossing Beale Air Force Base Gate Front Page | Environment & Forest Defense | Anti-War | Central Valley | California | U.S.2023-09-29 California Climate Justice Actions in Coordination with Massive New York City March Front Page | Environment & Forest Defense | Central Valley | California2023-08-19 Environmentalists Speak Out Against Airport Expansion as Climate Disasters Accelerate Environment & Forest Defense | East Bay2023-08-12 Starbucks Bus Tour Stops in San Francisco, Rallies with Allies to Support Unionization Labor & Workers | San Francisco | Peninsula | California | U.S.2023-07-19 Halt to Fossil Fuel Funding Demanded as Wells Fargo Operations Shut Down Environment & Forest Defense | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | San Francisco | U.S.2023-07-13 Demonstrations Wrack France, Boiling Over After Police Murder of Youth Police State & Prisons | Health, Housing & Public Services | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | LGBTI / Queer | International | Government & Elections | Immigrant Rights2023-07-02 A Call for Pride to Return to its Roots as a Riot in Defense of LGBTQ+ Rights Health, Housing & Public Services | LGBTI / Queer | Womyn | San Francisco
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$110.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network