Keep Me in the Loop!

UFW & coalitions that organized rural May 1 protests unveil lobbying drive to enact genuine immigration reform

Salinas, Bakersfield, Oxnard, Coachella, Santa Rosa, San Juan
UFW & coalitions that organized rural
May 1 protests unveil lobbying drive
to enact genuine immigration reform

After hundreds of thousands of farm workers and other rural residents participated in May 1 protests, the United Farm Workers and coalition allies that organized those events will use Wednesday news conferences in California and South Texas to announce plans for a major new national lobbying campaign to win genuine immigration reform.

The UFW and its coalition allies in Salinas, Bakersfield, Oxnard, Coachella and Santa Rosa, Calif., and San Juan, Tx. will lay out plans to join a nationwide drive collecting signed post cards for presentation to Congress during a National Lobby Day on May 17 in Washington, D.C.  They will also discuss intensified voter registration efforts among Latinos. The postcards call for enactment of “realistic and humane comprehensive immigration reform this year,” including an earned path to permanent legal status and opposing the House Republican bill that would make felons out of undocumented immigrants and those who assist them.

News conferences by the UFW and coalitions in which it is participating include:

Salinas Valley, Calif.
When: 12 noon, Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Where: LUPE office, 546 East Market St., Salinas 93905
Contact: UFW Vice President Efren Barajas, 831-970-2603 (mobile)

Bakersfield (Kern County), Calif.
When: 10 a.m., Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Where: Radio Campesina, 6313 Schirra Ct., Bakersfield 93313
Contact: Armando Elenes, 661-725-9730 (UFW Delano office), 805-207-3656 (Wed.)

Oxnard (Ventura County), Calif.
When: 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Where: UFW office, 920 So. “A” St., Oxnard 93030
Contact: UFW Regional Director Lauro Barajas, 805-486-9674 or 805-947-9842

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Santa Rosa, Calif.
When: 12 noon, Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Where: UFW office, 1700-D Corby Ave., Santa Rosa 95407
Contact: UFW Regional Director Casimiro Alvarez, 707-528-3039

Coachella, Calif.
When: 11 a.m., Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Where: UFW office, 51800 Harrison St., Ste. 3, Coachella 92236
Contact: Joe Mota, 760-497-5522

San Juan, Tx.
When: 10 a.m., Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Where: LUPE/UFW headquarters, corner of Cesar Chavez & Business 83, San Juan
Contact: Juanita Valdez Cox, 956-782-6655, or Olga Cardozo, 956-787-2233