In rich New Jersey county
Mayor declares war on low-paid immigrants
By Gavrielle Gemma
Freehold, N.J.
Monmouth County is one of the wealthiest in
the U.S., with immense mansions, oceanside palaces and lavish
malls. But tens of thousands of low-paid workers of all
nationalities haul the garbage, build the homes, fix phones,
staff stores and restaurants, clean houses, mind the children,
rake the lawns and plant the flowers.
Among them are thousands of day laborers. The majority are
immigrants, mostly from Mexico, driven here by U.S. imperialist
destruction of their home economy. Many have been joined by
their families in recent years.
While capital--money invested in exploitation of labor to
reap profits--can cross any border, human beings without
citizenship are branded as illegal. Many day laborers in this
precarious situation never know if they will be deported.
The county seat is Freehold borough, whose mayor has
declared war on these workers. Mayor Wilson boasted recently of
Freehold's "renaissance" with new homes and stores. The hard
toil of workers, many of them day laborers, was respon sible.
But now Mayor Michael Wilson says that day laborers are ruining
the quality of life in Freehold by gathering for work each
morning at 5 a.m.
At a meeting between Wilson, the town council, police and
so-called Homeland Security, members of the Human Rights
Commission came to offer suggestions on improving the "muster
zone" gathering area for the workers. Instead of hearing their
ideas, the mayor issued an edict that as of Jan. 1, 2004, any
day laborer standing in the muster zone or soliciting work
anywhere in Freehold borough would face a $500 fine or 30 days
in jail.
Immigrant workers and people around the county are meeting
with day-laborer organizers from towns that have successfully
fought these types of measures. Monmouth County Residents for
Immi grant Rights, initiated by the Central N.J. Coalition for
Peace & Justice, helps organize by reaching out to unions,
religious and community groups and individuals in the area, and
by leafleting in working-class areas.
Virginia McGlone, a Latina hospital worker and coalition
organizer, says, "Throughout Monmouth County, workers of all
races, Latino, African American and white, are being constantly
pushed out of their towns through measures that restrict
housing, and by rents and home prices out of reach. The
millionaires who control Monmouth County are more than happy to
have low-paid service workers provide all the luxuries of life
for them, but do not want these workers living in 'their'
towns.
"Towards this end Mayor Wilson is scapegoating immigrant
workers in a blatantly racist way by promoting the idea that
these responsible and hard-working men and their families
threaten the jobs and lives of other workers, when in reality
they add to the quality of our lives and make an enormous
contribution to society. It is the illegal abuse of immigrants
by employers that brings down wages of all workers. Enforcing
labor laws to protect immigrant workers will benefit the entire
work force."
Rita Dentino, an organizer of the Monmouth committee
representing the Combating Racism Taskforce of N.J. NOW, says,
"Life is becoming increasingly difficult in Monmouth County.
What we need are rent control laws, living wage laws, benefits,
security and respect for all. If they can go through with this
dangerous and unconstitutional order directed against one group
of workers, our neighbors and friends, they can find ways to
limit all of us who are not in their elite club. Working people
in our county, of all races and nationalities, are struggling
to make ends meet and we must unite together."
On Dec. 1 organizers are planning to attend a Freehold town
meeting to demand the repeal of this racist, anti-working class
edict. To contact the committee call (732) 409-3748 or email
Ritaden@aol.com.
Reprinted from the Nov. 27, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
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