The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 - 3
Local programs aid area migrant workers
New center offers English
classes and support while trips
to the Mexican border expose
students to immigration realities
By Leah Graboski
Daily News Editor
With an influx of local migrant workers,
campus and community organizers are collab-
orating to create a safe and fair environment
for immigrants.
The newest of Ann Arbor's organizations working
to protect the rights of migrant workers, the Washt-
enaw County Worker Center, will hold a worker's
rights training seminar June 11.
The center, which opened earlier this month,
advocates workers rights and promotes collective
action, said University alum Daniel Hirschman.
Hirschman, who volunteers at the center,
said WCWC is organizing English as a Second
Language courses to be held in Detroit and at
a local church.
WCWC also holds individual conferences with
BRACKETS
Continued from Page 2 I i
Other Big Ten schools have reduced
workers to discuss work-related issues. They
have a phone number for workers to call if they
have any questions or concerns.
Hirschman said a major goal of the WCWC is
to have the center run
entirely hy migrant
workers.
WCWC is respond-
ing to poor workplace
conditions and chal-
lenges immigrants face
when assimilating in the IMMIGRATION
United States.
RC Prof. Ian Rob- Second in a three-
inson said employers part series
often exploit migrant workers.
One way migrant workers are exploited is
that they are paid less than the living wage
- the necessary wage to meet the basic needs
of a family - in an industry where employers
can afford to pay more.
The living wage refers to he said.
Breaking the basic laws that regulate the labor
force is another form of exploitation, Robinson
said. These basic laws include working condi-
tion regulations and minimum-wage laws.
Robinson said that in some Ann Arbor restaurants,
migrant workers are not paid overtime and do not
have safe working conditions.
Students occasionally face the same problem
with overtime,aut they usually know this is ille-
gal, Hirschman said - whereas migrant work-
ers may not.
The WCWC is working in collaboration with
Latinos Unidos of Michigan - an organization
that represents Michigan's Latino community -
and two local churches, St. Mary's Student Parish
and First United Methodist.
Proyecto Avance Latino Mentoring Asso-
ciation, a tutoring group, and Migrant and
Immigrant Rights Awareness, a Univer-
sity student group, also work with the local
migrant worker population.
MIRA was started by a group of students
who traveled to the Mexican border to meet
with people who work with migrant workers.
The trip was part of a RC course Robinson has
taught the course for the past five years.
The last visit he made with his students was
during Spring Break earlier this year. They
traveled to three border cities - Nogales,
Sonora and Altar - to interact with factory
Working in Ann Arbor
In a survey of local immigrant restaurant work-
ers released May 19, the Restaurant Workplace
Project foand:
" Most migrant workers in Ann Arbor earn
between $6.50 and $8.50 an hour.
" ONE IN FIVE works for more than 50 hours
per week.
s 20 PERCENT have slipped and injured them-
selves on the joh.
" Only 37 PERCENT receive overtime pay if they
work more than 40 hours in a week.
workers and managers, community organiz-
ers and families who tried to immigrate to the
United States.
Robinson said many students are affected
by the RC trip.
See WORKERS, Page 8
U of M CREDIT UNION
this worrvhbvdividling rakets into muchs I
smaller increments, Benson said. Michi-
gan State University separates students by
each credit in its registration process.
Though LSA-SG passed a resolution
in 2005 calling for 21 brackets rather
than seven brackets, Benson said the cur-
rent goal is to work with the University
administration for any change.
"Any narrowing of the brackets would
be a win," he said. "Students need to be
able to register based on credits and not
random, mathematical formulas."
This solution appears to mirror the
opinions of his fellow students.
"This system has always bothered me.
I think we need smaller brackets, and
more of them," LSA sophomore Baird
Campbell said.
LSA is not the only college to expe-
rience this problem. But as the largest
college within the University, it is most
likely LSA students have experienced the
bracket policy, Benson said.
MEMORIAL
Continued from Page 2
the memorial honors not only the
soldiers but everyone affected by the
ongoing war in Iraq.
"Our position is that we remember
those who have served, are serving and
their families, and to make sure that
people in this area are called to remem-
ber that we continue to lose lives," said
MFSO and VFP member and University
alum Deb Regal.
VFP sponsors memorials, demonstra-
tions and educational forums throughout
the year, including July 4 and the anni-
versary of the formal invasion of Iraq.
Members said a counter protest was
not expected.
Chapter 93 represents Hillsdale, Jack-
son, Lenawee and Washtenaw counties.
- Carissa Miller contributed to this
report.
I
- Membership open to U of M
students, staff, the U of M Hospital,
alumni and other groups
For more information-
call: 734-662-8200 or
800-968-8628 or
visit www.umcm.org
- Consumer and real estate loans,
savings and checking accounts
U MC U.org
successfu
members 1-
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