NEWS

On October 22, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to set hard caps on rates and fees charged by private phone companies for calls made from people held in jails, prisons, and immigration detention. The cap for state and federal prisons is 11 cents per minute, and for county jails from 14 to 22 cents a minute depending on the size of the facility.

For those of us who are working for immigration reform and fair treatment of immigrants being held in detention facilities, as well as for families of people who are held in jails and prisons, this is wonderful news. There are at least four counties in New Jersey–Bergen, Cape May, Salem, Passaic–where charges for local calls are exorbitant. In Bergen County, for example, it currently costs $7.50 for a 15 minutes in-state call. Under the new ruling the charge would go down to $2.10 because Bergen is a large facility.

A large part of the high fees are ancillary service fees, including commission payments from phone companies to facilities such as Bergen. These payments are anti-competitive profit-sharing arrangements that prey on incarcerated persons and their families.

Immigrants held in detention are not criminals. Criminal immigrants are held in jails for a specified length of time. People in detention centers are not serving sentences but are waiting for something–a hearing, determination of a deportation date, a visit from a lawyer. Having access to telephones is absolutely crucial for them. One woman who was held at the ICE facility in Hudson County Jail for five months said she could not call her children more than once a week because of the high cost.

For more information go to www.njphonejustice.org.

CoFiA is an organization mostly dependent on volunteers to carry out our many programs. One of these is the free hot lunch program served at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church between November and April every year. During these cold months there is often little work, and the trabajadores may spend many hours a day on the street hoping for a job. The hot lunch provides a welcome break, food, and fellowship. The volunteers are there every week, providing a delicious meal for an ever-changing number of guests.

To recognize this important service CoFiA is inviting all volunteers to a special lunch at President Carolyn’s house on Monday, November 2, at 12 noon. For more information and to RSVP call Carolyn, or send an email to info@communityoffriendsinaction.org. (Volunteers from other CoFiA programs are welcome too!) The lunch program resumes on Monday, November 9, 2015.

The Community of Friends in Action once again participated in the annual Palisades Park Health Fair. A beautiful apron made by the women’s cooperative in Cajola, Guatemala, which was donated by Maya Mam Weavers, was included in the popular raffle. Also much in demand were bracelets made by Angelica, and pulseras (woven bracelets) from Maya Mam.

CoFiA also participated in the Leonia Octoberfest, held on a rainy Saturday at the American Legion post in Leonia. President Carolyn Sobering represented us at both events.

CoFiA’s beginner and intermediate English classes for speakers of Spanish began a new semester in September. The advanced class will resume on October20. Instructors are CoFiA members Betty deMarco, beginners; Norm Smith and Margaret White, intermediate; and Betty Sokol, advanced.

Classes meet at the Palisades Park Public Library at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesdays. Although the instruction is primarily focussed on Spanish speakers, there have been students from many other language groups who participate. All are welcome!

For more information call CoFiA at 201-598-2253.

Our friends at Grupo Cajola have sent exciting news in their September newsletter. You can find it at www.grupocajola.org. Here is one selection:

Guatemala—An Amazing “Coyuntura”

I do not know what other word to use…coyuntura literally means “juncture” but is a
great word to capture the idea of current events or analysis. What is transpiring in
Guatemala is historical. The investigation by CICIG (the UN-headed agency created by
way of the 1996 Peace Accords) that began with arrests of high level government
officials for fraud and thievery at the ports and in the social security administration
eventually resulted in the resignation and arrest of ex-President Otto Perez Molina. The
huge citizen uprising by the educated and middle class turned politics on its end. The
elections earlier this month apparently dispensed with the long standing tradition that
one election’s runner up would become the president the following election as the
former heir apparent Manuel Baldizon tied for third place with another candidate,
Sandra Torres. But the lead voter getter is a comedian-businessman (sound familiar?)
backed by the military. The voter turnout was strong. There have been several excellent
articles about the coyuntura, in both Spanish and English. For those of you who want to
delve into this most interesting time: “From President to Prison: Otto Pérez Molina and
a Day for Hope in Guatemala” by Francisco Goldman in the New Yorker, September 4,
2015, is a good place to start.

Local employers continue to take advantage of workers by not paying them for work done. This summer was no exception. One situation involved a worker who had filed a claim with the Department of Labor more than a year ago. He received a hearing date on short notice, but he was starting a new job and could not take off to go to Trenton to the hearing. The worker and the Wage Theft committee agreed it would be best to drop the claim and attempt to get the money directly from the contractor. He agreed to pay but did not. Eventually the contractor’s wife agreed to the payment plan and sent four checks, post-dated. Two have cleared as of October 1, so after more than a year the worker has received a small percentage of what is owed. Just another example of how workers are so often cheated.

Another situation involves six workers who are owed up to $1525 each by one contractor. He admits he owes them but said he doesn’t care if they take him to court because the business is in his baby daughter’s name. The committee needs more information on this very complicated situation but is hard at work tracking it down.

The committee welcomes more volunteers, especially Spanish speaking. Some experience in/knowledge of labor law is helpful. Even people who do not have documents are protected under labor laws, and the Department of Labor is not permitted to share information with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

» Read Dr. Sung’s article

CoFiA member Dr. Hung-en Sung, of the Department of Criminal Justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, with S. Delgado, D. Peña, and A. Paladino conducted research on relations between police and the undocumented Hispanic population in Palisades Park between May, 2010 and October 2011.

The research findings are now available in the British Journal of Criminology at the site listed above.

Dr. Sung’s work provides both a technical and a very personal examination of the lives of the population that CoFiA has been working with for many years. He describes the findings as follows:
We examined the political economy of Palisades Park, New Jersey, and interviewed 160 UMWs (undocumented migrant workers) from the same town. Findings indicate that UMWs suffered from a high level of crime victimization but were extremely unlikely to report their victimizations. Yet they were eager to contact the police to seek information and assistance in non-legal contexts. Police closely monitored UMWs through frequent encounters without provoking widespread resentment. Contradictions in both national immigration control and local politics are offered to interpret police-migrant relations.

The article provides extremely valuable insights for members of CoFiA who often wonder what the lives of the workers are really like. It is worth reading and re-reading to gain a comprehensive understanding of this difficult and important subject. Circumstances may have shifted somewhat over the years since the research was done; CoFiA has become a familiar presence in Palisades Park, and our staff person Angelica is well-known by members of the police department and the health department, who tend to call on her when they see problems.

Thanks to challenge donations made by members of the CoFiA Board and numerous gifts from individual members and organizations, CoFiA raised enough money over the summer to allow us to seek out a part-time community organizer to join our staff. The Fund Raising committee provided inspiration and hard work to achieve this goal. Many thanks to all!

We are currently concluding our search for an organizer. The position entails organizing and facilitating programs for worker guests during the Monday lunch season, as well working with other organizations such as the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, to push for legislation in the State of New Jersey that would make life a little better for workers, in the absence of any reform of federal immigration policy. The first item on this agenda is to persuade the State to issue drivers’ licenses to undocumented or other people; this is already being done in several other states and would make an enormous difference in people’s lives.

For information on the legislation see Senate Bill S-2925 or the identical Assembly Bill A4425.

On Saturday, September 26, 2015, CoFiA has been invited to have a table at the Palisades Park Health Fair to tell the community about our work. Staff member Angelica Martinez has made almost 100 bracelets to be given to children in attendance. They are beautiful!

Maya Mam Weavers, a women’s collective of Cajola, Guatemala, has donated a beautiful woven apron to be included in the raffle. Many thanks to our friend Caryn Maxim for passing along this generous gift.

The Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lindbergh School on Glen Ave. in Palisades Park. CoFiA members are invited to stop by and help us at the table at any time that day.

CoFiA is honored to announce that we have received an additional grant from the Community Chest of Leonia. Part of a generous legacy bequest from an anonymous Leonia supporter, this donation is a special Impact Grant designed to kick-start projects.

The grant is designated for rent assistance for a permanent office. For many years CoFiA members and staff have held meetings in a variety of locations–churches, coffee shops, members’ homes. With this rent assistance grant we will be able to have a fixed site where staff members and committees can get together with people seeking assistance
We are currently looking for an appropriate spot.

Checks will be presented on October 3 after a 6 p.m. Walk with the Chest to Octoberfest in Leonia.

Many thanks to our friends at the Community Chest of Leonia!