Stories shared of workers' rights, deportation and police shootings at Long Beach May Day rally and march

A coalition of 19 Long Beach organizations representing causes ranging from workers’ rights to stopping deportation of undocumented immigrants marched from MacArthur Park in Cambodia Town to City Hall on Sunday.

At least 150 people attended the rally and march put on by the May Day Long Beach Coalition. Sgt. Bradley Johnson, a Long Beach police spokesman, said the participants were peaceful and that there were no problems associated with the march.

Several people from local organizations, as well as people who said they were affected by deportation, officer-involved shootings, wage theft, labor disputes and other issues, spoke Sunday.

Police issues

“We want our voices to be heard,” said Ruben Morejon, the older brother of 19-year-old Hector Morejon, who was killed in April 2015 by a Long Beach police officer responding to a report of trespassing and vandalism in a vacant Cambodia Town apartment.

The Morejon family has an ongoing federal lawsuit against the Long Beach Police Department, the city and other parties they allege are responsible for the fatal shooting.

Among other allegations, the family said Hector Morejon should never have been shot because he was unarmed and did not pose a threat to the officer, who was a 25-year veteran of the force.

“We want accountability,” Morejon said, adding that he and his family decided to join the May Day marchers because they see their fight for police accountability as part of a common struggle for human rights.

Workers’ rights

Anthony Vallecillo, a 28-year-old warehouse worker for Califoia Cartage Company in Wilmington, said he and other warehouse workers have been mired in a two-year battle with the company over labor issues.

Joining him was Rosa Casarrubias, a Long Beach hotel worker.

“I am a working woman; a mother of three children,” said Casarrubias, who said she has worked at a Long Beach hotel for nine years.

However, cuts are causing current staff to be overworked, she said.

“Sometimes I deliver room service because we have large workloads and we’re short-staffed,” Casarrubias said. “But I don’t feel safe delivering orders alone.”

Immigration reform

Victor Alvarez, 20, and his mother, Infa Ortiz, shared how deportation has impacted their lives in recent months.

Alvarez said his father, Jose, was deported in February after a Cal State Long Beach police officer pulled him over for having a broken taillight.

Advertisement

Jose had a prior conviction related to trafficking 20 years ago but had been a model citizen for the past 20 years, his son said.

“We are here today in protest against that, to change how the system works,” Alvarez said. “My father, he’s a very hardworking man.”

Ortiz joined her son, addressing the crowd briefly in Spanish through tears.

“The university police did not have the right to bring him to immigration,” Ortiz said. “We need all of your support so that Cal State Long Beach brings my husband home.”