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Arizona SB1070 Protesters Hit Dodger Stadium
With the Arizona Diamondbacks in town, the Service Employees International Union - United Service Workers West were among other organizations helped organize a peaceful protest of around 100 people in front of Dodger Stadium against Arizona’s controversial SB1070 law.
“This is beautiful,” Daniel Guerrero, one of the coordinators of the protest from SEIU-USWW said. “This is a combination of different organizations and citizens who are joining us in protesting the racist law in Arizona.”
SB1070, also known as the “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act,” makes it a misdemeanor for an alien to be in Arizona without carrying their registration documents as required by federal law. Signed by Gov. Jan Brewer on April 23, 2010, it is scheduled to go into effect on July 28, 2010. With the Arizona Diamondbacks in town for a three-game series against the Dodgers, the protestors saw a perfect opportunity to voice their opposition.
“The owner of the Diamondbacks, we know for a fact, has been contributing a lot of money to the elected officials who pushed SB1070 in Arizona,” Guerrero said.
Ken Kendrick, managing general partner of the Diamondbacks, issued a statement on April 30 regarding the law.
We acknowledge the statement from Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director Michael Weiner and share the same concerns of the impact Arizona's immigration law will have on Major League players. However, we believe the federal government should act swiftly to address the immigration issue once and for all. We certainly are well aware of the struggles our state has due to federal inaction on illegal immigration. The fallout of recent state legislation has a direct impact on many of our players, employees and fans in Arizona, not to mention our local businesses, many of which are corporate partners of ours. Unfortunately, this whole situation is sad and disappointing for all of us who are associated with the Arizona Diamondbacks. We remain hopeful that this situation can be resolved in a manner that does not cause harm to our great state.
“We definitely want them to take a stand,” Guerrero said about how the Dodgers and Major League Baseball should respond.
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“We want the Dodgers to take a stronger stand. We know the All Star Game is happening in Arizona. We want Major League Baseball to take the game from Arizona.”
Dodger manager Joe Torre however was reluctant to take a firm stand.
“I don’t like to tell people how to think,” Torre said. “It’s sort of misguided as far as protesting because these guys are in town. I’m sure there are a number in that club that certainly don’t like it either.”
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