South Texas IWW

PIDC Hunger Strike Leader Assaulted and Threatened with Deportation

Posted Mon, 06/08/2009 - 9:41pm by x359437

By Greg Rodriguez

June 3, 2009 was a day of anger and sadness for people in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas—a region known for its vast rural landscapes and primarily immigrant community. At around 6:15 a.m., Southwest Workers’ Union (SWU) member Nadezhda Garza received a phone call from a detainee inside the Port Isabel Detention Center (PIDC). The worried voice on the other end of the phone line informed Garza that fellow detainee Rama Carty had been assaulted by four private guards and one federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent at around 5:45 a.m. The ICE agent allegedly involved was identified as Lieutenant Sandoval. When Carty demanded to speak with representatives of Amnesty International, USA, the guards proceeded to drag him away. Policy Director of Refugee and Migrant Rights for Amnesty International, USA, Sarnata Reynolds, and a representative named Daryl Grisgraber, were at PIDC since June 2. They were writing up a report on conditions inside the facility, and met with Carty on the day before the assault.

Update on Port Isabel Hunger Strikers

Posted Tue, 05/05/2009 - 12:24pm by x359437

(Previous report can be found at http://www.iww.org/en/node/4707)

Fellow Workers - On April 30, 2009 I gave news of immigrant prisoners on hunger strike at the South Texas immigrant detention facility known as Port Isabel Detention Center (PIDC). It has been nearly a week since my last report, but matters at PIDC have not yet been resolved. PIDC detainees continue their hunger strike!

Now entering their second week on hunger strike - PIDC detainees continue strong - as strong as one can be without food consumption - and hopeful in light of outside community support.

On May 1st, 2009, communities in the Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, Texas and Philadelphia engaged in public solidarity fasts with the PIDC detainees.

The hunger strike demands remain the same: due process for all detainees, access to legal resources, adequate medical attention, and an end to abuses inside PIDC.

Immigrant Detainees on Hunger Strike in South Texas ICE Facility

Posted Thu, 04/30/2009 - 2:55pm by x359437

By Greg Rodriguez, grodrigueziww@yahoo.com

Rio Grande Valley, South Texas --It is known that nearly one-hundred of the immigrants being detained at the Department of Homeland Security(DHS)/Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s(ICE) Port Isabel Detention Center (PIDC) have been on a hunger strike since April 22, 2009. PIDC is a prison used to detain immigrants arrested by the United States government. It is located in an extremely isolated area of the remote South Texas town called Los Fresnos.

The detainees have resorted to this form of non-violent direct action after months of demanding adequate medical attention and an end to abuses by guards; to no avail.

IWW Members Forming a Chapter in South Texas Hold Organizer Training

Posted Tue, 03/24/2009 - 3:37pm by x344543

By Greg Rodriguez - leftovergreg [at] yahoo.com  

McAllen, Texas -- The weekend of January 31st, and February 1st, 2009 was a historic one for the radical labor movement in general, but also for workers in the Rio Grande Valley (South Texas) looking to create democracy on the job. Industrial Workers of The World (IWW) – an international labor union known for its principles of direct action and working class empowerment – held a training for working residents of the Deep South Texas area. Young labor leaders from Laredo, McAllen, Edinburg, and Mission attended the two day event.

Space for the training was provided by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 5, which organizes local public employees, including Hidalgo County and Hidalgo County Head Start workers.

The training was independently organized by a group of local IWW members whose goal is to establish an officially chartered IWW branch in the months to come.

Attendees were able to be part of a very comprehensive and participatory educational experience. By means of role plays, brainstorms, and discussions, participants learned how to talk to their fellow workers about the union, the principles and structure of IWW, essential labor laws relevant to workplace organizing, and a number of other labor organizing nuts and bolts. Put shortly, the attendees - most of whom could be considered leaders at their work place - became labor organizers by the end of the two day session. Everyone seemed energized and excited.

"The training was really good. It really kept my interest throughout the entire weekend." said local IWW member and training participant, Sammy Zumwalt. "Now I feel positive and confident about organizing because I know the steps I need to take in order to have a successful union effort."

The training content was lead and presented by IWW members Jefferson Pierce (Pennsylvania) and Patrick Brenner (Illinois), whom are significantly involved with the IWW's national and international activity. They are part of the IWW Organizer Training Committee, which was formed in 2003 for the purposes of training workers across the United States to become radical labor organizers, grow IWW ranks, and to increase national solidarity with the broader labor movement.

Brenner had this to say about the trainings: "I think it's important to have these trainings because they give workers the confidence to improve their lives at work and improve the world as well. The McAllen training went very well and I found the burgeoning group very inspiring."