Week of January 25, 2006

UPDATED Jan 25

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In this week's report: [ click on any of the bold headers below ]

Shinnecock v. Southampton Trial Continues

Worklink Center for Southampton

Jan 27 - March on DC updated 01-25-07
Southampton Bus Boards at 4:30am

Peace & Justice Calendar UPDATED Jan 25

Suffolk Peace Vigils UPDATED Jan 24

Counter Recruiting Schedule UPDATED 1-10-07

Alternative Media for Eastern LI


Democracy Now!
Non-corporate news hour with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez:

on Riverhead/Southampton/Southold Channel 20:
Monday 10 pm - Tuesday 9 pm - Wednesday 9 pm - Thursday 9 pm - Friday - 6:30 am- Saturday - 6:30 am

Also on WUSB 90.1 FM 5pm Mon-Friday and East Hampton LTV Ch 20

See WPKN Today for program details on WPKM heard at 88.7 Montauk to Water Mill and WPKN 89.5 Bridgeport to Southampton and Southold.
WPKN/M Local News at 6:30 pm (Mon-Fri) has occasional reports from the East End.

For more Information on Peace Activism on LI see Suffolk Progressive Vision at www(.)spv(.)active(.)ws

Shinnecock v. Southampton Trial Continues.

The trial in which the Town of Southampton is challenging the sovereignty of the Shinnecock Nation over its land west of the Shinnecock canal continues at the Federal Court in Islip.

Newsday reported on Wednesday:

Taking the stand in a federal case that could determine the economic future of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, tribal chairman Lance Gumbs testified yesterday about the impoverished conditions of the East End tribe - and that a casino was the only way to reverse the fortunes of the reservation. Gumbs cited census statistics showing that 60 percent of the nation's
families struggled below the federal poverty line. He testified in U.S. District Court in Central
Islip that the tribe had plans at this time to build a casino limited to 61,000 square
feet, not the Foxwoods-size facility, that attorneys for the Town of Southampton say is the real plan. Foxwoods, in Connecticut, is 1.9 million square feet.

"We believe it is our political and sovereign right to move forward, to better the economic
situation of our nation," Gumbs said of the tribe's goal of casino development on the
79-acre "Westwoods" lot in Hampton Bays. "The Westwoods is our land, that's been used in the past for firewood. ... It has been used as a means of survival."

Members of the Shinnecock Nation have requested that the public attend the proceedings in support of their cause. Members of the Long Island Immigrant Alliance and Hispanic Americans' Cesar Malaga have endorsed this cause.

A Thursday Court session was cancelled. The trial will resume on Monday, Jan. 29 , Jan. 30 and 31st at the United States Courthouse, 100 Federal Plaza Central Islip. The court house is off of exit 43A of the Southern State Parkwy. Follow signs to court complex which is north of the Southern State and East of Carleton Avenue.

Worklink Center Needed for Day Laborers

Another winter is here and there is no place for day laborers in Southampton to wait for a day job, other than out on the corner by 7-11.

To address this issue, one year ago OLA joined forces with other local organizations and individuals to form the Coalition for a Worklink Center, whose goal is to open a formal hiring site, or “hiring hall,” in Southampton. With the growing number of day laborers gathering near the 7-11 on the corner of CR39 and North Sea Road in Southampton, the need is greater now than ever before to establish a formal hiring site in which workers and employees can conduct their business.

For the past year the Coalition has been working on locating a suitable site and educating the community about day laborers, and it has already acquired funding from non-profit organizations. Other groups that make up the Coalition include the North and South Fork Hispanic Apostolates, the Southampton and East Hampton Anti-Bias Task Forces, and the League of Women Voters, among others, as well as clergy of various houses of worship, concerned business people and members of the community.

Both Mayor Mark Epley of Southampton Village and New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele have publicly voiced their support, have attended Coalition meetings, and are working with the Coalition to locate a suitable site.

Coalition members are often on hand to support the day laborers and to monitor the verbal aggression of a small band of picketers who arrive regularly from out of town to express their opposition to the proposed hiring hall and to undocumented immigrant workers. They hear constantly of the abuses some of the day laborers endure while waiting for employment, such as name calling, physical harassment and being spat on by the protestors. In addition, many of these men report that after they have worked for days or even weeks, they are denied payment by their employers.

A Worklink Center would eliminate these types of abuses. And contrary to myth, it would not be a center just for Latin American immigrants but for anybody looking for work on a temporary basis, such as a college or high-school student looking to make a little extra money or a person who has a regular weekday job, but wants to supplement his/her income on the weekends.

Studies have shown that communities that take a proactive approach to the day labor issue by establishing hiring halls have enhanced relations among police, residents, business owners, employers and day laborers and a positive overall sense of community spirit and civic involvement, as opposed to the wariness, fear and abuses that are present when a hiring hall is not supported. Which kind of community do we want to live in?

Please visit www.worklinkcoalition.com for more information, including a “myths/facts” sheet to help inform and educate the community about day laborers and immigrants in general.

And please sign the online petition in support of a Worklink Center, which will be forwarded to our Town and Village officials.

Pamela Greinke

Member: Organizacion Latino - Americana of Eastern Long Island (OLA),
Coalition for a Worklink Center