Or does it?.
The heart of Philadelphia's Italian Market was uncommonly quiet. Fine restaurants in New York, San Francisco, and the nation's capital closed for the day. Grocery stores, food trucks, coffee shops, diners, and taco joints in places like Chicago, Los Angeles, and Boston shut down. The AP reports immigrants around the US stayed home from work and school Thursday to demonstrate how important they are to America's economy, and many businesses closed in solidarity, in a nationwide protest called A Day Without Immigrants.
The boycott was aimed squarely at President Trump's efforts to step up deportations, build a wall at the Mexican border, and close the nation's doors to many travelers.
Organizers appealed to immigrants from all walks of life to take part, but the effects were felt most strongly in the restaurant industry, which has long been a first step up the economic ladder for newcomers to America.
Restaurant owners with immigrant roots of their own were among those acting in solidarity with workers. Expensive restaurants and fast-food joints alike closed, some perhaps because they had no choice, others because of what they said was sympathy for their immigrant employees. "Businesses cannot function without immigrant workers," the president of the National Council of La Raza says. The construction industry, which likewise employs large numbers of immigrants, also felt the effects of Thursday's protest.
CATOOSA, Okla. (KTUL) - A dozen workers at a Catoosa restaurant are without a job after getting fired for skipping work as a show of support for “A Day Without Immigrants.”
Catoosa restaurant fires 12 workers for not showing up on 'Day Without Immigrants' | KTUL
Lexington County, SC (WLTX)- Twenty one people were fired after taking part in the Day Without Immigrants Protest.
The movement closed restaurants and shops across the country to show the contributions immigrants have on the American workforce.
Juvenito Quintana and 20 others all missed work on February 16th and right the next day, they got a letter from Encore Boat Builders LLC in Lexington.
The letter said they were being terminated for no show/ no call in. Their last day listed as February 16th, the day of the protest.
Quintana says some employees got calls from management the day before telling them not to miss or else they'd lose their job. That's why he said a lot didn't call in, for fear.
Most of the employees had been working there for years and have small children. Quintana is a permanent resident and feels like the termination was unfair.
Melissa Burnette is an employment attorney and says South Carolina is a Right To Work state where employers can make those kinds of decisions.
"Some employers are more supportive and would not have terminated the employees but some employers have the right to do that" she said.
It's important for employees to understand their rights to protest like wearing t-shirts or posting flyers if it doesn't interfere with the business operations Burnette said. But they also need to understand their responsibilities like being expected to show up to work.
News19 reached out to Encore Boat Builders but they declined to comment.
The families are now looking for other jobs and they pick up their last checks on Friday.
The heart of Philadelphia's Italian Market was uncommonly quiet. Fine restaurants in New York, San Francisco, and the nation's capital closed for the day. Grocery stores, food trucks, coffee shops, diners, and taco joints in places like Chicago, Los Angeles, and Boston shut down. The AP reports immigrants around the US stayed home from work and school Thursday to demonstrate how important they are to America's economy, and many businesses closed in solidarity, in a nationwide protest called A Day Without Immigrants.
The boycott was aimed squarely at President Trump's efforts to step up deportations, build a wall at the Mexican border, and close the nation's doors to many travelers.
Organizers appealed to immigrants from all walks of life to take part, but the effects were felt most strongly in the restaurant industry, which has long been a first step up the economic ladder for newcomers to America.
Restaurant owners with immigrant roots of their own were among those acting in solidarity with workers. Expensive restaurants and fast-food joints alike closed, some perhaps because they had no choice, others because of what they said was sympathy for their immigrant employees. "Businesses cannot function without immigrant workers," the president of the National Council of La Raza says. The construction industry, which likewise employs large numbers of immigrants, also felt the effects of Thursday's protest.
CATOOSA, Okla. (KTUL) - A dozen workers at a Catoosa restaurant are without a job after getting fired for skipping work as a show of support for “A Day Without Immigrants.”
Catoosa restaurant fires 12 workers for not showing up on 'Day Without Immigrants' | KTUL
Lexington County, SC (WLTX)- Twenty one people were fired after taking part in the Day Without Immigrants Protest.
The movement closed restaurants and shops across the country to show the contributions immigrants have on the American workforce.
Juvenito Quintana and 20 others all missed work on February 16th and right the next day, they got a letter from Encore Boat Builders LLC in Lexington.
The letter said they were being terminated for no show/ no call in. Their last day listed as February 16th, the day of the protest.
Quintana says some employees got calls from management the day before telling them not to miss or else they'd lose their job. That's why he said a lot didn't call in, for fear.
Most of the employees had been working there for years and have small children. Quintana is a permanent resident and feels like the termination was unfair.
Melissa Burnette is an employment attorney and says South Carolina is a Right To Work state where employers can make those kinds of decisions.
"Some employers are more supportive and would not have terminated the employees but some employers have the right to do that" she said.
It's important for employees to understand their rights to protest like wearing t-shirts or posting flyers if it doesn't interfere with the business operations Burnette said. But they also need to understand their responsibilities like being expected to show up to work.
News19 reached out to Encore Boat Builders but they declined to comment.
The families are now looking for other jobs and they pick up their last checks on Friday.
