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Thousands of immigrant workers at Cintas, one of the world’s largest laundry and uniform companies, face firings if the company follows a discriminatory government proposal.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has encouraged employers to fire workers who fail to correct mismatched social security numbers or re-verify their authorization to work in the United States. The proposal is not yet law.

Cintas, headquartered in Cincinnati, designs and manufactures products such as uniforms, entrance mats, bathroom supplies, and fire safety equipment. Cintas runs 350 work sites in the U.S. and Canada. Most Cintas employees are immigrants. Workers in California, Illinois, Connecticut, Minnesota, and Wisconsin may lose jobs under the DHS proposal.

Workers at the company’s Schaumburg, Illinois plant have already received “no-match” letters from the Social Security Administration. The company will fire them within two months if their social security number issues are not settled.

Contact the Department of Homeland Security at 202-282-8495 and tell them to stop intimidating immigrant workers. To support Cintas workers in their struggle for union rights, you can contact the “Uniform Justice” campaign at 800-872-8646 and let them know you’re interested in getting involved. You can email the campaign at Uniform Justice.

Expiration Date:
Mon, 01/01/2007 - 12:00am