Laborers Picket Corinthian Over Harassment

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Anyone looking for the Arlington offices of Corinthian Contractors yesterday would have been well-advised to look for dozens of Latino laborers chanting “Si se puede,” as the company had removed its sign on South Abingdon St. After a group of Corinthian workers last month demanded legally required minimum wages for their work on a DC Water project, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested some workers on their way to the jobsite and Corinthian announced that it had suddenly discovered that the I-9s of the entire workforce needed to be immediately “re-verified” and fired almost half of the workers working on DC Water projects, most of whom had signed the letter to Corinthian. “This harassment has been going on in secret,” said Nicole Duarte of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Organizing Coalition, which has been supporting the workers and organized yesterday’s demonstration. “Our hope is that this exposure will get Corinthian to stop targeting their workers. You can’t undo an ICE raid so the justice we can offer is to let folks know what’s going on.” Passing motorists honked their support as the laborers picketed in the chilly rain, cheerfully chanting “El pueblo, unido, jamas sera vencido” (the people, united, will never be defeated). Click here for video of the rally, shot by Jaime Flores, Strategic Communications Director, LiUNA! MidAtlantic Region. - report/photo by Chris Garlock