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All workers have the right to be paid for their work. On Wednesday, September 14, 3 workers and 2 CoFiA volunteers traveled to Trenton to try to make sure the workers were paid.
The 3 workers were owed thousands of dollars from a restaurant owner in Palisades Park, so CoFiA had filed a DOL wage claim for them. Having exhausted all other avenues DOL scheduled a hearing, the men appeared, and won their total claims. The owner did not appear so the court was justified in awarding to the wage-theft plaintiffs.
The CoFiA committee and workers had worked hard to arrange a settlement with the employer, including recruiting a Korean speaker to help. He wept and apologized–and then disappeared. Committee members tracked down his address and supplied it to DOL, which used it to summon the employer to Trenton.
Now DOL will give him 45 days to settle or face further action. But first they have to find him! The workers know it’s a long shot–but they now believe that New Jersey’s commitment to workers getting paid is real.
Stay tuned–the job’s not done until the money’s in hand!
In another very recent case, a worker provided a mobile number but no employer last name. The committee’s sleuthing discovered the employer, “Roger”, in New Brunswick. When the case was filed with DOL, and they sent a summons, he settled directly with the worker. Only a day’s work–$120–but any settlement is always satisfying.
Thanks to our wage theft committee and the brave and determined workers who refuse to accept being swindled!

It’s almost here! Fiesta Justicia/Party for Justice is Friday, September 23, 2016, at the American Legion Hall, Broad Avenue, Leonia. Bands, comidas tipicas and more good food, great things to buy and free stuff as well. And most of all–a fun way to support the work of the Community of Friends in Action. It’s too late to get listed in the program book, but we are always grateful for your support. Just go to the donate button on this web site and give us a one-click contribution!

Last call for donations! We are putting the program book together and would love to list your gift. Just go to donate on this web site and you can contribute by paypal. Or send us an email (info@communityoffriendsinaction.org) and let us know how much you plan to give, and we’ll list you in good faith! And with our thanks.

And a little more thanks–to Peter Kelley, graphic artist extraordinaire for providing the art work for the flyers, the program book, etc. Always patient, always creative, always there!

And of course lots and lots of thanks to the bands. Here we feature Marimba Maria Bonita. We look forward to seeing Walter Avila and all the others!

With only one week and a day to go before our special fund-raiser, Fiesta Justicia/Party for Justice we are sad to receive terrible news from the southwest deserts. The following is from our friends at “No More Deaths/No Mas Muertes”, an organization that tries to find migrants who are trying to get to the U.S. through southern Arizona. They take water and leave it where they hope the travelers will find it. Here is a report on this summer’s experiences:

“As we close out one of the hottest summers on record, our hearts are heavy. In June, the bodies of 25 people were recovered from the deserts of southern Arizona. In July, the bodies of 24 people were found.

Of all the migrants and refugees whose remains were found and identified in the last year, the youngest is a 15-year-old boy. The oldest is a 58-year-old man. The unidentified outnumber the identified by a factor of four, and we don’t know how many are never found. We honor all their souls and keep their families in our hearts.

Their deaths move us to action; we don’t only mourn. Border militarization, deportations, raids, free-trade policies, and US intervention in Latin America have created a crisis where undocumented people die every day crossing from Mexico into the US. We undertake daily, direct acts of intervention to end the death and suffering on the border.

With all the hateful anti-immigrant rhetoric that is pervading the election campaigns this year, it is even more important that we remember why people are so determined to come here, in the face of terrible odds.

We will celebrate a Justice Party, but indeed with heavy hearts.

The Still Standing Band is one of three groups performing at the Community of Friends Fiesta Justicia/Party for Justice on Friday, September 23, 2016, at the American Legion Hall, joining Marimba Maria Bonita and Talento Juvenil.

The Still Standing Band has been a fixture at community events in Leonia for the past five years, but the group’s origins reach back to the 1990s, when Peggy Ehrhart and Howie Bowe, both guitar players, met at a summer guitar workshop. Shortly after meeting, they recruited a bass player and a drummer and formed The Last Stand Band. Peggy was teaching at Fairleigh Dickinson then, and that band performed frequently on campus, including a series of concerts highlighting the origins of the blues in African-American culture.
Band members came and went, and in 2006 the group added Peggy’s brother-in-law, Steve Wortman, on keyboards, harmonica, and vocals, and The Still Standing Band was born. Soon after that, Peggy’s Leonia neighbor, Bob Daria, joined as drummer.
The band’s repertoire includes blues, fifties rock and roll, classic rock, and country, drawing on each band member’s particular interests. The band is devoted to keeping these musical styles alive, playing well-loved songs for audiences who remember them from decades past, and awakening younger audiences to the joys of good rocking.
Peggy’s husband, Norm Smith, is a very active CoFiA volunteer. Lending the band’s efforts to CoFiA’s fundraising efforts seems a natural fit for Still Standing.

To everyone’s surprise, Governor Christie signed into law NJ S1880, which caps interstate and intrastate telephone rates from jails and prisons at fair and reasonable rates–11 cents per minute intrastate, and 25 cents a minute for international calls. The legislation also bans commissions, or kickbacks, on calls–money which jails and prisons accepted from phone companies which are currently at 50% to 70% in some New Jersey jails. Currently jails that house immigrant detainees (Bergen, Essex and Hudson jails) charge about $18 to $45 for a 15 minute international call.

The bill is primarily designed to ease the burden of predatory phone rates on incarcerated people in general, but it applies also to immigrants who are being held in detention waiting deportation or hearings. These waiting periods can last from weeks to months or even years, often with no way for the person to know when or if the case will be resolved.

Allowing families of incarcerated individuals, including immigrants, is not only humane, it benefits the community at large. Maintaining family and community ties reduces recidivism and facilitates reintegration into society upon release.

The bill was promoted by the New Jersey Advocates for Immigrant Detainees, a project of the American Friends Service Committee, under the NJ Phone Justice campaign. Good work!

The corner of Broad Ave. and Homestead Street is a magnet for litter. Although we pay someone to pick up litter tossed on the lawn of Grace Church, there is still a lot of mess on the sidewalk. We asked the borough of Palisades Park for a garbage can–and they put one there. However, even though it was used a lot, it has been removed! We’re wondering why.

Our CoFiA Saturday group of voluntarios continue to offer oppportunities for community people to register to vote at Grace Church. In addition we are supporting the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice (NJAIJ) in their efforts to get signatures on petitions asking for drivers licenses for people without documents. These are available in several other states, and would make a lot of difference for people here in New Jersey. Many people sign these during the Saturday sessions.

Emily, a high school student from Korea, has been helping this summer. She is tri-lingual, speaking fluent English, Korean, and Spanish. Many of the people we register are either Korean or Hispanic, so she has been very helpful. On August 27 she also volunteered to teach some Korean phrases to workers during the meeting after the registration period–very important since many people work for Korean employers.

The upcoming schedule is Saturday, September 10, from 6 – 8, at Grace Church, and Saturday, October  8, at Grace Church and also at ShopRite Supermarket. We have received permission from Inserra Supermarket, owner of ShopRite, to have a table there. Only two people may staff the table, though–so we will also register at Grace Church.

All are welcome to join this campaign. It’s fun! And we meet a lot of friendly neighbors.

Please join us for our Fiesta Justicia/Party for Justice, Aqui y Alla, Here and There.

We will honor Independence Day in Guatemala and other Central American countries, and look forward to an important election day in the U.S. There are bitter struggles for justice throughout the world, including in Guatemala and the U.S. Please help CoFiA continue our work for justice “here and there”–and enjoy some vibrant multicultural music and dancing at the same time! As well as good food, raffles, and opportunities to buy good stuff!

P.S. This is a family celebration–no alcohol–so bring the kids. There will be good stuff for them as well.

CoFiA began an ongoing voter registration drive on Saturday, August 13, 2016, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on the lawn at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Broad and Homestead Street, Palisades Park. It was staffed by our group of new members, led by Community Organizer Sayda Tuanama. The group received training from members of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice (NJAIJ) of which CoFiA is a member. Several also participated with other members of the Alliance in a drive in a park in North Bergen. So they are ready to go!  The next opportunity is Saturday, August 27, from 6 – 8 p.m. at Grace Church and will continue through September.

We have also received permission from Inserra Supermarkets to have a voter registration session on Saturday, October 8, 2016, at the ShopRite Supermarket in Palisades Park.  ShopRite is owned by Inserra.  Join us!

Voter registration efforts are being led by various immigrants rights groups this summer, as we approach the fall elections. We need to be sure that positive immigration policy reform is part of the conversation.

All CoFiA members and friends are encouraged to join the effort. No experience necessary!