Puerto Rican Grammy award winning group Calle 13 announced they will speak out against Governor Fortuño's massive layoffs of nearly 17K public service workers live at the Latin MTV Awards on October 15th.

The award show is scheduled to take place in Los Angeles, CA on the same day the national workers' strike will be taking place in Puerto Rico. The workers' strike, which is organized by All of Puerto Rico for Puerto Rico, a coalition which includes SEIU Local 1996SPT and UGT 1199 SEIU in its ranks, will be protesting the layoffs of 17,000 public employees made by the administration of Governor Luis Fortuño.

"Participating in this award show is a tool to communicate, live and in full color, what I really feel," says Calle 13's lead singer Rene Pérez, who will be a presenter at the high-profile music awards show next week where he'll be speaking about the Governor's firings. This will not be the first time Calle 13 has stood up on workers' behalf -- the Puerto Rican hip hop and alternative-reggaeton duo took part in a June 5th action in San Juan, where close to a 100,000 demonstrators protested against Governor Fortuño and his administration's layoffs and budget cuts.

The members of Calle 13 are not the only musicians using their star status to look out for workers -- thanks to seven-time Grammy winning singer Gloria Estefan, thousands of laid-off employees will be doing the conga for free at her concert tonight. The Cuban-born singer bought 2,000 tickets to her concert at the Puerto Rico Coliseum as a gift to those affected by the recent layoffs of public employees. The tickets were raffled off among the nearly 17,000 workers who found out last month that they'll be losing their jobs beginning November 6.

The temperature in the Puerto Rican labor climate keeps rising as tensions between the government and workers reach a new height as a result of Governor Fortuño's layoffs of 16,970 public employees last Friday. Puerto Rican workers, both organized and unorganized, continue to protest peacefully to demand a rollback of the layoffs.

Here's a quick snapshot of Thursday's Oct. 1 actions:

1. With SEIU local leaders at the helm, several labor leaders of the Labor Coalition burst into the 21st floor of the Labor Department yesterday morning, blocking the entrance to Secretary Manual Romano's office and demanding a meeting. After a two hour sit-in, the no-show from the Labor Secretary prompted the leaders to pronounce the position of the Secretary of Labor "vacant." Thankfully, no police brutality ensued. Hopefully the unauthorized police anti-riot unit that showed up after-the-fact found some other way to occupy their afternoon.

2. SPT-SEIU members led a demonstration in Yauco against Governor Fortuño Thursday afternoon, where the Governor arrived--and left--by air in a helicopter. What a man of the people, right? Undeterred by the Governor's departure, however, local SEIU members announced they will "follow him wherever he goes."

3. A spur-of-the-moment act of civil disobedience erupted at the Capitol after a group of public citizens were blocked from access blocked from access to the Senate session they'd traveled to the Capitol to view. Hundreds of public employees channeled their frustration peacefully, as they all sat down in front of the closed door and sang the national Puerto Rican anthem as they waited.

The group stayed until it was definite the doors wouldn't open for them, and then the sit-in ended peacefully, with the employees warning they would return. "We are not terrorists, we are not criminals. We are mothers and fathers after a little hope. We are going to make our rights be acknowledged and respected in a respectful way," said Carmen Judith Ruiz, an SEIU Local 1996SPT member who was laid off from the Department of Natural resources after 14 years.

4. The parents of special education students gathered in Caguas Thursday afternoon to protest what they referred to as the "dismantling" of the program that serves 20,000 kids in the region. The parents, who are understandably outraged, warned the government that they will not tolerate layoffs of the teachers that teach their children.

5. Devoted advocates of culture and education rallied in San Germán yesterday, protesting the discharge of all but one employee at the Porta Coeli church and museum (one of the oldest in the island).

6. Target Practice: Workers employed with Dept. of Education and Dept. of Corrections agencies in Hato Rey used their lunch break yesterday to work on their aim, throwing dozens of eggs at cardboard images of the Governor provided to the workers by their unions to help them "relieve some of the stress." We think they might be onto something here. After all, anyone who gets up and goes to work each day knows how important the occasional exercise in stress relief is to stay motivated and productive at your job. Could we be looking at a new favorite past-time for public employees?

According to reports, Governor Fortuño's personal security detail has been significantly beefed up since an incident on Tuesday when a protester threw an egg at him. The governor was holding a press conference in Fajardo to tout his new project for the improvement of the boats that carry passengers to the islands of Vieques and Culebrain. As the governor announced that the boats would be repaired in Fajardo, praising it as initiative to create jobs, one of the workers affected by the Gov.'s mass layoffs hurled an egg at the Governor's head, shouting "Hypocrite, how dare you talk about jobs when you're getting rid of them!"

Watch the egg-throwing incident unfold here:

After narrowly missing being hit by the egg, the Governor abruptly ended the press conference and left the area in a angry huff...but not before uttering this truly remarkable quote:

"I have nothing to say, because you, the press, decided to abandon me," he complained.

Nothing to say, really?! Has the Governor nothing to say to the families of the thousands of workers he's laying off? Or the hundreds of thousands of school children who will suffer when the Puerto Rican Department of Education loses federal funding?

How about all the patients who will have to wait in longer lines, and receive poorer services because of the cuts to the Health Department? Or all the seniors, battered women and neglected patients who will have no choice but to rely on crippled agencies decimated by ridiculous layoffs--especially as some of those jobs are paid with FEDERAL funds. And let's not talk about the abused kids and families struggling to get off welfare who will receive poorer services from an overstretched family department.

Unlike Governor Fortuño, we have plenty to say. And so did the dozens of protesters who arrived in the area, chanting "the people demand justice!" and "Fortuño is a coward!"

Today, news broke that the Governor's office bought all the remaining unsold seats (350) for a gala opening tonight featuring the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra at the new Performing Arts Center in Santurce. Reason: the Governor will be attending the event with his family and some members of Cabinet--and they don't want egg-throwers around.

"It is an audacity that the Government incurs expenses in times like this, where moderation should prevail in the costs to the treasury...and thousands of civil servants are living moments of despair and distress, having lost their jobs, wondering how they will bring bread to their children after November," said UGT president Juan Eliza Colon. At the very least, it doesn't look like the Governor is going to be shaking the public's new-found association of him + eggs anytime soon.

Yesterday in San Juan, peaceful demonstrators outside of the official estate of Puerto Rican Governor Luis Fortuño were violently removed by SWAT team agents and arrested, despite assurances that they would leave peacefully and not resist arrest.

The act of civil disobedience was led by members of the Puerto Rican Workers union, SEIU Local 1996SPT, in reaction to the Governor's announcement on Friday to lay off 16,970 government employees. The disproportionate show of force against demonstrators included hitting people with billyclubs and those affected by the police brutality included workers as well as members of the press.

Labor leaders and other demonstrators protesting the massive 16K+ firing of Puerto Rican state employees are shoved and billyclubbed by SWAT team ordered by Governor Fortuño.

The CHAIN of events: What could have provoked such aggressive behavior from Puerto Rican law enforcement officials, you may be wondering. A large group of peaceful demonstrators standing up for their jobs and working families, that's what!...Read on after the break for a detailed look at Tuesday's protest at La Fortalez in Old San Juan.

Puerto Rican union leaders instituted a 'Camp of Dignity and Shame' today in front of La Fortalez, the official estate of the Governor of Puerto Rico. "This is Camp Dignity and we will not move from here," said Robert Pagán, president of SEIU Local 1996SPT , who is one of four union leaders who chained themselves to the gates of Governor Luis Fortuño's home in an act of civil disobedience to stand up against the announcement from the government dismissing thousands of public sector employees.

The lay-off announcement came this past Friday from the chairman of the Reorganization and Fiscal Stabilization Board, Carlos García, a decision which he himself said will raise Puerto Rico's unemployment rate to 17 percent and further increase the economic crisis. A total of 16,970 public employees will be laid off, with the Education Department hit the hardest with over 7,000 layoffs. SEIU Local 1996SPT represents most (over 6,000 workers) who are part of laid-off Education workers.

With this symbolic gesture, the union members of SPT & UGT are making a (peaceful) but powerful appeal to the public to show their support for the workers by gathering with them in front of La Fortaleza. They are also demanding that Gov. Fortuño engage them in dialogue from where they have determinedly gathered outside his home, which is also in front of the Governors' office. There will be no substitutes for the people who are chained to the Governor's gates--not even to go to the bathroom. "Es el momento de lucha en la calle, de transformar la indignación que todo el pueblo está sintiendo en acción," said Pagán. ["It's time to fight in the street, to transform the indignation that all people are feeling inaction."]

The peaceful act of civil disobedience and upcoming October 15th general strike is supported by virtually all of organized labor in Puerto Rico including SPT and UGT, as well as a broad coalition of religious and civic groups. "Esta es sólo una primera actividad de decenas de desobediencia civil que irán dirigidas al gobernador Fortuño, a los legisladores y al sector económico que apoya al Gobernador en esta política malsana", said SPT president Robert Pagán. ["This is only a first of tens of civil disobedience actions that will target governor Fortuño, legislators and the industry sector that supports the Governor in this unhealthy policy."]

More updates on this demonstration to come shortly--stay tuned.

As the City of Los Angeles faces an unprecedented budget crisis, nearly 500 city engineers have voted to unite in SEIU 721 to have a stronger voice at work and unite with the 22,000 other City employees in the Coalition of LA City Unions, of which SEIU 721 is a member. The LA City Council also voted on Friday by a vote of 14-0 to approve a landmark agreement between the City and the Coalition of LA City Unions that will avert layoffs and furloughs and prevent major service reductions.

Another group of 1,500 City of Los Angeles professional employees will have the choice to vote for SEIU in a run-off election, to be scheduled at a later date. Read more here or visit www.UnitedforLA.org.

Led in part by SEIU Local 1996 in Puerto Rico, close to 100,000 union members, students, and other activists marched in front of the capitol building in San Juan last week to protest Governor Luis Fortuño's plan to lay off more than 30,000 government employees and suspend public sector collective bargaining rights. Puerto Rico is currently in its fourth year of recession and has an unemployment rate of more than 15 percent. Governor Fortuño has since agreed to meet with representatives from the laid-off workers.

If you think agree that workers should not be made to pay the price for a crisis they did not create, send a letter to the Governor of Puerto Rico in strong protest of these anti-union and anti-public sector measures. Layoffs of public sector employees are set to begin on July 1, so please take action now: Click here to send a letter telling Governor Fortuño not to cut public sector services and jobs.

Workers in two counties on opposite sides of Pennsylvania voted late last month to unite for a voice with SEIU Local 668--Pennsylvania's Social Services Union. In Montgomery County, a traditionally conservative Philadelphia suburb that hasn't always been union-friendly, 38 prison guards and detention counselors voted overwhelmingly on May 27th to join Local 668. These employees for the Montgomery County Youth Center have started a union wave that is spreading across the county, and will hopefully soon give needed representation to hundreds of additional workers in the coming months.

Meanwhile, straight across the state in Westmoreland County, 34 first-line supervisors said "Union YES" to Local 668 on May 22nd in this eastern Pittsburgh suburb. These new members are on the front lines of ensuring that Westmoreland residents receive quality public services at the county's 9-1-1 center and Children's Bureau.

On Wednesday, over a hundred members of SEIU Local 1984 in New Hampshire joined state employees at the Concord Statehouse for a Tax Day protest against possible public employee layoffs and cuts in pay and benefits. Union members passed out "currency" representing the $6 billion dollars they generate a year in taxes, fees and purchases which boost the local economy.

The version of the State Budget recently passed by the House would impose a mandatory 2 percent "tax" on 51,000 public workers, pulling $100 million out of the New Hampshire economy even as local retailers are really struggling. See the impact this version of the NH state budget would have on public services.

Members who attended the event received stickers and certificates to use when they shop, to remind businesses that public workers are customers and taxpayers too.

More photos from the rally here.

SEIU Local 1984, the State Employees' Association of NH (SEA), represents over 10,000 public and private sector workers in New Hampshire.