Posted on 05/03/2006 11:52:50 AM PDT by skyman
Mario Medina works seven days a week, usually from the 6:30 a.m. start of the breakfast run until he shuts down his "Tacos Michoacn" truck around 11 p.m.
Monday marked a rare day of respite for the 30-year-old entrepreneur who joined thousands of people in Napa County -- and hundreds of thousands across the nation -- in a day-long economic boycott in support of immigrant rights.
"To unite ourselves with the rest of the Latino community, we're not doing any business today," Medina said in Spanish, taking a break from hosing down one of his two trucks' aluminum-plated interior in his back yard. "It's a financial sacrifice but we want to show the government we're more than manual labor, we also produce economic goods."
Several Napans said, however, the boycott only alienated them further from the immigrant population.
Steve May, a 38-year-old bartender at Napa Bowl, said Mexican nationals who work here are treated better than Americans who work in Mexico.
"Two of my friends have businesses down there and they're not allowed to hire Americans," said May while lunching at Soscol Cafe.
Tom Dudum, sitting a few stools away, said he is frustrated because there are more pressing issues facing the nation, like runaway gas prices, the war in Iraq, and the ever-elusive Osama bin Laden.
"The only reason this is happening is we're getting close to the election. It's what government does," said Dudum, a 44-year-old who develops Napa property. "They change the focus to distract people from the real issues."
As Javier, the cafe's head cook and owner, served up a club sandwich to Dudum, a customer walked in and cheerfully called to Javier in Spanish: "Why are you working? It's Monday, you're supposed to be off," said Brian Silver, a cafe regular.
Javier, who declined to comment about Monday's boycott, just smiled, shrugged, and kept grilling hamburgers.
Silver, a 63-year-old attorney, said he thinks the boycott will have little political impact because the Latino community as a whole has failed to turn out and vote.
"I welcome anything that sensitizes them to the democratic process," Silver said. "But I don't think this is the best way to win the hearts and minds of the public."
Attendance was down dramatically at local schools.
Marlene Hernandez, 16, a junior at Napa High, said that in her fourth-period class only four people showed. The rest of her classes weren't that different.
"As they saw that no one was there (students) started leaving," Hernandez said. "I went to school because I wanted to see the difference (in attendance)."
Hernandez said she believes some teachers "pretended like nothing was wrong," while one offered extra credit for the four students who showed up to class.
On and off the job
At Gillwoods Cafe in Napa Town Center, owner Ed Gill said his business was open Monday. Gill said he gave his employees the option to take the day off, but that no one took him up on the offer.
Gill posted a sign on the front door that showed support of immigrants and less punitive forms of immigration reform.
"All of our workers wanted to work, so we decided to put up the sign (in support)," Gill said. "We recognize there are issues that need to be dealt with, and without the cooperation of immigrants we would not be open today."
Andrea Ruiz, 26, who busses tables at Gillwoods, said she couldn't afford the day off.
"I have a 6-year-old son, and I have to take care of him," said Ruiz, who is from Costa Rica.
Jonas Reyes, 35, runs the kitchen at Gillwoods. He has worked at the cafe for 14 years. Boycotting, he said, is not the answer to the immigration debate.
"We thought about it, but it's not the solution," Reyes said.
At Embassy Suites on California Boulevard, the majority of housekeepers took the day off. But representatives said that they were not negatively affected by the absence of their workers. At Travelodge on Coombs Street, it was a different story. All the housekeepers worked.
"We have dedicated employees," said manager Gary Dent, who offered employees the option of not working Monday. "Here, we work as a family, we've all been together for so long."
Blanca Hurtado said two out of 20 workers who package and ship wine from a local Napa warehouse worked Monday. She was not one of them.
Hurtado, a 37-year-old mother of two, said she chose to surrender a day's wages even though she won't be affected by changes in immigration laws.
"Everything would have stayed calm until the government proposed to treat immigrants like criminals. That was the beginning of the struggle," Hurtado said. "I am a citizen. But I know many people who don't have their papers who need and deserve to stay here."
She was also one of several people who protested the government's recent immigration proposal by not working Monday, but still utilized government assistance that day. Monday afternoon Hurtado brought her 6-year-old daughter to get some cavities filled at Clinic Ol, a non-profit health clinic partially funded partially with government dollars.
Miguel Flores, a 35-year-old landscaper who boycotted work also brought his young daughter in for a teeth cleaning.
"We pay taxes for all these services," said Flores. "And how many Americans are there who don't work or who are homeless? I know they're in their own country. But I'm paying for their services too."
Susana de La Cruz, who works cleaning Clinic Ol, came to the clinic Monday after her 1-year-old cut his thumb. Along with her husband, who works in the fields, de La Cruz took the day off.
While the 22-year-old woman participated in the day of protest, she said she is deserving of government-provided services.
"We also pay taxes, and we have to take advantage," she said.
Try my response: "A Day Without An American"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1625378/post
Yes.. and for me and my children, the only way we can go in for a teeth cleaning is if I have saved up $200-300 in cash and go in to the dentist and pay for it at the time of service. And to come up with the $200-300, we have to spend less at the grocery for several months and make sure a tank of gas stretches out for 2 weeks. Even though I pay taxes for all the services .. that Miguel and all of his illegal friends and family are getting. This angers me...
You didn't address me and I didn't address you.
I was responding to the person who made the quote you posted in #36. None of those words were directed at you. Had I quoted YOU, and said those same things, I can see you might be offended. But I didn't quote you. I only used your post to post my response to the quoted individual. I could also have gone all the way back to post #1 to do the same thing. Again, I would not have been calling that person a name, either.
Or, had I not quoted that other person, I can see that you might think my response was directed at you.
I was not responding to your comment at all. Sorry if you took it that way.
Your sister-in-law is wrong, you are correct. I received this email from a friend last week.......
The following from a director with SW BELL in Mexico City.
I spent five years working in Mexico.
I worked under a tourist visa for three months and could legally renew it for three more months. After that you were working illegally. I was technically illegal for three weeks waiting on the FM3 approval.
During that six months our Mexican and US Attorneys were working to secure a permanent work visa called a FM3. It was in addition to my US passport that I had to show each time I entered and left the country. Barbara's was the same except hers did not permit her to work.
To apply for the FM3 I needed to submit the following notarized originals (not copies) of my:
1. Birth certificates for Barbara and me.
2. Marriage certificate.
3. High school transcripts and proof of graduation.
4. College transcripts for every college I attended and proof of graduation.
5. Two letters of recommendation from supervisors I had worked for at least one year.
6. A letter from The ST. Louis Chief of Police indicating I had no arrest record in the US and no outstanding warrants and was "a citizen in good
standing."
7. Finally; I had to write a letter about myself that clearly stated why there was no Mexican citizen with my skills and why my skills were important to Mexico. We called it our "I am the greatest person on earth"
letter. It was fun to write.
All of the above were in English that had to be translated into Spanish and be certified as legal translations and our signatures notarized.
It produced a folder about 1.5 inches thick with English on the left side and Spanish on the right.
Once they were completed Barbara and I spent about five hours accompanied by a Mexican attorney touring Mexican government office locations and being photographed and fingerprinted at least three times. At each location (and
we remember at least four locations) we were instructed on Mexican tax, labor, housing, and criminal law and that we were required to obey their laws or face the consequences. We could not protest any of the government's actions or we would be committing a felony. We paid out four thousand dollars in fees and bribes to complete the process. When this was done we could legally bring in our household goods that were held by US customs in Loredo Texas. This meant we rented furniture in Mexico while awaiting our goods. There were extensive fees involved here that the company
paid.
We could not buy a home and were required to rent at very high rates and under contract and compliance with Mexican law. We were required to get a Mexican drivers license. This was an amazing process. The company arranged for the licensing agency to come to our headquarters location with their photography and finger print equipment and the laminating machine. We showed our US license, were photographed and fingerprinted again and issued the license instantly after paying out a six dollar fee. We did not take a written or driving test and never received
instructions on the rules of the road. Our only instruction was never give a policeman your license if stopped and asked. We were instructed to hold it against the inside window away from his grasp. If he got his hands on it you
would have to pay ransom to get it back.
We then had to pay and file Mexican income tax annually using the number of our FM3 as our ID number. The companies Mexican accountants did this for us and we just signed what they prepared. I was about twenty legal
size pages annually.
The FM 3 was good for three years and renewable for two more after paying more fees.
Leaving the country meant turning in the FM# and certifying we were leaving no debts behind and no outstanding legal affairs (warrants, tickets
or liens) before our household goods were released to customs.
It was a real adventure and If any of our senators or congressmen went through it once they would have a different attitude toward Mexico.
The Mexican Government uses its vast military and police forces to keep its citizens intimidated and compliant. They never protest at their White
House or government offices but do protest daily in front of the United States Embassy. The US embassy looks like a strongly reinforced fortress and during most protests the Mexican Military surround the block with their men standing shoulder to shoulder in full riot gear to protect
the Embassy. These protests are never shown on US or Mexican TV. There is a large public park across the street where they do their protesting. Anything can cause a protest such as proposed law changes in California or
Texas.
Please feel free to share this with everyone who thinks we are being hard on illegal immigrants
Could I get my crow well done?
I've a heap of an apology to offer you...I've turned quite an analist, myself.
Hugh apologies to you, RWA....
Az
Az,
Hey, no problem. I've done the same thing myself, and I'm series! Think nothing of it. I'll have to be careful in the future how I begin my replies.
RWA
So, it's all about the Latino community. If most illegals were from Africa we would not here a peep from the Latino community.
Perhaps he was thinking of his own country's treatment of indiginous people:
===
It turns out that racism in Mexico, both against blacks and dark-skinned indigenous Indians, has a long history. Mexico's colonial past has left its mark on modern-day society. Prejudice toward "pureblood" Indians from those who are "mixed-blood" (Spanish and Indian) is rife. Almost uniformly, people who are darker-skinned and of Indian descent make up the peasantry and working classes, while lighter-skinned, Spanish-descent Mexicans are in the ruling elite. Fox himself comes from that background, as his appearance makes evident.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2005/08/03/cstillwell.DTL
====
Little known fact. I also hear that it's so bad, even the classifieds/help wanteds are racist? towards the Indians.
This winch likely gets earned income credit.
This is something I argue with a lot of Americans about. They pay a few dollars in sales tax and think they pay taxes. Most employers pay more tax (social security, Medicare, Workman's comp., unemployment...) on these employees than the employees do.
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