For Immediate Release
Contact:
David Cruz - (818) 689-9991
Mobile
April
17, 2024
DavidCruz@LULAC.org
LULAC Analysis: Nebraska Wants Migrants
for Labor, Not Empowerment
Nation's Oldest
and Largest Latino Civil Rights Organization Blasts Planners of Upcoming
Events
for Selectively
Excluding Community Advocacy Leaders
Washington, DC — The League of
United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) strongly condemned today what it
perceives as exclusionary practices by the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and
Industry regarding an upcoming event titled "Harnessing the Power of Immigrant
Talent." The event, scheduled for June, has raised concerns within LULAC
regarding the representation and empowerment of the Latino community.
"The Nebraska Chamber of
Commerce and Industry is slapping us in the face by again excluding respected
Latino advocates who have worked for decades on behalf of social justice for
our community," says Elsa Ramon Aranda, Nebraska LULAC State Director.
"This is a repeat of September 2023 when the chamber refused to address
the real issues of equity and equality for our workers. Why is it that when
Latino labor in Nebraska is being discussed, as they did then, Latino leaders
were not even in the room? LULAC subsequently demanded a meeting to get
specifics on a living wage standard, overtime payment for more than 40 hours of
labor weekly, and access to health care and disability insurance if our
essential workers get hurt on the job. Mr. Bryan Slone, the President, never
replied to our letter, so a meeting without an agreed discussion agenda was
pointless. Now comes a planned event in June, except the people who should be
at the table have not been invited, so we must be on the menu," says
Aranda.
The Nebraska Chamber of Commerce
and Industry announced it is presenting "an inaugural event...Harnessing
the Power of Immigrant Talent."
"LULAC protests in the
strongest terms, use of the term harnessing, when what Latinos want is the
freedom to uplift themselves," says Domingo Garcia, LULAC National
President. "The 62 million Latinos in the United States are seeking a hand
up, not a handout, which means our community must be included in the
decision-making, not simply processed as faceless, voiceless laborers. Clearly,
the Nebraska Chamber wants to decide who is and who is not invited so that
non-Latinos can continue to decide our futures. This attitude is the historical
agrarian mentality some people still cling to. Shame on those organizations
that help them perpetuate that cycle to preserve their funding and favors.
LULAC leads, we do not follow," adds Garcia.
According to the Nebraska Chamber
of Commerce and Industry, the Nebraska Immigration Workforce Summit is being
staged ‘with Immigrant Legal Center + Refugee Empowerment Center.’
"Nebraska LULAC is working to
form its own coalition of grassroots state organizations at the direction of
the U.S. Department of Justice to present an accurate Latino collective voice
and strategy," says Aranda. "At our table, there is always room for
more stakeholders so long as there is mutual respect and a genuine interest in
our community's well-being. We will not allow Latinos to be ‘harnessed’ like
pack animals, carrying the brute workloads others turn away. Those days are
gone," says Aranda.
# # #
About LULAC
The
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation's largest and
oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic
Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington,
D.C., with over 1,000 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico,
LULAC's programs, services, and advocacy address the most critical issues
affecting the Hispanic community, including education, employment, immigration,
and healthcare. For more information, visit www.lulac.org.
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