Juan Gonzalez, Daily News columnist and co-host of “Democracy Now,” the TV and radio news program, addressed dozens of 1199ers and friends at a March 14 book party in 1199SEIU’s Manhattan headquarters.

The books discussed by Gonzalez were “News for All the People: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media,” (Verso, 2011) written with Joseph Torres, and the newly-revised edition of “Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America” (Penguin Books, 2011).

Gonzalez said that he had rushed to the event after writing a column for the March 15 edition of the Daily News about the record $500 million that Science Applications International Corporation has agreed to pay the city and federal government to avoid prosecution for its role as contractor in the city’s scandal-plagued City Time project.

The money represents a huge chunk of the nearly $700 million that New York City taxpayers shelled out for an automated timekeeping and payroll system that mushroomed over a decade to 10 times its original price tag of $63 million,” Gonzalez said

The $5000 million also is the largest amount ever paid to resolve an accusation of contract fraud involving a state or local government. It was Gonzalez who brought the scandal to light more than two years ago and subsequently won his second George Polk award, one of the most prestigious journalism prizes in the nation.

“I’m happy to be back at Dr. (Martin Luther) King’s and my favorite union,” Gonzalez said in his opening remarks. Several of those in attendance had worked with Gonzalez over the years from his days as a cofounder of the Young Lords Party, to president of the National Congress of Puerto Rican Rights, to leader of the New York Daily News strike twenty years ago.

Gonzalez described “News for All the People” as “the first cogent analysis of the history of the Black, Latino, Asian and Native American press.” It is an exposition of how race has played a central role in the nation’s media, from colonial times to the Internet. It chronicles the struggles of journalists of color whose efforts created a fighting alternative and democratic press, while simultaneously fighting to integrate mainstream media outlets.

The revised edition of “Harvest of Empire,” originally published in 2000, includes important developments during the first decade of this century, such as the historic protests by immigrants in 2006 and the selection of the first Latina, Sonia Sotomayor, to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gonzalez framed the issue of immigration reform as one of democracy and the broadening of the progressive movement. “The 2008 election produced the most diverse electorate in our nation’s history,” he said, noting the substantial increase of the Black, Latino and Asian-American vote.

Gonzalez also showed a clip from a soon-to-be-released documentary, “Harvest of Empire,” which is loosely-based on his book. He also stressed the importance of the fight for network neutrality and public access to the airwaves. He cited the increasing domination of telecommunications companies such as Comcast and Cablevision over what viewers are able to see.

Dozens of those in attendance bought copies of the two books and patiently waited to have Gonzalez sign them.