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Today is the day that workers all over the U.S., including immigrant workers, are boycotting business by taking the day off and engaging in educational activities and rallies in “A Day Without an Immigrant”.

Here are links to articles about today’s events:

Salt Lake Tribune: Demonstrations, business boycotts spread nationwide over immigration reform
KSL Channel 5: Immigrants Plan Nationwide Day of Protest and Activists Encouraging Latino Community to Work on Monday
ABC Channel 4: ABC 4 NewsViewer Poll results: 88% say people should not get the day off for immigration protests

Next Monday, May 1st, is May Day. This day has a lot of significance. It is the celebrated “Labor Day” by workers all over the world. This is the day that immigrant workers all over the U.S. will walk off their jobs in protest to pending immigration legislation.

In Utah, immigrants are rallying in the largest numbers that protests in Utah have ever seen. Demonstrators will join a nationwide boycott of work, school and businesses on May 1.

Utah’s Latino leaders are calling for undocumented immigrants and their supporters to boycott all businesses for a day. But many are not encouraging people to stay home from work or school. Proyecto Latino de Utah also plans a “Walk for Liberty” at Liberty Park and is encouraging immigrants to show their presence by wearing blue ribbons to work or school on Monday.

It is also anticipated that many non-Latino workers will not be reporting to work that day either, in acts of solidarity.

The Utah Minutemen Project, a group whose mission it is to halt illegal immigration, has planned an oppositional rally, titled “Wake-Up America” rally, for the same day, from 3 to 8 p.m., at the City County Building grounds at Washington Square in SLC.

The Walk from Liberty Park is scheduled for 6pm – this detail is missing from the Deseret News article.

Part of the Plan has posted a tongue-in-cheek

This is “something”. The Boy Scouts of America (aka “Brown Shirts of America”) in today’s news:
Boy Scouts chastised for immigrant rallies–Politics: Official says Latino troop violated policy of involvement.

A Utah Boy Scout official has warned a Latino troop earning merit badges for “Citizenship in the Community” that it violated policy against involvement in political events with its participation in immigration demonstrations this week in Salt Lake City.

Now there’s promoting of, advocating for and teaching our children about democracy and citizenship.

Michael Clara, scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 987, said he received a phone call on Wednesday from Vic Rowberry, a Great Salt Lake Council of Boy Scouts of America field director, who said the troop shouldn’t have participated in the events.
Clara disagreed, saying he didn’t understand the difference between providing the flag ceremony and staying to observe the Republican State Convention in August 2005 and carrying and passing out flags at the nonpartisan immigration demonstrations on Sunday and Monday.

Clara, a Utah Republican, was told that he would have been in compliance if the troop would have performed the flag ceremony at the demonstration and then left. Yet, troops performed the ceremony at the Republican convention and stayed.

I don’t get it.

Clara said he believes the troop is being “singled out” because it participated in a “nontraditional event.” As the organization tries to diversify its troops, Clara said it needs to understand that ethnic minorities are going to participate in events that some Utah Boy Scouts have not joined in the past.
Clara said the organization teaches civic responsibility and being tolerant and respectful of people’s differences.
“The very thing we’re teaching our young men, the council is not doing to us,” Clara said.
Kay]]Godfrey [spokesman for the Great Salt Lake Council,]called those comments by Clara “ridiculous.”

Sounds like a double standard to me.

John Saltas wrote in this week’s Salt Lake City Weeklyabout the demonstraton against immigration legislation that was held last weekend. He referenced the mass multitude of protestors and the handful of anti-protestors, a group of “minutemen” that advocates for illegal immigrants to be sent back to their countries. Saltas says:

Those protesting the marchers proclaimed that “illegals” want to steal our freedoms. Really? More than 10 percent of the United States war dead in Iraq have Hispanic surnames, including a Utah war casualty who had yet to gain U.S. citizenship. They claim “illegals” take money from the economy by working for cash pay at low wages. Is that so? Then throw the employers in jail for exploiting them. They shouted that the marchers should not wave the Mexican flag. Where were those patriots on St. Patrick’s Day?

Well said.

Stay tuned. May Day (May 1) may see more action.