Quantcast
More than 100 workers fired after ‘Day Without Immigrants’ protests – Metro US

More than 100 workers fired after ‘Day Without Immigrants’ protests

More than 100 workers fired after ‘Day Without Immigrants’ protests
The Boston Globe via Getty Images

More than 100 people were fired from their jobs last week after skipping work to participate in a nationwide walkout protesting President Donald Trump’s immigration reforms.

The ‘Day Without Immigrants‘ demonstration on Feb. 16 left restaurants, stores, construction sites and day cares unstaffed or understaffed without their immigrant workers from Latino and Middle Eastern nations, showcasing the impact immigrants have on the economy.

Some businesses closed in support of their immigrant employees; others warned anyone who skipped work for the protestwould be fired, and are now standing by their decisions.

Owner Bill McNally of theI Don’t Care Bar and Grill in Catoosa, Oklahoma, fired 12 Latino line cooks when they failed to show up for work Thursday and gave no prior notice, CNN reported.

“I’m on their side but we have rules at the I Don’t Care Bar and Grill,” McNally told CNN. “If you’re going to be late, call in. If you’re not coming in to work, call us. That’s the American way.”

Calls to boycott the restaurant are now spreading on Twitter.

While several of the bar’s employees told news outlets they thought their termination was unfair, workers at a painting company in Tennessee were given advance notice; anyone who still missed work was terminated.

20 employees at Bradley Coatings Incorporated didn’t heed their employer’s warning. And in a later statement, the company’s laywer said, “The reason these employees missed work—to engage in peaceful demonstrations—had nothing to do with BCI’s decision to terminate them,” CNBC reports.

And a Long Island, New York, is now looking to fill 25 positions after terminating its employees for their participation in the protest. Ben’s Kosher Delicatessen Restaurant & Caterers had to employ police to escort its workers from the establishment, many of whom were undocumented.