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May 1st, 2008 March and Rally in Santa Rosa

The May 1st Coalition is planning a march and rally in Santa Rosa to commemorate International Workers’ Day, a sequel to the previous two year’s marches for Immigrant Rights. This year’s focus will be Solidarity with All Workers, with emphasis on the ineffectiveness of NAFTA, calling for the stopping of immigration raids, and the campaign for a County of Refuge in Sonoma County.

The May 1st event begins at 12:00 noon in Roseland, at the Old Albertson’s lot, 665 Sebastopol Road. At 1:00 pm, the march will start its way to Juilliard Park on Santa Rosa Ave, near downtown Santa Rosa (about two miles). Speakers will address the theme of the event. There will be teach-ins and activities for all ages to engage in to inspire understanding and cooperation in the community.

Teach-ins/discussions will focus on concerns of workers and the immigrant community. Topics will include, “Free Trade” agreements, like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) made between Canada, US and Mexico, which break down barriers for products, money, and industries, making it so that the functions of the government are put into the hands of private interests. On the one hand, industries in the US are moving to places where they find cheaper labor, creating unemployment here, and at the same time, because products from the North flood the markets in the South (i.e. Latin America), people cannot compete and end up immigrating north.

Awareness about immigration: Families are being torn apart, children being detained in border detention facilities, people living in fear whenever they step out the door. How can we do better as a society and as a community? The government must respect human rights and put an end to the raids.

Calling for a County of Refuge in Sonoma County: The Sonoma County Sheriff is collaborating with the Federal Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), supposedly focusing on gang members but unfortunately deporting young men who have no gang ties, in some cases without having committed crimes. This collaboration does not create a sense of trust with the immigrant community and could create crimes and criminals going unreported. San Francisco, Oakland, Richmond, and Los Angeles have already passed resolutions prohibiting this type of collaboration. With a large population of immigrant workers in the various industries in this area, Sonoma County needs to be a County of Refuge.