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 1 Workers Protest — Basic Story

Many employees of the state are getting together to protest the way they are treated at work. These people are
not happy. They feel that minorities are being discriminated against.
This group of people says that minorities are not being treated fairly at work. They think that minorities are
accused of doing things wrong more often than other people. They also feel that workers are getting in trouble if
they file complaints.
One woman who worked for the state for fifteen years was fired. She does not think she should have lost her
job. This woman is angry and feels that she was discriminated against because of her race.
When people were running for the office of governor one man spoke about taking care of racial discrimination.
Many minorities liked what he had to say and voted for him. This man became governor but many minorities
do not feel he has done anything to help them.
This group of people is very unhappy about their working conditions. They do not feel that they are being
treated fairly. They gathered to protest what they are calling discrimination against minorities in the workplace.

 2 Workers Protest — Full Story

About a thousand state employees are planning a rally and demonstration today. Outside the state employee
board in Capital Mall 91,000 employees from across the state are represented by this rally. These workers are
finding that discrimination has been going on for years within the state ranks. They back up their claims with a
recently released report from their union. They say that minorities suffer from greater disciplinary actions and
that retaliation against employees who file discrimination complaints are on a sharp increase.
Ana Maria Ortega was a 15-year state employee who was fired in 1997. She backed Governor Gray Davis
because he had campaigned on a promise to help Latinos and African-Americans, but since his election, she
claims he has done little. Ortega says, "He made promises to my community, and I as a Latina thought he was
going to take care of this racial discrimination issue through state government. We are educated and I have
excellent work performance with the state government for many years."
Ana Maria is just one of the many current or former state employees at today's rally. Most have personal stories
much like what she told. This rally is expected to last until 1pm today. No response from Governor Davis'
office as of yet today about the complaints and he is just outside of Fresno signing some legislation. He will
head down to San Diego following that and is not expected to be in Sacramento at all today.

 3 complaint

to say in writing that you are not happy

 4 employee

someone who works for a company

 5 fair

to treat all people the same

 6 fired

to be told not to come back to work

 7 gather

to get together in a group

 8 governor

the leader of a state

 9 minority

a group who is a small part of the population

 10 protest

to publicly disagree with something

 11 race

a group of people who came from the same place

 12 work

to do a job

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