On May 5th, 2016, I was illegally fired from the campaign of one of the most “progressive” congressional candidates in the United States. The firing was a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis race, sex, color, nationality, and religion. Most would never imagine that a candidate who received recognition from President Barack Obama, and a national endorsement from Bernie Sanders would be on the wrong side of a civil rights battle. Unfortunately for Pramila her campaign manager is Aaron Bly, an individual who has over the last few weeks demonstrated his disregard for civil rights, and people of color. More shocking than my firing was what unfolded in the aftermath: thinly veiled threats from the campaign, outright lies, and indifference for the so called African American and Latino communities of Seattle.

Coming of Age as an Organizer

Organizing runs deep in my family. My great great grandfather had to flee for his life because he was organizing people for the NAACP in Bryan, Texas early in the 20th century. My grandfather was a community leader and educator. My father was an activist and organizer for most of my childhood. I grew up watching my father and other community leaders tackle tough issues like inner city violence during the gang epidemic in Fort Worth, Texas in the early ’90s. I took what I learned from my family and continued in the organizing tradition.

As an undergraduate at Sam Houston State University, I was the NAACP President and Student Body President. I was the North Texas field director for a U.S. Senate Campaign. I was a staff member (conducting Faith Based, Economic and Education Outreach) for Fort Worth’s first African-American Congressman, and I have worked on several other community organizing projects and campaigns.

By the time I arrived in the Seattle area in early 2016 I had been out of the political game for almost two years. Politics is exciting but exhausting. I was all but done with politics but a friend encouraged me to throw my hat back into the ring. A friend of a friend introduced me to Pramila’s campaign manager via email earlier this year. I sent in my resume and I was excited when I was contacted by Pramila’s camp for an interview in mid April.

Joining the Movement

I was hired by the Pramila for Congress Campaign by David Ayala-Zamora, the field director for the campaign. When I interviewed with David on April 22, 2016, we talked about organizing philosophies, political action in communities of color, and he told me about his 34 years of activism. David mentioned the duties of the job but said nothing about the hours or schedule. This issue is important to me because as a Hebrew that can trace my heritage back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I keep the Sabbath not just as a physical day of rest but because of a spiritual covenant with YHWH.

I specifically asked David if there were any scheduling expectations for the position. David told me that his philosophy as a manager would be to give organizers flexibility as long as “we got the job done.” I walked away from the interview excited about the opportunity, David’s flexible/practical approach to organizing, and the chance to work for a candidate with a history of standing up for marginalized communities.

Training Day (s)

On May 2nd and May 3rd I attended training with the five other organizers hired by the campaign. Heading up the Field Team was David Ayala-Zamora, the charismatic leader from Latin America, who had organized for workers rights and Aaron Bly the campaign manager who had worked for Obama in Ohio. Each member of the team was intelligent and had a strong grasp of politics. The two days were filled with information of how we would use data and how we would use the “Obama Model” to organize neighborhoods. We were even given a mock schedule of how we could organize our time by one of 270 Strategies consultants from New York City.

Even after we were given our mock work schedule, one of the other organizers specifically asked Aaron about hourly and office expectations. Aaron deferred to David, the field director, who again stated that he would be flexible. Later that day David suggested that all organizers meet at the North office on Saturday to do canvassing on the upcoming Saturday. My discussions with David had given me the the understanding that organizers would be able to make their own schedule for calls and canvassing so the next morning May 4th I sent David an email informing him that I would be honoring the practice of Sabbath weekly. I also expressed my optimism that I would do the job effectively.

Illegal Firing

On May 5, 2016, I met with David Ayala-Zamora (Field Director) and Aaron Bly (Campaign Manager), who informed me that “after some discussion” they decided that the position would require an employee to work all seven days a week. David appeared visibly disappointed while he discussed letting me go, while Aaron sat silent. They asked me if I had any questions. I said no. I left the meeting and went directly home. Nowhere in the offer letter or the job interview was it indicated that the position required working all seven days of the week. This was not the flexible schedule that I had been promised. I was certain that with my past experience, I could easily meet the weekly and monthly goals of the campaign. However I was never given that opportunity.

My Firing Was A Violation of Civil Rights Act of 1964

According to U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission “Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits religious discrimination and requires employees to make reasonable accommodations to employees’ and applicants’ sincerely held religious beliefs.” In the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s “What You Should Know About Workplace Accommodation” page, one of the six common religious accommodations noted by the EEOC is when “an employee needs accommodation of a religious belief that work on his Sabbath is prohibited.”

Furthermore, in similar cases to this one (EEOC’s Civil Action No. 5:08-cv-00185) the courts ruled that employees can not be terminated because they cannot work on the Sabbath. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Equal employment guidelines apply to employees and applicants and deals with both hiring and firing practices.

No attempt or offer to accommodate my faith practices was made. There was no attempt to even see if arrangements could be made with other coworkers or if I could fill another position, which is required by federal law. My illegal firing left me unemployed with no possibility of working on another campaign, as it was public knowledge that I came on board with Pramila. The same day that I was fired I sent an email informing Aaron and David that the firing was illegal and a violation of the Civil rights act of 1964.

After a series of emails on Friday and Sunday I arranged to meet with campaign representatives on Monday May 9th. I thought that after realizing the illegality of his actions Aaron Bly would take corrective action. Instead Aaron chose to take coercive action.

The Meeting

When I met with representatives of the Pramila for Congress campaign, Aaron Bly, David Ayala-Zamora, and Dmitri Iglitzin, the campaign attorney, were present. Dmitri Iglitzin was very frank and stated that the campaign was not going to give me any compensation for my illegal firing. Dmitri downplayed my legitimate concerns about the violation of my civil rights by saying it wouldn’t hurt the campaign because it would just be a “ONE DAY STORY” in the news.

Aaron then asked me if I thought there was any other way to remedy the situation. I let Aaron know that I have done “African-American” and “Latino” outreach in previous campaigns. However Aaron quickly asserted that there was No Budget for African American or Latino Outreach. Which is outrageous, considering these groups collectively represent 14.2% of the population in this congressional district. This just re-emphasized my understanding that Aaron Bly has little regard for certain communities of color. This was not the first time that I witnessed indifference or obliviousness to communities of color.

It quickly became apparent to me that the only purpose of the meeting was to discourage me from filing an EEOC complaint and lawsuit. As the meeting wrapped up Dmitri also skirted the fine line between discouragement and threat, by saying that if I filed a lawsuit or EEOC complaint, I might get labeled as a “troublemaker.” I am paraphrasing but he essentially said you’ll apply for jobs and wonder why you’re not getting a call back. I knew exactly what language he was speaking.

Spin City: The Outright Lies and Misrepresentations of Aaron Bly

On May 11th the Seattle Metropolitan published an article by Josh Feit discussing my claims of discrimination. In the article Aaron stated that the candidates were informed of the regulations to work on Saturday. This lie was twofold: (1) there was no notification of any requirement of any specific work days before hiring and (2) Aaron used the word “candidate” to imply that I was not an employee of the campaign. In fact, one of the titles of Josh’s article was “Complaints of Discrimination from Jayapal Job Applicant” the title was corrected to indicate my status as an employee after I contacted him. The six organizers including myself were campaign staff and the campaign announced us as such on the campaign Facebook page. Aaron went on to say in the article that I pressed him for another job even though he’s the one that suggested I propose something else that I could do on the campaign. And then proceeded to tell me that there was no budget for Latino and African American outreach.

The Campaign’s Flimsy Defense

Pramila’s campaign has attempted to argue that working on Saturday is a bona fide occupational qualification of campaign work. However if an employer has a bona fide occupational qualification for a job that is something they need to state upfront. The campaign did not state a required schedule upfront.

Furthermore, the Pramila campaign has not provided any compelling argument that proves canvassing goals could not be met without my presence on Saturday. As an organizer nothing would prevent me from training volunteer canvassers who could canvass in my assigned district on Saturday, even if I was not present with them. Aaron Bly emphasized on a number of occasions that the role of an organizer would be to get volunteer leaders to do about one-third of our work.

Additionally major canvassing goals for a campaign can just as easily be achieved on a Sunday. Potential voters may be just as or more accessible on Sunday as they are on Saturday. Finally the weekend is not the only time that campaigns can conduct canvassing efforts. During the summer, the longer days allow for canvassing on practically every day of the week.

Pramila for Congress hired six organizers, the campaign claims that this is more than any other congressional campaign in the District 7 race. However the campaign made no attempt to see if there was a way to reasonably accommodate my request. I am certain that coordination with other organizers would have made the situation work, as is mandated by Federal Law. No attempt or offer to accommodate my faith practices was made. There was no attempt to even see if arrangements could be made with other coworkers or if I could fill another position, which is required by federal law.

Aftermath

The EEOC, Washington State Human Rights Commission, and Civil Courts will be investigating my civil rights complaints against the Pramila for Congress campaign. My concern is for the 14.2% of the district that will be ignored by an Aaron Bly led campaign, the so-called Latinos and African-Americans that some progressives think are not worthy of outreach during the primaries. For too long communities of color have been given the table scraps of the Democratic Party. For the most part communities of color have been taken for granted by the left. So-called progressives have talked a good game but as it stands we are fighting for the same issues Cesar Chavez, Martin Luther King, Barbara Jordan, and Shirley Chisholm was fighting for decades ago. The sad thing is a lot of progressives don’t understand that voting for Obama, living in Seattle-Portland-SanFran-NY, or watching The Daily Show doesn’t make them immune to being racist or violating civil rights.

It’s time to hold everyone accountable for what they say and do, not just the Donald Trumps of the world. Pramila’s lawyer told me that if I filed an EEOC complaint I may be labeled a troublemaker (like the people I grew up admiring : Malcolm X, MLK, Che). He told me I wouldn’t be called back for jobs in Seattle. I’m willing to take that risk. The one thing that He and Aaron absolutely got wrong is that civil rights discrimination is not a ONE DAY Story.

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