Know Your Rights: Sur Legal Provides Training for Workers Across the South

We believe that knowledge is power, and the Sur Legal team is committed to equipping immigrant and vulnerable workers, as well as organizers that fight alongside these workers, with the information they need to protect themselves from potential exploitation by abusive employers. So far this year, we have provided 11 trainings to immigrant worker communities, organizers and advocates, law students, and other attorneys.

In April, we provided three trainings, starting with a Know Your Rights presentation on labor rights to a group of Afghan refugee women with partners Refugee Women’s Network, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta, and the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, with interpretation provided in Dari and Pashto. Between August 2021 and Spring 2022, more than 1,700 Afghans arrived in Georgia after being evacuated by the U.S. following the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan. The adults in these families are now rebuilding their lives and finding employment in industries and with companies across the state.

Know Your Rights

Legal Extern, Bethany Biswas, and Executive Director, Shelly Anand, deliver a training for Afghan refugee women.

Additionally in April, Sur Legal partnered with the Florida Hispanic Bar Association and the Public Interest Law Section of the Florida Bar to provide an online training: Deferred Action for Immigrant Workers Involved in Labor Violations. The recording of this training is available to watch on YouTube here. The Sur Legal team also delivered a training on the National Labor Relations Act in April 2023, led by our Spring Extern Sofia Montez, after they completed a Know Your Rights popular education series on the topic.

In May, we co-presented on labor based deferred action with Arise Chicago and the National Immigration Law Center for the Practicing Law Institute, to over 170 attendees.

In July the Sur Legal team partnered with the Eritrean American Community Association of Georgia to deliver a Know Your Rights training on labor rights to members of the local Eritrean community—many of whom are former refugees or diversity visa recipients. There is a large and well-established Eritrean community in Georgia, predominantly in DeKalb County, which has been growing steadily since the 1990s.

In addition to these trainings, Sur Legal continues to develop content for our Popular Education program on social media. Notable and well-received topics from this summer include our series on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, explaining protections in the workplace against discrimination and harassment, and we are currently showcasing a series on Child Labor Law, given the recent media coverage of rampant child labor violations across the country. 

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We remain committed to sharing this essential knowledge with communities across the Deep South! If you would like to partner with Sur Legal Collaborative to host an in-language Know Your Rights training for your community, school, group, or organization, please contact us at info@surlegal.org.