FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 2007
Contacts:
Mary Gutierrez (LA County Fed), (213)276.-3384
Jorge-Mario Cabrera (NALAAC), (562) 243-5559
Becky Bae (NAKASEC), (323) 937-3703
L.A. Communities and Workers to Stand in Opposition to Social Security No Match Letters and say “No-Match Makes No Sense”
Groups to hand deliver opposition letter to Social Security officials
What: Community leaders and workers will hold a press conference prior to their hand delivery of a letter to the Los Angeles Social Security Administration Office. The letter will illustrate harsh opposition to the collaboration between the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security in what they refer to as enforcement of immigration laws by sending employers security no match letters that inform them of alleged discrepancies between employee records and the SSA database.
Background: A federal district court in San Francisco will hear arguments today, Monday, October 1, in a lawsuit brought by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), and others challenging a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule that would threaten the jobs of over eight million workers nationwide – both U.S. citizens and immigrants alike - simply because of errors in the SSA database. If implemented, the new rule would have a particularly devastating impact on workers and businesses in California , where over 35,000 notices - more than 25% of the total number of notices - would be sent to employers in this state alone. Workers, labor unions, and community groups are deeply concerned that the DHS rules will result in massive firings, widespread discrimination at the workplace, and increased exploitation and abuse of workers.
On August 31, U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney temporarily halted the government from sending thousands of letters to employers that would have potentially led to the unlawful firing of many employees.
When: Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 10:00am
Where: Social Security Administration Office
4000 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90010 (cross street is Wilton Place).
Who: Speakers include Maria Elena Durazo (L.A. Country Federation of Labor); Aquilina Soriano (Pilipino Workers Center); Angela Sanbrano (National Alliance of Latin American & Carribean Communities); Dae Joon Yoon (Korean Resource Center); Rini Chakraborty (Sweatshop Watch); and workers who have been directly impacted by the No-Match letters.
Supporting Organizations:
ACLU of Southern California, ANSWER Coalition, Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC), Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), Enlace, Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur de California (IDEPSCA), Koreatown Immigrant Workers Advocates (KIWA), Korean Resource Center (KRC), Los Angeles Country Federation of Labor, Multiethnic Immigrant Worker Organizing Network (MIWON), National Alliance of Latin American & Caribbean Communities (NALAAC), National Day Laborer Organizing Network, National Immigrant Law Center (NILC), National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC), Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund, No More Sweatshops, Pilipino Workers Center(PWC), Strengthening Our Lives (SOL), Sweatshop Watch and UNITE HERE.
Please see below for background on the SSA Rule and TRO.
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