Uncategorized

On Saturday, January 14,2012, from 9 to 1 p.m.,  the Palisades Park Health Department will offer free flu shots, blood pressure screening, and other services to the general public including the day laborers, at the Senior Center at Central and Highland Aves., Palisades Park.  CoFiA staff and volunteers will assist the four Health Department personnel by providing Spanish language services and outreach to the community.

The Community of Friends in Action, Inc., is pleased to report that we have received two grants from the Lutheran Social Ministries organization.  The first grant was donated through Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in Leonia, Pastor Peggy Niederer.  And the second was through Zion Lutheran Church in Ridgefield, Pastor Janet Blair.

In addition, St. John’s Roman Catholic Church in Leonia provided an additional grant for the program.

Our work would not be possible without the generous donations of organizations and individuals.  Many thanks!

Our energetic volunteer lunch crew served typical Guatemalan food to a large and grateful group of workers at the regular Monday lunch program on Dec. 19.  Enchiladas and tacos from the local restaurant La Esquina Chapina, and wonderful rice and beans provided by our own Angelica, were a big hit with workers and volunteers alike.

Members of the CoFiA wage theft committee announced at the annual meeting on December 15 that they won a settlement from a local contractor who owes several workers for back pay.  Committee members and CoFiA staff worked out an agreement with the contractor for regular payments over several months.  The workers had just received their first payment the night of the dinner–and the committee was informed that the checks were good!  (In the past, they had been given bad checks by this contractor–and then had to pay the penalty at the bank when the checks bounced.)

The wage theft committee is looking for more volunteers to help with this difficult but very important work.  Please contact us at info@communityoffriendsinaction.org if you want to learn more.  Or call us at 201-598-2253 (phone is answered in English and Spanish).

On December 15, members and friends of the Community of Friends in Action, Inc., gathered at the Presbyterian Church in Leonia for an annual meeting and potluck dinner.

Representative Lamar Smith, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, is promoting a bill, (H.R. 1932) that would authorize prolonged and indefinite detention of immigrants.  Despite its purported intent to target dangerous convicted criminals, the bill covers large numbers of immigrants with no criminal history, including parents of U.S. citizen children, asylum-seekers and torture survivors who have won their cases in immigration court, as well as lawful permanent residents with decades-old minor convictions.

Smith acknowledges that holding one person in ICE detention costs about $122 per day–yearly, that’s $44,5000 per detainee, for a current total of $2 billion a year.  Smith said, “We ought not be so concerned about the $45,000 a year.” At a time when Congress is making unprecedented spending cuts across the board, it makes no sense to pass a bill that will add considerably to our debt without making the country safer.

The bill has passed the House Judiciary Committee, and could be headed to the House floor for a vote at any time.

We join the ACLU in urging you to oppose H.R. 1932.

The CoFiA Wage Theft committee is working hard to try to resolve several cases where workers have been cheated out of promised wages by local employers.  Current cases involve companies in Bayonne, Leonia, and Hackensack.  Some employers are giving bad checks to the workers, who are then charged a fee by the bank when they try to deposit the check.  Although passing bad checks is clearly a criminal offense, so far the committee has not been able to find a way to press charges against the employers

These cases can be very complicated .  The committee is looking for lawyers experienced in wage  theft issues, as well as bankruptcy and bad check litigation, to assist in this effort.

If you want to help or have suggestions of lawyers who are willing to assist, send us an email at info@communityoffriendsinaction.org.

On Sunday, November 27, 2011, at 4:30 p.m., the Presbyterian Church in Leonia is holding a special Thanksgiving Dinner for members and friends.  Workers who participate in the CoFiA Monday lunch program are especially invited.

CoFiA members and friends are invited to help provide transportation from Palisades Park to the church at 181 Fort Lee Road in Leonia.  For more information, send us an email at info@communityoffriendsinaction.org.

Responding to recent devastating rain storms in Guatemala, CoFiA has joined with a number of local and national Guatemalan groups to raise funds to help the families who have been affected. To contribute to the fund, make checks payable to HAGUA Guatemala Relief Fund, and deposit in any Wells Fargo bank, account number 7269670092.

HAGUA is a 501(c)3 organization and donations are tax-deductible.  The other groups sponsoring the fund are Grupo Quetzal, Stamford, Ct; MIGUA, New York and New Jersey; GUD, Palisades Park, New Jersey; Por Mi Linda Guatemala, Cliffside Park, NJ; Guatemaltecos Unidos en N.J., Fairview, NJ; and CoFiA.

For more information contact Rony Coloma, 201-832-4617 (Spanish or English) or Elias Garcia  201-362-3928 (Spanish)

The recent freak October snow storm left many Bergen County residents needing people to help clean up their properties.  Workers from the CoFiA Workers’ Link program turned out in large numbers to lend willing hands and strong backs. One employer came to the Monday lunch program and asked for help–and by that afternoon the job was done!

She wrote:  “I was so pleased with Mr. S.  He was very quiet but worked slowly and steadily and made a miracle out of the chaos of my property.  He worked all afternoon, and I paid him for the time and a little for dinner. He seemed very pleased.  I drove him home–he lives very close to me.  I took his telephone number and will call him as the leaves continue to fall and I need his service.  I would heartily recommend him.  He is young, clean, quiet, and understands much better than he can respond.  I believe him to be reliable.  He wants to work!  I will call him soon to help me again.  He was terrific!”

To request a worker call CoFiA at 201-598-2253 or fill out the form on this web site.