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 News from Around the Americas | April 2006 
Disagreement Seen in Tactics for Nationwide May 1 Boycott
 Leslie Berestein - Union-Tribune
| | Immigrant groups in the United States are calling on their countrymen in Mexico to boycott U.S. products and businesses on May 1 to pressure the U.S. Congress to approve citizenship for undocumented migrants. (Mike Segar/Reuters) |
The organizers of a nationwide boycott planned for May 1, who intend to demonstrate the economic power of immigrants in the marketplace and the workplace, are confident that participation will be high even though factions are divided over tactics.
The boycott – which comes in the wake of large demonstrations in favor of comprehensive immigration reform and against more punitive measures – was originally conceived as a day in which Latinos and other immigrants would abstain from spending. But it has expanded to include staying home from work and school.
It is the latter two tactics that have caused disagreement among some of the groups that worked together to arrange massive rallies in San Diego, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and other cities.
Many church and labor leaders, who were supportive of previous actions, have openly questioned whether skipping work and school sends the right message to Congress and the general public.
“There would be a backlash against all of the positive energy that was created,” said Linda Arreola of the Office for Social Ministry of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego. “The message would be one that immigrants really don't want to be part of America, and that what they are really doing is hurting the U.S., and that would be hurting the movement.”
Last week, Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles urged would-be boycott participants to go to work and school, then join in a rally afterward.
In San Diego County, church, labor and several other groups are planning an after-work rally May 1 in Balboa Park as an alternative.
Some of those who oppose the no-work, no-school idea favor the idea of a simple consumer boycott.
“Not spending any money at all would show the economic impact of Latino purchasing power,” said United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta. She said she supports those who can take time off with permission, but that those who can't shouldn't feel guilty about it.
Latino consumers in the United States account for roughly $820.5 billion in annual purchasing power, which is expected to reach as much as $1 trillion by 2010, according to estimates by Hispanic Business magazine.
Those promoting a work boycott say that while a consumer boycott helps get the message across about Latino buying power, it's also important to stress the business value of immigrant employees, particularly undocumented immigrants, said Nativo Lopez, president of the Mexican American Political Association, a group that advocates political representation for Latinos.
“Why this tactic? All working people create value when they are participating in the production process,” Lopez said. “That value is used by owners of industry to expand their business, reinvest and pocket the money for personal wealth. We are focusing on moving the power equation into the hands of workers who produce value.”
How much of an economic impact the boycott could have locally and nationally is hard to predict, said analyst George Whalin, president of Retail Management Consultants in San Marcos, but it could be significant.
“It's a little difficult to get a handle on how meaningful it will be,” he said. “But if it gets big, it could have an impact on retail, gasoline, all kinds of things.”
Retail and service industries in particular could be affected by a lack of staffing, Whalin said.
In San Diego County, many people have already made the decision not to go to work. Some Latino-owned businesses are planning to close altogether or operate with a skeleton staff because employees are taking the day off.
At the Old Gallery, a popular downtown coffeehouse and deli, owners Hector and Marta Luevano were debating this week whether to close for the day or face the morning and lunchtime crowds solo. Their four employees asked for May 1 off and the owners, Mexican immigrants themselves, acquiesced.
“We're supporting them, but it makes it harder for us,” said Hector Luevano, a native of Mazatlan. “If we close, people will just go somewhere else. But if we stay open, and people ask why they have to wait, maybe when we explain it to them, it will be a better way to get a message across.”
Down the street at Chips y Salsa, a small Mexican eatery, owner Jose Ruiz said he was “90 percent” certain he would close. His two cooks, who live in Tijuana, asked for the day off.
Boycott organizers, who are also planning activities in Mexico, have asked border residents who cross north to shop and work to stay in Mexico on May 1, which is that nation's Labor Day holiday, as well as International Workers' Day.
I'm not going to cross,” said cook Rolañdo Iniguez, 19, a college student in Tijuana. “I want to support my people.”
This leaves just Ruiz and one additional employee, his daughter.
“They asked me, and I said they could do what they liked,” Ruiz said. “I'm Mexican also, so I understand.”
Larger businesses that are not closing are still bracing themselves. Cesar Castillo, who owns the Smart & Simple corporate moving company, says none of his 50-plus employees, some of whom are Latino, has asked for the day off.
“I hope everybody comes in, that is all I can say,” said Castillo, the son of Mexican immigrants, who is staying open for his clients, three of whom have moves scheduled that day. “Who knows? It might happen, it might not. If it does happen, I will be very busy, obviously. Everybody knows about it, so I'm not expecting anyone to be surprised.”
Part of the resistance to taking the day off is coming from labor unions, which have contracts that bar members from engaging in strikes and boycotts unrelated to a collective labor action.
“We think there are other ways to get the point across other than directing it at the economy of the nation and of families,” said Ben Monterroso, executive director of SEUI Local 2028 in San Diego. “Most of the people we are talking about here . . . are living paycheck to paycheck.”
SEIU and other labor unions are encouraging members to participate in other activities but are not endorsing boycotts. Unite Here, the union that represents hotel and restaurant workers, has issued a statement that the union cannot condone participation by members “in any action that violates our contracts.” United Farm Workers has been speaking to members about the decisions they make, a spokesman said.
Huerta, who now runs a community organizing foundation in Bakersfield, has been calling for students to ask their principals for teach-ins to explain immigration reform proposals pending in Congress, rather than walk out.
Despite the objections voiced by some, organizers who are calling for the full boycott say the momentum has reached critical mass already.
“I think that this is a contagion that can't be stopped,” said Armando Navarro, an ethnic studies professor at UC Riverside. “It is growing by leaps and bounds.”
Much of this momentum has built up by word of mouth, boosted by media reports. In San Diego, the Spanish-language station “La Preciosa” 99.3 – where radio personalities will be off air that day – has featured the boycott issue as a topic on a popular evening talk show.
Susy Huitron, a local news and traffic reporter for the station, said the 18-station Clear Channel-owned La Preciosa chain will not close for the day, but that on-air talent was granted the day off after asking management. She said radio personalities have advised listeners to act accordingly.
“If you can take a day off, do so, but ask for the day off,” Huitron said. “Don't get into trouble with employers because they (employees) are the ones who will wind up getting hurt.”
Yet some of those with the most to lose economically are staunchly dedicated to the work boycott. At the Home Depot in Mission Valley this week, day laborers waiting for work in the parking lot said they didn't plan to be there May 1. Those who were undocumented said they hoped the government would grant them work visas so they could legally visit their families.
One 30-year-old man named Oswaldo, who didn't want his last name used because of his legal status, said he hadn't seen his wife and two children since he left Mexico a year ago. A cook at an Italian restaurant, he was in the parking lot seeking additional work. He said he had asked his supervisor at the restaurant for the day off but wasn't given a firm answer.
“He's letting me make my own decision,” Oswaldo said. “I don't know if I will lose my job. But it's not the only job out there. We are cheap labor because we are undocumented.”
Leslie Berestein: (619) 542-4579; leslie.berestein@uniontrib.com |
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