Posted on 08/30/2002 1:09:37 AM PDT by 4America
SAN FRANCISCO- Mexican laborers who say they're owed money for working on American farms and railroads more than 50 years ago called for a boycott Thursday of the bank they say transferred their wages.
Laborers called for a boycott of Wells Fargo banks a day after their lawsuit against the bank, the U.S. and Mexican governments and three Mexican banks was dismissed.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer concluded Wednesday that the workers weren't entitled to relief in a U.S. court.
The bank said Thursday it acted responsibly.
"We believe we completely fulfilled our responsibility to transfer the money," Wells Fargo spokesman Larry Haeg said Thursday. "We never held the savings account or checks of any individual braceros."
Alianza Braceroproa, an advocacy group for the workers, protested in front of a bank in downtown Los Angeles Thursday, urging people not to sign up for new accounts with the bank and to close current accounts.
Wells Fargo could owe the workers millions in back wages, said group spokeswoman Martha Jimenez.
"They need to tell the people where their money went," Jimenez said. "We need to get the documentation."
The workers include more than 300,000 Mexicans who came to the United States between 1942 and 1949 to harvest crops and maintain railroad tracks as guest workers. Called "braceros," after the Spanish word for arm, they came to this country under an agreement between the United States and Mexico aimed at filling labor shortages caused by World War II.
Under the agreement, 10 percent of each worker's wage was to be withheld and transferred, via U.S. and Mexican banks, to individual savings funds set up for each bracero. But many braceros said they never received that money when they returned to Mexico.
The workers filed a class-action lawsuit in San Francisco in March 2001 seeking repayment of the money deducted from their paychecks, plus interest. They did not specify the amount owed but advocates estimated it at $500 million.
Seventeen Mexican immigrant groups representing about 500,000 people also called for the Wells Fargo boycott, Jimenezs said.
The group kicked off the boycott by setting fire to Wells Fargo debit cards in front of the Mexican consulate in Los Angeles Wednesday night.
We need more information here. This makes it sound like maybe that money was transferred to someone as a lump sum. It sure would be nice to find out where it went.
No doubt encouraged by the consulates. These Mexican consulates are fifth column organizers.
BTTT for that remark. Just what we need...another victim class.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.