Tell Home Depot: Come to the negotiation table to meet directly with day laborers you’ve been harassing and arresting in New Rochelle, NY
On April 6, the Home Depot of New Rochelle in Westchester, NY targeted a day laborer who came inside the store to use the bathroom, they called the police, and had the worker arrested. From that day there have been more arrests and harassment towards day laborers. It’s an outrageous escalation of the company’s targeting of immigrant workers who for years have met and offered their labor at the location. NDLON and day laborer centers from across the country have called on Home Depot to make things right and come to the table to meet directly with the workers.
For more than ten years, day laborers have gathered outside of the Home Depot in New Rochelle, New York, to connect with home-owners and contractors who hire workers to help on any sort of jobs. But in recent months, the Home Depot has carried out a campaign to kick out the day laborers, hiring security with guard dogs and calling police that have gone so far as to arrest workers who were trying to use the bathroom while they buy something. These are working people, residents in our community trying to make a living for themselves and their families. And targeting these workers with harassment, racial profiling, and even arrest is unacceptable!
The workers committee of the United Community Center of Westchester, Inc. (UCCW), along with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), have made clear to the Home Depot that the harassment must stop, and have the support of numerous local organizations and allies. Day laborers in the area have organized and are asking for three things. Home Depot of New Rochelle needs to:
- Stop the harassment and arrests of day laborers
- Meet directly with the workers committee of the UCCW
- Ask the city to support a Designated space at the Home Depot Parking Lot or help support with a Day Laborer Job Center.
Click here to add your name today and send a message to Home Depot. We will not accept the unjust targeting of day laborers trying to make a living.