Dozens Fired After Ditching Work For 'Day Without Immigrants' Protest

Twelve Latino employees from the I Don't Care Bar and Grill in Tulsa, Okla. told Fox 23 News they were fired over text message because they didn't show up for their shift and failed to let their employers know about their absence. The employees told the station they expected to be reprimanded, but not dismissed.

...The restaurant had already posted on Facebook seeking employees for its open positions.

...According to News Channel 5, 18 workers from Bradley Coatings Inc. were let go. The workers told the station they told their employer they would be joining in the nationwide protest on Wednesday and when they returned to work Thursday they were informed they had been fired.

"We are the team leaders directly under the supervisors and they informed us last night that we could not go back to work and the boss said we were fired," one employee told the station.

An attorney for Bradley Coatings said in a statement that the employees were told they would "need to show up for work (on Thursday) or they would be terminated" because of the "time-sensitive" job they were assigned to. The statement contended that the firings had nothing to do with politics.

Encore Boat Builders LLC, based out of Lexington, S.C., had 21 workers who didn't show up for work Thursday. WLTX-TV reported they were told not to participate in the demonstrations or face termination and when they failed to show up, the company followed through on its threat.

Six staff members at a Bonita Springs, Fla. daycare quit, Rev. Jeremy Walker, who runs the day care, told NBC 2. However, two workers said they were fired for wanting to join the protest, while four others claim they resigned after the others two were fired.