Worker Solidarity Action Network
The Worker Solidarity Action Network is a place where we are committed to build worker solidarity by sharing info and stories about workers struggles.
Moss Landing Toxic Lithium Battery Fire Cover-up
youtu.be/eB7IAK7ce-g
The massive lithium toxic fires in Moss Landing have contaminated thousands of residents and workers.
In a report to the community Dr. James Dahlgren who is an industrial and evironmental toxocologist and
Scott Smith, an independent toxic tester talk about the capture of the EPA, CDC and other agencies by
the companies they are supposed to do oversight to protect the public and workers. Dr. Dahlgren
reported that there has been no studies on the effect of lithium battery fires on human beings or animals
despite their growing dangers of these battery plants throughout the US and the world. He also along with
toxic tester Scott Smith talks about the role of the EPA, CDC and other government agencies in helping to
cover-up the dangers of these contaminants.
This presentation was made in Watsonville, California on June 1, 2025.
Additional Media:
Massive Battery Fire Cover-up At Moss Landing In Monterey County By EPA & Gov. Gavin Newsom
youtu.be/23rzaaXcidE
Plutonium Found In Hunters Point Residents & Workers With Dr. James Dahlren
soundcloud.com/workweek-radio/ww-1-11-24-plutonium-found-at-hunters-point-in-residents-workers
Production of Labor Video Project
www.labormedia.net
U.S. could have the best health care. But not if profit-driven private sector keeps control.
Supporters of single-payer system plan Saturday rallies
kentuckylantern.com/2025/05/29/u-s-could-have-best-health-care-but-not-if-profit-driven-private-s…
Kay Tillow
KAY TILLOW
MAY 29, 2025 12:02 AM
Kay Tillow, with Kentuckians for Single Payer Health Care, led a rally against Medicare Advantage plans Oct. 11, 2023 outside the Humana headquarters in Louisville. (Photo by Deborah Yetter)
Ours is the only nation in the industrialized world that has turned health care over to the private sector, subjecting all of us to life expectancy five years below the norm in other wealthy countries.
More of our babies die in the first year of life and more of our moms die in childbirth than in any other industrialized country.
We spend twice as much per person on health care in the United States as peer countries, yet we have the highest rates of death for conditions that are treatable.
On the congressional agenda are cuts to Medicaid of more than $600 billion over 10 years. Hundreds of thousands Kentuckians are among those in the line of fire. The results will be deadly. Administration officials are determined to offset the tax cuts that will benefit the wealthiest even though it means loss of health care for millions of Americans.
People are in the streets to stop the catastrophic damage to Medicaid.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 10.3 million people would lose their Medicaid coverage by 2034 under the GOP bill. Med Pac, the independent agency that advises Congress, predicts the projected cuts will throw 8 million onto the uninsured rolls.
Med Pac has also informed Congress that the privatized Medicare plans, misnamed Medicare Advantage, that were supposed to save money are instead costing us $84 billion a year more than if those patients were in traditional Medicare.
So this looks like an easy fix. Leave Medicaid alone. Cut out the Medicare Advantage plans, placing those patients onto the better coverage of traditional Medicare, saving more than enough money over 10 years than is needed to offset the tax cuts. Problem solved!
But in health care things are seldom simple. The Medicare Advantage patients who gained access to traditional Medicare would find themselves faced with unaffordable monthly premiums for the prescription drugs and supplemental coverage they would need. The Medicaid patients who were rescued from the firing squad will continue to suffer at the hands of the private Medicaid managed care companies that regularly deny 12% of claims, a rate double the awful rate in Medicare Advantage.
Medicaid patients would still have a hard time finding specialists. Their rural hospitals would continue to close as the Medicaid payments are insufficient to maintain the necessary infrastructure. Billions of the public funds provided for Medicaid patients would be siphoned into the coffers of the insurance companies as care, by law, is secondary to profit, in this privatized Medicaid system.
Those fortunate enough to have health care through their employers will continue to find the premiums, deductibles and co-pays beyond their means. The average family plan is now over $25,000 a year. The 15 years since the passage of health care reform have left 100 million of us in medical debt in what the Commonwealth Fund accurately calls a failing health care system.
Over 130 national and local organizations have called for a national day of action on Sat., May 31, to “Demand Health Not Profit: Put Single Payer on the Nation’s Agenda.”
On that day in 25 cities from Detroit to Houston and Seattle to Charlotte, people will gather to advocate against cuts in an already failing system and in favor of enhanced Medicare for all.
The protesters are demanding passage of a publicly financed, national single-payer program that would provide comprehensive coverage to everyone.
In Kentucky, the Rally for Health Not Profit will be at noon Saturday at the Mazzoli Federal Building in Louisville. The people there will be fighting for all of those on the firing lines and insisting that, this time around, we can remove the profits from health care and enact a plan that cares for all of us.
kentuckylantern.com
The U.S. could have the best health care in the world. We just can’t have it while leaving the private sector in control of our health care.
Chicago mayor calls DOGE 'an act of war,' compares second Trump term to Third Reich
www.foxnews.com/politics/chicago-mayor-calls-doge-an-act-war-compares-second-trump-term-third-rei…
'You have a president that is cutting off medicine and food [and] working to erase culture,' Brandon Johnson claimed
By Charles Creitz Fox News
Published May 29, 2025 4:07pm EDT
Chicago mayor calls DOGE 'act of war,' makes Nazi comparisons
Chicago Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson fumes over DOGE cuts, compares rise of Trump to rise of Adolf Hitler. (City of Chicago)
Chicago Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson laid into the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and President Donald Trump's economic policies during his weekly press availability, drawing parallels between the Third Reich in Germany and Trump's second term in the White House.
Johnson said the Windy City is the most "pro-worker" city in the U.S., but faces "hostility" from Washington.
"The fact that the President of the United States of America is cutting off food supply and medicine to working people and families across this country — that is an act of war," Johnson fumed.
"And we're going to need leaders who are prepared and willing to stand up for working people, because this battle has reached our front doors all across America where people are struggling and suffering. And in order to alleviate that pain and discomfort, it's going to require bold leadership. We can't tippy toe."
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. (AP/Charles Arbogast)
Addressing a reporter who asked how to work with the Trump administration for the benefit of the city from such an adversarial position, Johnson cited Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s State of the State address in February, which referenced how it "took the Nazi’s one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours and 40 minutes to dismantle a Constitutional Republic."
"Governor Pritzker… offered up a warning," Johnson said. "You have a president that is cutting off medicine and food, a president that is working to erase culture. I mean, you can't make this up. He's doing it in plain sight."
Pritzker had compared the rise of former German Chancellor Adolf Hitler to Trump’s popularity, in that the eventual national-socialist dictator was seen as the answer to "inflation and [the public] looking for someone to blame."
CHICAGO DEMOCRAT GOES OFF ON CITY'S HANDLING OF MIGRANT CRISIS
Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hilter at Nazi parade in Germany
Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, left, and German Chancellor Adolf Hitler at a Nazi parade in Germany, circa 1937.(Getty)
In his remarks, Johnson noted how people have wondered how Germany could have descended into Nazism and anti-Semitism so quickly and dreadfully, saying that Trump is "carry[ing] out the playbook that was done against an entire people-group."
"He’s doing it right here in this country, against working people, erasing Black folks from museums and the history and the culture. So, when you ask how we balance that, you have to fight it and resist it with everything that's in you," he said.
"The President of the United States of America is capturing the hopes and aspirations of working people and holding us hostage as he works to implement and annihilate democracy," Johnson said, returning to comment on lawsuits the city has joined to halt DOGE-type efforts.
Chicago is party to a lawsuit filed by several municipalities, including Baltimore; Santa Clara, California; and the county that encompasses Houston, which seeks to stop DOGE’s slashing of the federal bureaucracy.
"Congress created these federal agencies. It funded them. But the president is trying to fire all these people and gut these agencies that Congress created," Chicago Deputy Corporation Counsel Steve Kane told the city’s ABC affiliate, calling the situation unconstitutional.
DOGE-driven cuts affecting the Windy City have included the Energy Department’s 2025 Small Business Expo, originally pinned for June.
The cut came as part of billions in spending reductions for cabinet agencies, and other closures of clean-energy-centric operations have affected the city, according to reports.
Earlier in May, Chicago hired Ernst & Young, an international consulting firm, to find ways to bridge its own budget gaps, according to Bloomberg. The Trump administration has threatened to withhold funding from sanctuary cities, a definition within which Chicago falls.
Chicago mayor calls DOGE 'an act of war,' compares second Trump term to Third Reich
www.foxnews.com
Chicago Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson echoes Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s warning and highlights President Donald Trump’s impact on culture and federal agencies.
United Front Rally For National Single Payer In San Francisco-Medicaid Cuts Will Kill People
youtu.be/ImARZF5DYNs
As part of a national day of action on May31, 2025 for single payer healthcare rallies took place
throughout the country and a rally was held in San Francisco at the Harry Bridges Plaza next to
the San Francisco Ferry Building.
Speakers included healthcare workers, unionists and people who need healthcare.
Additional Media:
The Attack On Medicaid & The National Day Of Action For National Public Healthcare on May 31, 2025
youtu.be/_yeMhKQaMaU
Getting Looters Out Of Healthcare:Unions, Healthcare Privatization & Public Control Of Healthcare
youtu.be/NA4vU6AfLVo
How AFL-CIO & Unions Are Pushing Privatization Of Medicare With Joe Maniscalo of Work-Bites
youtu.be/IF3xttEZh8w
How The AFL-CIO Leadership & The Democratic Party Have Helped Privatize Medicare And How Retirees Are Fighting Back
ufclp.org/how-the-afl-cio-the-democratic-party-have-helped-privatize-medicare-and-how-retirees-ar…
AARP AFL CIO Push Medicare Disadvantage
www.corporatecrimereporter.com/news/200/aarp-afl-push-medicare-disadvantage/
Medicare Advantage and Vertical Consolidation in Health Care www.economicliberties.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Medicare-Advantage-AELP.pdf
More Info:
National Day Of Action For Single Payer
nationalsinglepayer.com/national-day-of-action/
Production of Labor Video Project
www.labormedia.net
CDC told health providers not to treat after East Palestine derailment: Lawsuit
www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/midwest/ohio-train-derailment/cdc-health-providers-east-palestine-l…
2023 derailment and burn released hydrogen chloride, phosgene into the air
Residents have long complained of lingering health problems
Some say they were denied medical care
Rich McHugh
Updated: MAY 29, 2025 / 06:59 PM CDT
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (NewsNation) — Two years after the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine and the subsequent toxic plume of smoke that devastated the area, a lawsuit against the transport company alleges a conspiracy to deny health care to those impacted.
Tara Hicks, Christa Graves and Lonnie Miller are among the 793 East Palestine residents involved in the litigation against Norfolk Southern and more than 50 other defendants, including state and local agencies, involved in the investigation and cleanup.
Powell meets with Trump as president bashes Fed over interest rates
The lawsuit alleges a conspiracy to deny health care on behalf of Vanguard, BlackRock, Mercy Health and Quest.
“We’ve been lied to from the beginning,” said Hicks. “They’ve said everything is fine when we know that that’s not the case. And now we’re finding out for a fact that we were right. We’ve been poisoned.”
CDC allegedly ‘failed to ensure proper public health response’: Lawsuit
The lawsuit cites the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for “failure to ensure proper public health response, testing, and medical support for the affected residents of East Palestine.”
It also alleges the CDC “negligently instructed health professionals and testing facilities not to test for dioxins and other toxic chemicals, denying residents accurate diagnosis and critical medical care.”
This video screenshot released by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) shows the site of a derailed freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, the United States. About 50 Norfolk Southern freight train cars derailed on the night of Feb. 3 in East Palestine, a town of 4,800 residents near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, due to a mechanical problem on an axle of one of the vehicles. There were a total of 20 hazardous material cars in the train consist, 10 of which derailed, according to the NTSB, a U.S. government agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. (NTSB/Handout via Xinhua)Read More »
FILE – A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)Read More »
FILE – This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)Read More »
Portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed the night before burn in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)Read More »
FILE – Cleanup continues, Feb. 24, 2023, at the site of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailment that happened on Feb. 3, in East Palestine, Ohio. (AP Photo/Matt Freed, File)Read More »
This video screenshot released by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) shows the site of a derailed freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, the United States. About 50 Norfolk Southern freight train cars derailed on the night of Feb. 3 in East Palestine, a town of 4,800 residents near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, due to a mechanical problem on an axle of one of the vehicles. There were a total of 20 hazardous material cars in the train consist, 10 of which derailed, according to the NTSB, a U.S. government agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. (NTSB/Handout via Xinhua)Read More »
This video screenshot released by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) shows the site of a derailed freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, the United States. About 50 Norfolk Southern freight train cars derailed on the night of Feb. 3 in East Palestine, a town of 4,800 residents near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, due to a mechanical problem on an axle of one of the vehicles. There were a total of 20 hazardous material cars in the train consist, 10 of which derailed, according to the NTSB, a U.S. government agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. (NTSB/Handout via Xinhua)Read More »
FILE – A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)Read More »
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FILE – A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)Read More »
“Just tell us the truth,” said Miller. “We’re all adults. We can handle the truth. What were we exposed to? I want accountability. I want justice for my family.”
They say they were told that a letter was sent out, instructing health care officials to disregard their concerns.
‘Testing or treatment related’ to train derailment not recommended: CDC letter
NewsNation has obtained the clinical guidance letter from the CDC that was sent to hospitals and local health providers after the derailment and burn.
Can you get unemployment benefits if you quit a job?
“No testing or treatment related to a specific chemical exposure is recommended,” it read in part.
“Do not diagnose anything related to chemicals. Don’t do any testing related to chemicals. This is all a stress reaction,” is what Miller says she was told.
Attorney believes CDC letter meant to make residents feel ‘crazy’
Mindy Bish, one of the attorneys representing the residents who spoke with NewsNation, said that letter was an attempt to convince residents they were “crazy.”
“It [the CDC letter] says, specifically, we don’t believe you should test or treat. And it even goes on to say that residents can feel stressed as a result of a major environmental disaster,” said Bish. “So when I read it, I thought that is the beginning of telling these people that they’re just crazy. Nothing’s really wrong with you. You’re just crazy.”
Play VideoFrustration, new demands in East Palestine: ‘We have to live here’ | Morning in America
Miller says CDC workers in East Palestine also became sick and left the area.
“I’m angry. I’m angry because every single one of those agencies at the bottom of that form, from federal, state, local, they all failed us,” said Miller.
The residents say their lawsuit is about truth and accountability.
Social media unites Texas girl and woman with similar heart conditions
“Justice has always been found with a jury and only with a jury,” said Bish. “So we’re going to find justice with juries until these companies realize that they just can’t act this way anymore.”
NewsNation has reached out to Norfolk Southern and the CDC for comment.
CDC told health providers not to treat after East Palestine derailment: Lawsuit
www.newsnationnow.com
NewsNation has obtained a letter from the CDC sent to hospitals and health care providers after the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
New Orleans ILA Family desperate for answers after Marrero man vanishes during overnight port shift
www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/orleans/missing-new-orleans-port-worker-darius-clement/289-b9c67…
The last known contact with Darius Clement was a phone call to his fiancée approximately one hour into his 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift on Monday, April 21.
Author: Lily Cummings / WWL Louisiana
Published: 8:58 PM CDT May 1, 2025
Updated: 10:13 AM CDT May 2, 2025
MARRERO, La. — The family of 42-year-old Darius Clement is pleading for information and demanding action after their loved one mysteriously disappeared over a week ago after reporting for his shift near the First Street Wharf at the Port of New Orleans.
Clement's aunt, Veronica Clement, described her nephew as a dedicated and hardworking man.
"He dedicated his life to that job," she said, "I told you about a fiancé, but he was already married to the job."
According to the family, Clement had recently been promoted to foreman with QSL, a company headquartered in Quebec.
The last known contact with Darius was a phone call to his fiancée approximately one hour into his 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift on Monday, April 21.
"So, it’s been just a circus. It’s really been a horrible circus," his aunt said, "They’re not being forthcoming when it comes to what’s going on. My nephew, my nephew, was somebody."
A missing person's report was filed with the Harbor Police the following day. However, Clement's family says obtaining information has been an uphill battle, and they are urging authorities to intensify their efforts.
"Do something for Darius," Clement said, "They’re disregarding it, and we think that that’s awful."
The Coast Guard said Harbor Police is the lead agency in this investigation.
Clement said the family has been in contact with Harbor Police, as well as the company, but says neither provided answers.
In a statement released to WWL Louisiana, the Harbor Police Department stated that "HPD is utilizing all available resources to find Mr. Clement," and confirmed that the search is ongoing.
Without any concrete information, Clement's family is caught in a painful limbo, unsure whether to grieve or hold onto hope for his safe return.
"I'm holding on to my faith, his fiancée is holding on to her faith, and we're believing, but we need something tangible to guide us through this," Veronica Clement said.
WWL Louisiana reached out to QSL for comment via email Thursday afternoon but has yet to receive a response.
New Orleans family holds vigil for missing dock worker
www.wdsu.com/article/new-orleans-dock-worker-missing-darius-clement-vigil/64758767
WDSU logo.pngUpdated: 6:40 PM CDT May 13, 2025
Family and friends of a missing New Orleans dock worker gathered Tuesday to hold a vigil.
Loved ones of Darius Clement, who disappeared during his work shift three weeks ago, are demanding answers and are hoping a search can resume.
About 50 of Clement's close family and friends gathered along Tchoupitoulas Street near the port, holding signs and chanting, "Where is Darius?"
Clement was last seen by his coworkers on a barge while working the night of April 22 at First Street Wharf, also known as QSL, a cargo handling company on the river.
His family is afraid he may have fallen into the river and are urging for the search to continue.
Harbor police reported that the search for Clement ended on May 2, after conducting river searches for 10 days after his disappearance. The Coast Guard concluded their search on April 23.
"They called off the search. They called off the search for a son, a nephew, a cousin. A friend. They called the search off. We need answers," said Veronica Clement, Darius' aunt.
The company where Darius worked said that the investigation is ongoing and they remain in contact with the Harbor Police.
Family, friends of missing dock worker hold vigil, demand for new search effort
www.wdsu.com
Loved ones of Darius Clement, who disappeared during his work shift three weeks ago, are demanding answers and are hoping a search can resume.
The Struggle In UAWD With UAW Local 7 Member Logan Ausherman
youtu.be/TTtJNb4QjUU
The caucus Unite All Workers For Democracy UAWD was set up in the UAW to fight the UAW bureaucracy which ran the Administration Caucus for over 70 years. It was successful
in helping to elect present UAW president Shawn Fein and most of his slate. Now the majority of the steering committee with the support of Labor Notes and a DSA caucus called Bread &
Roses decided that the organization had to be dissolved.
UAW Local 7 Logan Ausherman is a member of UAWD and he talks about how UAWD was formed, why. he joined in and what happened when this effort to dissolve the organization
took place. He also discusses the issues that led to this struggle.
Additional Media:
Trump's Trade War Tariffs, US UAW, Canadian Unifor Auto Workers & The Global Struggle For Workers
youtu.be/NKSRaRvIiP8
Understanding the cynical efforts to dissolve UAWD
tempestmag.org/2025/04/understanding-the-cynical-efforts-to-dissolve-uawd/
Teamsters Canada Statement Blasts Trump’s Trade War Tariffs
teamsters.ca/blog/2025/02/04/teamsters-canada-statement-on-us-canada-trade-war/
Trump Rallies Fascists In Detroit & Struggle In UAW & Labor With UAW 909 Pres Retiree Frank Hammer
youtu.be/tfd65NgXr_4
The Rightwing, Turning Point USA & The Targeting and Assault On Academics and Education Workers
youtu.be/J8rx3oRbr_A
Labor One Year After Jan 6 Insurrection & Rise Of Fascism With Vermont AFL-CIO Pres David Van Deusen
youtu.be/S-ILEb3h9s4
Millions of Angry, Armed Americans Stand Ready to Seize Power If Trump Loses in 2024
www.newsweek.com/2021/12/31/millions-angry-armed-americans-stand-ready-seize-power-if-trump-loses…
America is now in fascism’s legal phase
www.yahoo.com/news/america-now-fascism-legal-phase-100024511.html
It's Time To Prepare For Fascists! David Van Deusen, President of Vermont AFL-CIO On Struggles
youtu.be/5Ke7T3C2YLw
The Trump Insurrection, Trumpka, Vermont AFL-CIO & Democracy With Vermont AFL-CIO President Van Deusen
youtu.be/EaMg5K-bCMc
The Fight To Defend Working People & The AFL-CIO With Vermont AFL-CIO President David Van Deusen
youtu.be/bS152f71t5A
Possible Trump Coup & Vermont AFL-CIO Call For General Strike with Vermont Fed President David Van Deusen
youtu.be/CRfle7zUGNI
www.facebook.com/vtworkers/posts/2753812508174326?__tn__=K-R
www.rmtlondoncalling.org.uk/content/rmt-observers-attend-american-trade-union-convention-it-passe…
Vermont AFL-CIO & Democracy
vt.aflcio.org/news/vt-afl-cio-elects-new-leaders-progressive-turn-labor
Vermont AFL-CIO Members/Delegates Authorize Executive Board To Call For General Strike To Oppose Trump Coup!
www.facebook.com/vtworkers
WorkWeek 2-11-21 Rise Of Fascism and The Role Of Unions and Working Class
soundcloud.com/workweek-radio/ww-2-11-21-rise-of-fascism-and-role-of-unions-and-working-class
The Real History Of AFL-CIO Richard Trumka With "War Zone" Organizer Mike Griffin
youtu.be/AtnjuODZIgQ
WorkWeek
soundcloud.com/workweek-radio
Production of Labor Video Project
www.labormedia.net
www.labormedia.net
‘Israel’ killed 137 journalists in Gaza, largest on record in decades english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/-israel–killed-137-journalists-in-gaza–largest-on-record-i By Al Mayadeen English…
5/22/25 SMART Rally For SMART MEMBER Kilmar
Join SMART for Labor Demands Justice for Kilmar Rally
Graphic with images of workers at rallies and the event details.
A threat to one is a threat to all! On Thursday, join International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) General President Michael Coleman, union leaders and workers for a rally at Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., to demand due process for Kilmar Abrego Garcia and all workers.
WHEN: Thursday, May 22, at 5 p.m.
WHERE: Freedom Plaza, Washington, DC 20004
IAM member detained at Sea-Tac
www.thestand.org/2025/05/iam-member-detained-at-sea-tac/
Brother Maximo Londonio was detained by Customs and Border Protection returning from the Philippines with his family
SEATTLE, WA (May 20, 2025) — Another union member has been taken and held by immigration authorities after returning from a trip to the Philippines. Maximo Londonio — a green card holder, resident of Olympia, WA and member of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) Local Lodge 695 — was detained by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) upon his return to the United States, despite his legal permanent resident status. A father of three, he has been detained at Sea-Tac Airport for more than four days.
Maximo’s case echoes the detention of Lewelyn Dixon, a member of SEIU Local 925 and lab technician at the University of Washington. Both are Filipino immigrants who’ve lived in the U.S. most of their lives, both are green card holders, and both are treasured community members and union siblings. Aunty Lynn has been held at the privately-run NW Detention Center since February, awaiting a hearing.
Maximo and his family have made trips to the Philippines before with no issue, according to Tanggol Migrante Network WA, a community organization supporting Filipino immigrants. The group believes he may have been detained due to a past record, however, the only convictions Max has are nonviolent, over two decades old, and resolved. Max is 42 years old, and has lived in the United States since he was a child.
Crystal Londonio speaks at a rally on Monday at Sea-Tac Airport. Photo: Bayan USA Washington via Facebook
At a rally and press conference Monday, Maximo’s family called for his release, describing a loving family man and dedicated union member. His wife of 20 years, Crystal Londonio, an American citizen, spoke to his character through tears.
“He is loving, he is not violent. He has set the standard for who a father should be for their children…I look up to him. And it’s because of him that I am standing in front of you all, because he gives me strength and purpose,” said Crystal.
“He has always been willing to go the extra mile for anyone who needed him,” she continued. “I just want someone to go the extra mile for him.”
Per reporting in the Seattle Times, Max was finally able to speak with his wife by phone last night, sharing that he has been told he will be transferred to NWDC, although he has no details about when that may happen.
Conditions at the for-profit detention facility are deadly, and due to a unique and draconian interpretation of the law currently being challenged by a lawsuit led by the Northwest Immigrants Rights Project, immigration judges in Tacoma refuse to grant bond to even permanent residents held at the facility, leaving people to longer on detention for months.
Labor and community continue to call for the shutdown of the detention center and the release of union Sister Lewelyn, detained farmworker organizer Brother Alfredo ‘Lelo’ Juarez Zeferino, Brother Maximo, and all those held at the notorious facility.
6/6/25 In DC Rally With America’s Veterans | Unite for Veterans Coalition
www.unite4veterans.org/
Join CWA and Dropkick Murphys at Rally For Veterans
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On June 6, CWA members, retirees, and thousands of veterans and their families will converge on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the “Unite for Veterans, Unite for America” rally featuring the Celtic-punk band Dropkick Murphys.
Our group will meet between the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument. Look for the CWA flag on the grass lawn near the Smithsonian Castle. From there we will walk to the main stage as we rally to defend veteran and military family member employment in the federal workforce, stop the privatization and weakening of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and hold political leaders accountable for policies that harm veterans and their loved ones.
Click here for more information or email info@unite4vets.org.
Rally With America’s Veterans | Unite for Veterans Coalition
www.unite4veterans.org
Join veterans and allies in Washington, D.C. on June 6 to defend the VA, protect our benefits, and carry forward the legacy of the Bonus Army.