Fired Latino painters get their jobs back

Seventeen Latino painters fired last week after walking off their jobs to attend a Seattle rally for immigrant rights will return to work tomorrow, officials said.

The workers' employer, Laitala Enterprises, notified their union today that it would reinstate them tomorrow, said Jorge Quiroga, board president of El Comite Pro-Amnistia General y Justicia Social, which organized the April 10 rally.

Quiroga said that he and several community representatives met with Laitala management on Friday to express their disappointment with the painting contractor's action.

The April 10 march from St. Mary's Church in the Central Area to the downtown federal building was part of a National Day of Action that brought largely Latino crowds to city streets across the country. The march was a call for immigration measures that would provide workplace protections, help reunite families and make American citizenship a possibility for those who arrived here illegally