Companeros,

- Arrested and Charged

Over 100 Day laborers congregate in a Home Depot parking lot In Cicero to find work with contractors who shop at the store. On Wednesday, June 8th Cicero police arrested 16 people in the parking lot located on 26th Street and Cicero. All were charged with trespassing and taken into custody. That afternoon, we negotiated their release without fines and a court date is set in Maywood for July 5th at 9:00am.

- “Contributors not Criminals”

The police are enforcing a formal complaint filed by the company that owns the parking lot of the entire shopping mall. The following day, police returned and forced workers to disperse from the area. As we walked away, workers discussed the situation. “This is where we find work, this is how we feed our families. Where are we supposed to go?”

To answer that question, day laborers decided to organize themselves and are currently creating a long-term strategy.

“We contribute thousands of dollars to this city with our labor we should be treated with respect, not like criminals.”

- Solidarity and Support

Day Laborers are currently organizing internally and setting their plan of action. We write only to notify you of the emergency situation developing in Cicero and ask you to be ready to support us when the need arises. We’ll send out more information as the situation develops.

Mark your calendar for July 5th at 9:00am

1500 Maybrook Ave
Maywood Courthouse
Maywood, IL 60153

15 day laborers and 1 contractor who was arrested with them on June 8th will have their day in court. Thank you to the National Lawyers Guild for taking on the case. We hope the charges will be dropped before the court date.

-- Thank you for your support.

In Solidarity,

Jessica Aranda

Jessica Aranda
Executive Director,
Latino Union of Chicago
1619 W. 19th Street
Chicago, IL 60608
312-491-9044 office
312-491-9046 fax

-- The Latino Union collaborates with low-income, immigrant workers to provide the tools to collectively improve economic and social conditions. We work with Chicagoland's corner day laborers, striving to provide alternatives to the labor, civil, and immigrants rights abuses these workers face on a daily basis.