On the road for immigrants' rights 

When it comes to rights on the job and in the broader society, immigrant workers today are stuck in the back of the bus. To bring attention to immigrants’ struggles, a large national effort—dubbed the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride—took place over two weeks in late September and into October.

Nearly 1,000 immigrant workers boarded buses in 10 cities nationwide, starting Sept. 20 in Los Angeles, and traveled more than 20,000 miles. Passing through more than 100 cities and towns along the way, the ride culminated with stops in Washington, D.C., to lobby Congress for immigration reform and in New York City for a large daylong rally celebrating America’s immigrants. AFT leaders and members in many states, including Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, New Mexico, New York and Ohio, were on hand for rallies, marches, prayer breakfasts and other events to cheer on the riders.

“We strongly support the right of all workers to decent wages, benefits and working conditions,” said AFT president Sandra Feldman.

The riders and their followers worked to rally support for changing immigration policies in order to create clear paths to citizenship for immigrant workers, lower barriers that prevent immigrant workers from reuniting with families back home, ensure immigrants’ civil rights and liberties, and protect the rights of immigrants in the workplace. Figures from the 2000 Census show the economic struggles immigrants face: 43 percent earn under $7.50 an hour.

The riders came to the United States from every corner of the globe, and had compelling stories to tell. Armando Blass Garcia, a Mexican immigrant and farm worker in California, says he joined the ride with his 16-year-old daughter because “we have to stand up and speak up. To people who say this has nothing to do with them, I say, ‘Who does your yard work? Who makes your fast food? Who cleans the bank where you keep your money? Who cleans your hotel room? The food on your table every night—how do you think it got there? Who picks it? Who packs it?’”

This year’s event—spearheaded by the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees union and supported by many other unions and organizations—took its inspiration from the 1961 Freedom Rides during the civil rights movement. Forty years ago, students from across the country rode buses to the Deep South to challenge segregation.

Thomas V. Hobart, president of the New York State United Teachers and an AFT vice president, spoke at a rally as the riders made their way through Albany, N.Y. “This is a battle for basic dignity in and out of the workplace,” he said, emphasizing the right of all children to get a sound education.

Among the AFT activists helping support this year’s ride was Servia Silva of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) in New York City. Silva, a teacher and UFT district representative, is the child of immigrants from the Dominican Republic. “I know the struggles immigrants go through,” says Silva, one of many UFT activists who helped spread the word and attract members, parents and even students to the huge New York City rally. Silva says some of her own students, most of them immigrants, do well in school and graduate from high school but are unable to attend college because their status prevents them from receiving financial aid. UFT president Randi Weingarten, also an AFT vice president, represented the AFT at the rally.

AFT headquarters staff in Washington, D.C., served as volunteers for an array of Freedom Ride events in the nation’s capital and rode a bus to the final-day rally.

--Daniel Gursky