Jackson, Mississippi

August 17, 2003

Many fired Peco workers leaving

·  "We have no choice but to go back to our own country," says father of four

By Riva Brown
rvbrown@clarionledger.com

CANTON — Pablo Rosas' wife was pregnant with their fourth child when he left Veracruz, Mexico, two years ago searching for a better way to support his growing family.

On Saturday, Rosas, 28, planned to leave the run-down mobile home he and his brother, Alfredo Tolentino, 30, shared with several other men at Westside Trailer Park.

The brothers were fired from Peco Foods of Mississippi. "I came here to work hard, but now they don't want me anymore," an interpreter said for Rosas, who was sitting on a couch, stuffing spilling from a cushion.

Peco fired 200 workers Aug. 5-8 after receiving letters from the Social Security Administration saying their Social Security numbers did not match data. Some workers were illegal immigrants.

But an attorney with the Austin, Texas-based Equal Justice Center said terminating workers based on the "no-match" letter could constitute unlawful discrimination.

"In a case like this where the workers are employed under a union contract that says a worker can't be terminated without just cause, this letter doesn't provide just cause," said Equal Justice executive director Bill Beardall.

Steve Conley of Peco did not return calls late Friday or respond to a fax or e-mails.

A Social Security Administration "no-match" letter reads: "You should not use this letter to take any adverse action against an employee just because his or her Social Security number appears on the list, such as laying off, suspending, firing or discriminating against that individual. Doing so could, in fact, violate state or federal law and subject you to legal consequences."

The letter says it does not imply the employer or employee intentionally gave the government wrong information or make any statement about an employee's immigration status.

The union, individual workers, or federal anti-discrimination agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Office of Special Counsel could take legal action against Peco, Beardall said, noting it's still too early to know what actions might be taken.

"It could be that the company will re-evaluate its position and rehire these workers," Beardall said. "That, of course, would restore the situation and avoid any unlawful action."

Bill Chandler, president of the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, said he has seen several companies using no-match letters as an excuse to fire workers so they can hire others at lower wages.

"We hope that this was a mistake on their (Peco's) part and it doesn't happen again," Chandler said. "We're trying to do our best to try to avoid the situation again, but if it was deliberate, we're going to be dealing with them. If it's ignorance, we're trying to educate them."

Some workers were told to resolve their problems at the local Social Security office, and that Peco would take them to the office in a bus, said Sister Sherry Barrett, a Hispanic outreach worker with the Catholic Diocese of Jackson.

"What they really planned to do is once the people got on the bus, they planned to take them to immigration so they wouldn't get paid," Barrett said. "These people were smart enough not to do that."

Beardall said the bottom line is the firings did not have to happen and should not have happened. His organization is a nonprofit that works with employment and immigrant rights groups in the South.

"These are hard-working people who were just trying to support their families and who were contributing to the profits of the business, contributing to the prosperity of the community and contributing to the economy of the state," Beardall said. "Hopefully, the harm that's been done can still be undone and certainly the lesson should be not to let this happen anywhere else again."

On Thursday and Friday, few residents of Westside Trailer Park, which has at least 100 mobile homes, mingled outside.

Omy Morris, who works with the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, said about 150 of the 200 fired workers had left the mobile home park, heading back to their home countries or to other states in search of work.

"I can't believe it. I never have come here this late and it's empty. Never," Morris said after 4 p.m. Thursday, sitting in one of the mobile homes as a small fan whirred in the window beside her. "This is always packed."

Ted Dausch, Hispanic outreach coordinator for the Catholic Diocese of Jackson, said he understands some people are concerned that the workers broke the law by being in the United States.

"I definitely believe that we should respect our laws. There are times we have to consider whether people are more important than the law," Dausch said via phone. "These are basically good human beings who are contributing to our society. They don't come here to go on welfare. They don't know the term and don't have it in their country. If they don't work, they don't eat. That's why work is so important to them."

Anita Grabowski, poultry worker justice project coordinator with the Equal Justice Center, said some Mexicans earn the equivalent of 40 pesos, or about $4 a day. However, it costs 1,000 pesos for tuition to send a child to school, she said. That does not include uniforms, food and supplies.

Rosas and Tolentino planned to board "the bus with the dog" Saturday to head back to the village where they grew corn and beans to feed their families. Every 20 days they had sent about $500 home and kept $100 for themselves.

"I'm happy because I will see my family again. I'm sad because I don't have any work to take care of them," Rosas said through an interpreter.

Tolentino said there is work in construction, but because they can't speak English, they can't get hired. At Peco, workers don't have to know the language. They just have to know how to cut up chickens, he explained.

Tolentino said it is too expensive to move to another state.

Westside Trailer Park residents pay $300 a month for two bedrooms and $400 for three bedrooms, excluding electricity and water, Morris said. Six or more people share mobile homes to cut down on costs.

"We have no choice but to go back to our own country," said Tolentino, the father of four under age 12.

But Carlos Roman, 33, and Antonio Morales, 19, also from Veracruz, said they found jobs landscaping a golf course in Madison a day after they were fired.

Roman said he's afraid he'll be deported. "It's a chance I'll take, but I'll come right back."

When asked if he plans to return to the United States, Rosas chuckled and smiled.

Francisco, 43, said through an interpreter that Peco fired him on a Thursday, rehired him on a Monday and fired him again the next day after a Peco employee recognized that he previously worked there.

Francisco agreed to be interviewed if his last name wasn't used because he is an illegal immigrant.

His son, 20-year-old Jaime, also was fired from Peco. The father and son plan to leave Monday for Veracruz. They said other employers are afraid to give them jobs.

"I came here to work hard, not for money for myself but so my family can have a better life than I have," said Francisco, who has four other children under age 12 in Mexico.

Some of the immigrants say they harbor no ill will toward Peco or the United States. "I am grateful to Peco for giving me the work I had," said Francisco, his shoulder-length brown hair streaked with gray. "I am thankful for the little time I was able to stay here. I am very grateful that we were able to work."

[post script:  As a result of coordinated intervention by the union, by the Equal Justice Center, and by community-based groups, the company was subsequently required to reinstate the fired immigrant workers in September, 2003.  Since that time the Equal Justice Center has organized additional labor-community campaigns that have stopped similar terminations of nearly a thousand more workers.]