On October 24, 2025, sisters Adriana and Evelyn Velasquez, along with several of their co-workers, filed a civil complaint against their employer Marder Trawling Company, a major seafood processing company in New Bedford. The workers had been forced to pay a supervisor $100 in cash weekly to keep their jobs, and those from Rhode Island had to pay an additional $60 a week for transportation.

On October 29, five days after the suit was filed, Marder fired 6 of those workers. Despite community outcry, the company has refused to reinstate them and they remain unemployed.

These are only a few of more than 80 immigrant workers -- many of them parents of young children -- who have been fired because they stood up for their rights.

Your generous donation will help CCT support these workers as they continue to fight against injustice, advocating not only for themselves but for low-wage workers throughout the seafood processing industry.

Please consider donating to this important cause. Every contribution helps us move closer to a just workplace for everyone!