February 14, 2006

Some Philadelphia illegal aliens threaten to strike restaurants that illegally employ them

Illegal aliens working in Philly restaurants are being asked to stay home today. The goal is to show the power of Mexican citizens illegally living inside our country and show opposition to HR4437.

Let's hope it works. It could even work doubly good if they don't show up, are fired, and then are able to sue. That would raise the cost of those restaurants' labor and encourage other restaurants to employ legal workers, buy dishwashing machines, conduct outreaches to American teenagers, etc.

Illegal immigrants in the Philadelphia labor force - described by one Center City restaurateur as the "dirty little secret" of his industry - want to make themselves seen, heard and missed on Valentine's Day.

Local activists have urged undocumented workers throughout the region, particularly Mexicans who staff the city's restaurants, to strike on Tuesday, one of the biggest dining days of the year.

Organizers say the work stoppage, by a population typically on tiptoe, is to demonstrate the economic contribution of undocumented "shadow workers" and to protest a bill in Congress that would make illegal immigration a felony punishable by prison time.

"The call is to the employers, to make them realize they have a stake, and that they need to weigh in," said Ricardo Diaz, the independent organizer who sparked the effort.

Advocates for illegal immigrants around the country have toyed with the idea of a real-world staging of A Day Without a Mexican, a 2004 feature film about the impact on California when its Latino residents disappear...

The writer goes on to discuss various restaurants that knowingly employ illegal aliens, none of which wanted to be identified.

Another part of this article was discussed in "National Restaurant Association and illegal immigration".

Posted to Immigration at February 14, 2006 03:19 PM

Comments

Let them strike.
Wouldn't it be nice if illegal immigrants in an illegal strike were fired enmass?

Then the working poor, teenagers, etc. could get back in the labor market denied to them for so long.

I guess its too much to hope that our DHS would get the names of the strikers, arrest them, deport them and then come back and fine their employers. Pipe dream, but one must continue to dream of a better future for therein lies hope.

Posted by: LomaAlta at February 14, 2006 05:00 PM