Boycott by immigrants: How big will ripple be?

On Monday, Antonio P. Villanuava will take the day off from his job at the Bellevue restaurant where he works — his way, he said, of demonstrating the value of people like him to the U.S. economy.

The 30-year-old cook and about 20 of his co-workers — from kitchen to front-of-the-house staff — will join other Latinos in a nationwide boycott of schools and businesses, renewing their call for what they consider fair reform of immigration laws.

"I enjoy working for the company, they treat me well and I don't want to harm them," Villanuava said. "That's why we wanted them to know ahead of time what was happening on Monday."

Immigrants in Washington state


By world region of birth

Asia: 42.9%

Latin America: 26.2%

Europe: 19.7%

Other areas: 11.1%

Foreign-born population, 2003: 614,430

Immigrants admitted, 2004: 19,442

Non-citizen foreign-born population, 2003: 340,430

Undocumented population, 2002-2004: 200,000-250,000

Hispanics in Washington state

2000: 441,509

2005: 540,048

2010 (projected): 651,027

Percent increase 2000 to 2005: 22.3%

Percent Increase 2005 to 2010: 20.5%

Sources: Census Bureau, INS, Pew Research Center

While there's some disagreement over the political wisdom of the one-day labor strike among immigration-rights groups in other parts of the country, a coalition of local churches and immigration-advocacy organizations is forging ahead with plans for work stoppages, marches and rallies in Seattle, Yakima and Bellingham.

Organizers are urging the state's 500,000 Latinos, other immigrants and their supporters to take the day off from work and school. Latinos also are being encouraged to spend less money during the week.

They expect the impact of the strike will be felt on farms in Eastern Washington, as well as construction sites, hotels and restaurants throughout the Puget Sound region.

Signs in front of some fast-food restaurants in the Seattle area already are warning customers that service on Monday might be curtailed or the businesses may be closed.

Villanuava said some of his friends' employers have offered to pay them extra money to work on that day.

Those planning Monday's events expect at least 10,000 demonstrators for a silent march at 3:30 p.m. from the Central Area in Seattle to the Federal Building downtown — following almost the same path marchers took during an immigration-rights demonstration three weeks ago. Immigration-rights groups recognize that promoting a work stoppage is dicey.

Strike, march and rally


Immigrants and their allies are being asked to take the day off from work and school Monday.

A silent march will begin at St. Mary's Church, 611 20th Ave. S in the Central Area at 3:30 p.m. and end at the Federal Building, 915 Second Ave.

A rally is planned in front of the Federal Building. Demonstrators are being asked to dress in black.

Some strikers, whose employment status already is tenuous, could lose their jobs. And the specter of thousands of illegal immigrants disrupting the afternoon commute for the second time in a month, waving Mexican flags and demanding "rights" makes even some sympathetic to the struggles of illegal immigrants feel uneasy.

Ricardo Ortega, community organizer for the Comité Pro-Amnistia General y Justicia Social, which is leading the Monday event, said his group respects the views of those who believe the strike is a bad call. But, he said, "we believe this is a historical moment where we need to take action."

Wednesday, the Comité was joined at a press conference by immigration advocates and African-American and Asian leaders who said immigration reform is for everyone — not just Latinos. James Kelly, executive director of the Urban League, said the plight of illegal immigrants today "echoes the civil rights struggles of the 1960s."

Immigration groups say they want legislation, now being debated in the U.S. Senate, to reunite families who have been separated for years, to ensure workplace protections for all immigrants — legal or not — and to provide a clear path to citizenship for the nearly 12 million illegal immigrants now living in the U.S.

Hall Hodgson, 28, a Seattle accountant, said he is torn. He said he recognizes the role illegal immigrants play in the economy, making it possible to buy fruits and vegetables at a reasonable price.

"We know there's this sort of handshake between them and farmers and manufacturers who don't have to pay them health care," he said. "But when they begin demanding rights, it becomes a bit more contentious. If they want to be here yelling and shouting about their rights, then they should do things that are beneficial to America as a whole — learn the language and become part of the community."

Gillian Royes, professor of multicultural relations and communications at Georgia State University, said recent rallies around the country, which have drawn massive crowds, have left some Americans conflicted.

Even some liberals, she said, are a bit uncomfortable with the open activism of illegal immigrants.

"Here's a population that for years had been quiet and easily dominated — they do the work, make the low pay and send it home," she said. "Now, the persona of the illegal immigrant is shifting in the American psyche that perhaps this is not the group to be taken for granted anymore."

Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation of American Immigration, which supports more restrictions on legal immigration and tougher efforts to crack down on illegal immigrants, believes the work stoppage will backfire. He said the economy will adjust to the temporary absence of these workers.

"Whatever the inconveniences for one day, the longer-term effect will be reinforcement of this feeling that something is not quite right here."

Communicating with employers

At the press conference Wednesday, officials from the Washington State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce voiced support for the work stoppage.

Ortega with the Comité said organizers are advising people to ask permission for time off instead of simply not showing up.

And Steve Williamson, director of strategic campaigns of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 21, and Sergio Salinas, president of the Service Employees International Union Local 6, said they are working with employers to allow people to take the day off or come in late — without penalty or discipline.

Many employers are making their own preparations.

Carly Boudreau of Coriander Wood Designs in Woodinville said the company expects about 40 percent of their workers will be gone that day.

"It's their prerogative," she said. "We won't give in to it and close shop. We will stay open."

But Joe Fugere, owner of Tutta Bella, a pizzeria with two locations in Columbia City and Wallingford, said he'll close for the day and take those employees not attending the rally to the bowling alley.

He said Latinos and other immigrant workers among his staff of 150 asked for time off to participate in the strike, and the other employees voted to support them.

Villanuava, who crossed the border from Mexico illegally 10 years ago, plans to take the day off, whether his employer grants it or not.

Hopefully, he said, "We'll end up doing the same thing we're doing now. If we're making money; they're making money. We want to work, is all."

Mike Gempler, executive director of the WA Growers' League in Yakima, said growers, many of whom employ illegal immigrants, are responding individually to the planned strike. However farmers feel about it, they all have a vested interest in immigration reform, he said.

"The bottom line is we need to find a way to design our immigration laws to protect our economy and match those people who want jobs with the number of jobs that exist."

Organizers of Monday's walkout also are urging students to leave school that day. The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, by contrast, is asking students to stay in school.

School administrators said Wednesday they expect many students will participate in the protests with their parents or other family members. Several districts, including Highline and Federal Way, said students who miss class will get an unexcused absence unless they have approval from their parents.

In Federal Way, administrators plan to send letters to students at the five high schools and at the Latino Night School to reiterate the attendance policy. "While the school does not endorse this protest," administrators said in the letter that they are "sensitive to the concerns of our students."

Reporter Tan Vinh and library researcher Gene Balk contributed to this report.

Lornet Turnbull: 206-464-2420 or lturnbull@seattletimes.com