Organizers across the nation are calling for a May 1 boycott to underline the significant role immigrants play in the state.

01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, April 30, 2006

BY KAREN LEE ZINER
Journal Staff Writer

If tomorrow's boycott goes as planned, hundreds of businesses will close, trash will sit at the curb, floors won't get mopped, food won't get served, manufacturing plants will slow or idle, and thousands will march in Rhode Island as part of a nationwide demonstration for immigration reform.

"We are going to be peaceful. We are going to be orderly," says Julio Cesar Aragon, head of the Mexican-American Association of Rhode Island, and one of the boycott organizers. "We are not going to give anyone a bad impression."

Many elected officials, community leaders and clergy support the strike and demonstration -- known locally as "A Day without Immigrants" -- to underline the significant role immigrants play in the state's economy, and in society.

The strike also calls for a boycott on shopping, schools, alcohol, and use of computers, the Internet, and telephones. (Providence Schools Supt. Donnie Evans sent a phone message to students' parents noting that the city's schools will be open tomorrow, and "students are expected to attend class.")

Although the event's magnitude is hard to gauge, Providence Police Maj. Paul Fitzgerald predicted it might draw as many as 10,000 participants -- far more than the 5,000-plus people who joined an April 10 immigrants' rights march in the city (one of dozens of such nationwide demonstrations).

Three events are scheduled, all in Providence: a 9 a.m. rally at Kennedy Plaza; a 1:30 p.m. "Service in Honor of Immigrant Justice" in Cathedral Square; and a march from Central High School to the State House that is scheduled to assemble at the school at 3:30 p.m.

The 9 a.m. rally will honor boycott participants and draw attention to two current efforts: contract negotiations for hotel workers at The Westin Providence, and wage negotiations for contracted janitors in downtown Providence.

Marchers will gather at Central High School at 3:30 p.m. and leave at 4:30, walking down Broad Street to Weybossett Street, stopping in front of City Hall, and ending with a rally at the mall side of the State House at 5:20 p.m.

"We're going to have a lot of police out there, closing off traffic, closing off streets," Fitzgerald said.

Juan Garcia, the key organizer and head of the Committee of Immigrants in Action (Comite de Inmigrantes en Accion) at St. Teresa Church, in Olneyville, said the march culminates a 10-year effort through that parish and beyond, to give voice to immigrants' struggles.

"Right now, the people -- we create a movement" that centers on national immigration reform, Garcia said.

That nationwide movement calls for adjusting current immigration rules to avoid future backlogs; providing legalization, rather than criminalization, and a path to citizenship, for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States; and including "comprehensive labor rights for all immigrant workers."

Garcia stressed, "this action is pacifist."

"All media have their eyes on this march," he said. "If something negative happens, it will cause damage to this movement." Participants have been instructed to be peaceful, and "if somebody calls a [racist] name, don't listen, just keep going."

Garcia called untrue the published reports and statements on local talk-radio shows, that some store owners have been pressured into closing, or threatened with retribution if they do not join the boycott.

"Nobody from this coalition called any businesses. The people we had do this -- they talked directly to the owner," Garcia said. He suggested that by citing such threats, "maybe some people are trying to create trouble."

The Rhode Island "Day of Action for Immigrant Justice" is being coordinated by the United Immigrants Coalition of Rhode Island (Imnigrantes Unidos). Besides the Immigrants in Action Committee of St. Teresa Church, the coalition includes the Guatemalan-American Alliance; the Mexican-American Association of Rhode Island; English in Action; Jobs with Justice; American Federation of State; County and Municipal Employees; Council 94; and Service Employees' International Union, Local 615; the Rhode Island Latino Political Action Committee; Ocean State Action; ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), and Direct Action for Rights and Equality, among others.

Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, said he will offer "prayers and a blessing" at a 1:30 p.m. service in honor of immigrant justice, at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul.

"I try not to get involved in the political aspects," Bishop Tobin said Friday. But, although neither he nor the Roman Catholic Church condones undocumented immigration, Bishop Tobin stressed the need to recognize the human rights of all people, no matter their legal status in this society.

"My participation is meant to be spiritual and pastoral, he said. "I hope I, and the Church in general, can be a moderating voice in this whole debate, and that all members of the community can work together to resolve this issue."

The Rev. Raymond Tetreault, pastor of St. Teresa Church, in Olneyville, said he has watched the momentum grow since the April 10 demonstration. A lifelong Providence resident, Father Tetreault said it was the largest march he has seen in the city.

"What this is building up to on May first is quite an extraordinary moment in our history," said Father Tetreault.

"It's like from the bottom of the heap of the working people, raising their voices and making something move," Father Tetreault said, "where the average citizen has become kind of complacent and accepting things as they are. It's going to be interesting to see where this kind of people's movement leads to."

A random sampling last week of Hispanic-owned stores and private companies whose work forces are predominantly Hispanic indicated that the economic impact may be widespread. Organizers said they believe at least 500 to 600 immigrant- and non-immigrant owned businesses have pledged to close for the day.

That includes a wide swath of Broad Street in Providence, a Latino economic power base, as well as many stores and restaurants along Atwells, Academy, Manton and Douglas avenues. Likewise, stores and restaurants will close in Central Falls, Cranston, Pawtucket and elsewhere.

The impact will probably be felt at landscaping companies and nurseries, hospitals, hotels, trucking companies, construction sites, and jewelry, textile and other manufacturing plants.

One such company is United Workshops, in East Providence. Owner Ted Nataly will be letting his workers leave early to join the march.

"We have made a very nice agreement. They are all coming in," said Nataly, and although their shift ends 4:15 p.m., "my respect for them will be that they can leave at 3 o'clock."

Roxanna Parra, assistant to the president at Motivated Temp Inc., in Cranston, said that company will be closed tomorrow. Normally, it places 450 people a day at 10 or 20 companies, Parra said.

Cesar Alvarez, a driver for Waste Management of Rhode Island, a private company that does municipal trash-hauling, said he and many fellow workers -- perhaps as many as 50 workers and drivers -- plan to join tomorrow's boycott.

"Nobody's going to work in Providence and Cranston," Alvarez said.

But Jerry Dugan, district manager for Waste Management, said: "We want people to understand that we are going to operate on a regular schedule, with some anticipated delays. But we are open for business."

"As a company, we respect the beliefs of our employees," Dugan said. "We'll make adjustments as necessary. We're asking all the residents to put out their trash on the regular day. We may experience some delays, but we will collect by the end of the week. We are sure we can accomplish that."

Of the company's more than 150 employees, possibly up to 40 percent are Hispanic or of another minority group, Dugan said.

Tom Boyd, president of Blow Molded Specialities, in Pawtucket, a maker of hollow plastic parts for medical-device components, said he rearranged the four-day work week to accommodate his employees.

Boyd said the schedule has been changed from Monday through Thursday, to Tuesday through Friday.

"It was easy," he said. "I knew about it, through some of the workers, and I said, 'Let's just swing the day.' " Nearly all his 30 employees are Hispanic.

Providence City Councilman Miguel Luna, one of a number of elected officials who are expected to join the May Day activities, said, "I think there have been a lot of misconceptions regarding the immigrants in this country, in terms of taking jobs and not paying taxes and coming here and just being on welfare."

Luna added, "Immigrants get trashed all the time. They just don't get valued. What we're trying to show with this boycott is that we do play a role in society and in the economy, at the local, state and federal level."

kziner@projo.com / (401) 277-7375