It has the typical story framework of the Indian H-2B guest workers trafficked to the US to work for little money and live in cramped quarters. Except in this story the guest workers have fought back with a strategic two year grassroots campaign, culminating in Washington DC this week.

Sepia Mutiny has been following this story over the past few years (March 07, March 08) about the Indian guest workers that were trafficked to the Gulf Coast…

Signal International, a marine and fabrication company with shipyards in Texas and Mississippi, hired approximately 300 laborers from India as welders and pipe fitters in Mississippi under a guest worker program. In addition to decent wages, Signal allegedly promised good accommodations and steps to permanent US residency to its guest workers. But some of these workers have protested that Signal did not live up to any of its promises, and that they’ve been subjected to “slave” conditions. [Sepia Mutiny]

In the past year, this group of of workers have really organized, and organized well with the support of the New Orleans’ Workers Center for Racial Justice.

On March 6, 2008, over 100 Indian shipyard workers walked from their jobs in Pascagoula, Mississippi, located on the Gulf of Mexico…The Pascagoula workers who participated in the walkout, all highly skilled men from India who had paid recruiters to bring them to work in the U.S., contend that they have been subject to human trafficking. [Samar Magazine]

From Mar 18-27, 100 workers held a satyagraha or truth in action, in the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi, traveling from New Orleans to Washington DC, to reveal the truth of the guest worker program that is being used to sanction forced labor by migrants and to further disenfranchise the most vulnerable American workers. [Press Release]

On May 14th, the workers launched a hunger strike in front of the White House, The hunger strike ended this past Thursday, after eight days of fasting. Their demands? A continued presence in the US or the duration of the Department of Justice investigation into their case, a Congressional hearings on the abuses of the guest worker program, and a just immigration system. Most importantly, they are organizing to shed light on the abuses of the U.S. government’s H-2B guest worker program. Continue reading →

I believe I was among the first bloggers to throw out the name Bobby Jindal as a possible running mate for John McCain — I made the speculation back in February, not too long after McCain emerged as the front-runner in the Republican primaries. At the time it seemed a bit out there, even to me, and there was never any indication from anyone close to McCain that Jindal was on their list. Still, the story kept floating around, and now it seems to have moved to the next level.

For the first time, there are signs that Jindal is being considered among a very short list of possible running mates by the McCain camp:

Senator John McCain is planning to meet this weekend with at least three potential Republican running mates at a gathering at his ranch in Arizona, suggesting that he is stepping up his search for a vice president now that the Democratic contest appears basically decided, according to Republicans familiar with Mr. McCain’s plans.

Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and a one-time rival for the Republican nomination, have all accepted invitations to visit with Mr. McCain at his ranch in Sedona, these Republicans said. (link)

A couple of other names are also mentioned by the New York Times article, including Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, and Bob Portman. Lindsay Graham will also be invited to the “Veep Vet” party in Sedona, though thus far it appears he’s going as a close friend of McCain’s, rather than as a potential VP.

Given all that competition, it still seems unlikely that Jindal would be chosen. The strongest reason I was able to come up with before was a presumed Republican anxiety about a game-changing, mass-movement emerging around Obama. And while that has happened to some extent, it’s also become clear that there are limits to its reach (i.e., Appalachia). So the idea of off-setting a minority Democratic candidate with a minority Republican Vice-Presidential candidate is probably seeming less urgent now.

Still, perhaps we’re due to have our first Punjabi Vice President. Continue reading →

This morning Politico.con ran a story highlighting a problem that many of us suspect will keep getting worse before it can hope to get better: There aren’t any minorities running as Republicans in ’08.

Just a few years after the Republican Party launched a highly publicized diversity effort, the GOP is heading into the 2008 election without a single minority candidate with a plausible chance of winning a campaign for the House, the Senate or governor.

At a time when Democrats are poised to knock down a historic racial barrier with their presidential nominee, the GOP is fielding only a handful of minority candidates for Congress or statehouses — none of whom seem to have a prayer of victory. [Link]

Ouch. Amit Singh isn’t going to like hearing that he “doesn’t have a prayer,” but in my personal opinion (which I believe to be objective in this case) his resume is pretty thin for a candidate vying for a seat that the Democrats have held since 1991. The problem is that Republicans don’t attempt to recruit minorities in any visible way. In fact, when you can hold up Rush Limbaugh as an example of a Republican who sings the praises of a minority Republican as President (he’s a huge Jindal fan), you know you are in trouble.

Jack Kemp, the former Republican congressman and vice presidential nominee, says the culprit is clear: a “pitiful” recruitment effort by his party. “I don’t see much of an outreach,” he said. “I don’t see much of a reason to run.”

A former black GOP candidate who declined to be identified by name offered a slightly more charitable explanation. He said the party is so broke and distracted that wooing strong minority candidates is a luxury it simply cannot afford right now. [Link]

And then there are the “defections.” Ashwin Madia, who is running in Minnesota, used to be a Republican in college, but now has a real good shot at being elected to Congress as a Democrat. Another problem is that among Asian American minorities, the majority of Republican inroads are among the first generation immigrant population. Vietnamese Americans for example, usually vote Republican in high percentages because of post-Vietnam War politics. It is doubtful that this trend will hold with their children. Limited exit polling data has shown that young South Asians overwhelmingly vote Democrat, and thus will be more likely to run as a Democrat if they enter politics. No doubt that eight years of Bush probably has something to do with the recruitment efforts in ’08 as well. Arnold and Newt may be right. Before the Republicans can recruit minorities they may need to change their brand.

Continue reading →

Live from the University of California, I am here to give you instantaneous word on the activities of the APIA Presidential Townhall Forum going on right now. It’s 1pm, and I just got here. Volunteers, press, and community leaders are quietly milling around – HRC has a outreach table all set and as of this moment, the McCain and Obama tables are still empty. A group of Cambodian veterans just walked in and a small group of Pacific Islanders sit quietly in the corner.

If you want to check out the activities for the day – you too can join in. The Punjabi community has generously donated internet space – you can access the live feed at the Passion for Truth website here. I’ll be back with word as the day goes forward – but as of now there will be a Clinton simulcast and an Obama phone call. I’ll keep you posted! Continue reading →

A couple weeks ago, in response to some reader requests, we compiled some questions for Amit Singh, GOP Primary Candidate for the 8th District in Virginia. As with the first interview, questions this time around spanned a pretty broad range from the serious to the, uh, not so serious.

Between Amit’s campaign schedule and my travel schedule (I’m currently posting from yet another airport lounge…) it’s taken a bit longer than we wanted but we finally have the answers to your questions below the fold.

It’s also worth noting that although I’m a supporter of Amit’s campaign, the questions were selected by Amit from the original Post’s comments. Although not every question / statement was covered, he did hit a wide spread and the answers below are straight from his keyboard. I added a wee bit of post-production formatting to hopefully make the nearly 2000 words here a bit more readable and, in particular, highlight the mutineers who supplied the questions…

And, as with last time around, if you like what you hear, I’m sure Amit would appreciate your support. His website has a lot more campaign material and you can join up, buy a t-shirt, watch his YouTube channel, or join the facebook group.

Continue reading →

Like the movies Back to the Future, Lord of the Rings, and Scream, I too have returned for Part III – my third stint as a Mutineer. And like every good trilogy, I have a plot line that resuscitated me from the dark basement of the North Dakota bunkers – the exciting 2008 Presidential Elections.

Here in Southern California, the Asian and Pacific Islander community is all abuzz with the upcoming Presidential Townhall Forum to be held at the University of California, Irvine this Saturday May 17th at 4pm. In the works for the past few months, the Townhall will bring the candidates together and hold them accountable to OUR community in a historic first time ever event. At least 4,000 members of the APIA community are expected to come out, and it will be a great opportunity to have OUR issues finally highlighted in this important election.

The million dollar question – are the candidates really coming? Angry Asian Man says…

I’ve heard a pretty reliable rumor that the Clinton campaign has confirmed their participation for the event, but the organizers have yet to hear from the Obama and McCain campaigns. Dude, they better be there. Barack, where you at? And McCain, if you are indeed interested in courting the Asian vote, it might be a good idea to show up… this is Orange County, after all.[angryasianman]

McCain should pay attention — in Orange County, 47% of all Asian American voters are Republican. And why should Democratic candidates care? 46% of South Asian voters in Orange County are registered Democratic — the only APIA group in Orange County to have more registered Democrats then Republicans.

Continue reading →