Remember what it was like when you had a dream? For many immigrant students their dreams of pursuing higher education can't be realized because of their immigration status -- even though they may have lived here most of their lives. Unlike their U.S. born classmates, they can't work legally or qualify for a driver's license or federal financial aid for college, and they are forced to live in constant fear of deportation to a land they barely remember.
On Tuesday, over 500 immigrant students from all over the country are coming to Washington, DC in pursuit of making their dreams come true.
While they are here, they'll be lobbying their Senators and Congressmen to pass the Dream Act, which would allow immigrant students who've grown up here to hope for a better future and a chance at higher education. And to dramatize the contribution they could make -- if only given the chance -- they will hold a graduation ceremony outside of the U.S. Capitol .
Help make their dreams come true by signing their diploma in support of the Dream Act and at the graduation - with your help - I'll unfurl the diploma at the ceremony for the graduates to see our support.
http://action.seiu.org/page/s/dreamactseiu
A disproportionate number of these DREAMers are valedictorians, honor students, class presidents or student leaders, and they include SEIU members and the children of our members.
Their DREAM - passage of the Dream Act -- is a part of the battle for comprehensive reform that our union strongly supports. It will be included in any comprehensive immigration reform that makes it through congress. It also could be enacted on its own, and if that happens, it would be a hopeful signal that comprehensive immigration reform is on its way.
Help make their dreams come true by signing their diploma in support of the Dream Act.
Sign the diploma now!
http://action.seiu.org/page/s/dreamactseiu
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Back in late 2005, I was approached by a representative of SEIU Local 11 (now 32BJ) out of Miami, Florida. I was working at Nova Southeastern University as a Lead Painter. At the time I was approached I was making a good salary, had an excellent health care plan through my wife's job, and was financially sound. About 1 year prior to being approached, my wife and I were fortunate enough to buy our second home and keep the first as an investment property. The reason I am telling you this is to set up my story.
The janitors and landscapers wanted to organize at Nova, and after hearing, not only their stories, but hearing from SEIU I decided to get involved in the campaign. The campaign lasted until February 19, 2007 when myself and 107 of my co-workers lost their jobs. During this campaign, and I am only speaking about my experience, I went through alot and fought with everything I had to win this battle. I was on TV, spoke on radio shows, was in the newspapers trying to get support for our battle, which in Florida is very difficult. I put everything I hold dear to me, including my 20 year marriage, on the line for this.
After I lost my job, I went to work for Local 11 for approximately 1 year. I was involved in the fight for the workers on Fisher Island. I was arrested on June 15, 2007 during a protest. So to put it in a nutshell, I put my all into it again.
Where am I know? Well after being arrested, and being layed off because of cutbacks at Local 11, while SEIU was spending tens of millions of dollars fighting to elect Barack Obama and other things as fighting with UHW, I have lost almost everything I have worked my whole life for. I have been unemployed for over 10 months, not due to my lack of effort to find employment. I have been on numerous interviews, but I feel, because of my well known union involvement and my arrest record, it has made this hard time even worse. I have had to file for bankruptcy, lost not only my investment property but my vehicle. My situation has hurt my marriage and put a major strain on it, and it is now being held together by a shoestring.
Since I got layed off by SEIU, I rarely, if ever hear from anyone from your organization. I guess we have all been forgotten about by SEIU, after all, what to you have to gain, right. My life is in the worst shape that it has been in my 51 years of life and it amazes me that SEIU can just walk away from this, after seeing 108 people's lives destroyed, and not even care. My story is much more involved, but I am trying to make this as short as possible.
I had a dream, that when we were approached by SEIU that my co-workers would finally get the respect that they deserved, the pay that they deserved, and the healthcare that they deserved. I had a dream to live the rest of my working life working at Nova Southeastern University. I had a dream of having a strong and powerful Local. So much for dreams.
You are advocating immigrants, how about helping us, the people that believed in SEIU. SEIU has forgotten about us, why. The humanity that your organization has shown to the people I put everything on the line for is disgusting, to say the least. I do not know how people that where involved with this fight can sleep at night knowing that they had a part in destroying 108 peoples lives, for turning your backs on us.
SEIU has received alot of BAD press lately, the UNITE HERE conflict, the UHW conflict, the Puerto Rican teacher fight, and now with NUHW.
I believe that SEIU is losing the basic core values that my grandfather had when he was a union office with the carpenters and joiners union in Boston, Massachusetts. Andy Stern and the International officers are losing their way. The most important thing in a union is the workers, not spending millions of dollars on wars that, in the end, hurt the union and labor movement, not help it. I learned alot from this battle, and if I had to do it all again, knowing what I know now about SEIU and how they treat people, I would have not gone this route that I went. When people put everything they have and hold dear to them on the line to become part of an organization, I expect that organization to do EVERYTHING they can to see that these people are made whole again, one way or another.
In closing I would just like to inform you that I had nothing to gain if the workers at Nova organized and became part of SEIU, in fact it would have cost me money in dues payment. My salary was siificient, I have an excellent heathcare plan, so I had nothing to gain except knowing I was able to help my less fortunate co-workers.
To bad SEIU isn't as committed as I was to these people, it truly shows what kind of organization you really are.
Sincerely,
Steven McGonigle
former employee of UNICCO @ Nova Southeatern Universiy
former employee of SEIU