5/24: Young Workers United ACTION against unfair employer

Dear sisters, brothers and friends,

Young Workers United and the community have continued to fight for and with Sonia,
Carlos and Miguel and won a great deal (full story below). Now we must tell the
owners of Si Senor Taqueria:

STOP ILLEGAL EMPLOYER RETALIATION AGAINST IMMIGRANT WORKERS!

Tell Si Senor Taqueria to Support Immigrant Rights!


WHAT: Rally to send a message to restaurant owners like Si Senor Taqueria, other
businesses, and the media that the community will not tolerate the use of
immigration status to abuse workers.

WHEN: Wednesday May 24th at 11:30 a.m.

WHERE: Si Senor Taqueria, 53 Stevenson St (from market and 2nd you go down one
block towards mission and make a left on Stevenson).

Can’t make it to the action? CALL SI SENOR @ 415-543-3663 and ask for the
management. Tell them what you think!

Sonia Cano and Carlos Barrancos worked hard to support themselves and to start
their young family. However, when Sonia stood up for her right to be paid the SF
minimum wage, Si Senor Taqueria owners did everything they could to tear apart
this young family. Sonia sought help from Young Workers United (YWU) and the City
of San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement. Her claims led to
thousands of dollars in back wage payments to the Si Senor workers.

However, within days of filing her wage claim, Sonia was fired from her job. YWU
has evidence that some of the owners further retaliated against Sonia by having a
letter sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with false and malicious
claims against the couple. Neither of them have criminal records and all of the
charges were fabricated.

Without any investigation into the validity of the tip, ICE raided the couple’s
apartment when Sonia was nine months pregnant and detained Carlos for deportation.
Sonia was left without income or support for six weeks while her partner was held
in a detention center in Eloy, Arizona. “Being nine months pregnant and without
any income when Carlos was detained, I counted on the support of my friends, Young
Workers United and my legal team,” said Sonia.

YWU representative Mehera Reiter said: "Employers intimidate immigrants from
standing up for their rights. We need real immigration reform to protect the
rights of workers and punish employers who break the law.”
Not only did Cano win the minimum wage case, but also in May of 2006 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."

For more information call YWU at 415-621-4155 , workingyouth [at] hotmail.com, or
http://www.youngworkersunited.org




Young Workers United
http://www.youngworkersunited.org
workingyouth [at] hotmaill.com
(415) 621-4155