Labor Groups Reach an Accord on Immigration

lilbawler2001 · 04-14-2009, 12:33 AM

Quote:

The nation’s two major labor federations have agreed for the first time to join forces to support an overhaul of the immigration system, leaders of both organizations said on Monday. The accord could give President Obama significant support among unions as he revisits the stormy issue in the midst of the recession.

John Sweeney, president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., and Joe T. Hansen, a leader of the rival Change to Win federation, will present the outlines of their new position on Tuesday in Washington. In 2007, when Congress last considered comprehensive immigration legislation, the two groups could not agree on a common approach. That legislation failed.
The accord endorses legalizing the status of illegal immigrants already in the United States and opposes any large new program for employers to bring in temporary immigrant workers, officials of both federations said.
“The labor movement will work together to make sure that the White House as well as Congress understand that we speak about immigration reform with one voice,” Mr. Sweeney said in a statement to The New York Times.
But while the compromise repaired one fissure in the coalition that has favored broad immigration legislation, it appeared to open another. An official from the United States Chamber of Commerce said Monday that the business community remained committed to a significant guest-worker program.
“If the unions think they’re going to push a bill through without the support of the business community, they’re crazy,” said Randel Johnson, the chamber’s vice president of labor, immigration and employee benefits. “There’s only going to be one shot at immigration reform. As part of the trade-off for legalization, we need to expand the temporary worker program.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/us/14immig.html

Here we go again.

Sonawabich · 04-14-2009, 12:56 AM

Its a good thing

DaLastHope · 04-14-2009, 01:19 AM

A change is coming.

Dreamer X · 04-14-2009, 03:09 AM

Ruddy awesome

Ethoswithme · 04-14-2009, 12:50 PM

lalaalalallalalalalalalalal please please let this happen before my B day may 28 GOD that would be the best gift EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

C-Zar · 04-14-2009, 01:06 PM

THIS IS GOOD!!! hope there would be no differences later on

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piratedream · 04-14-2009, 06:17 PM

This is very good, the Democrats owe a lot to the labor unions, having them on our side is good news.

angeleno · 04-14-2009, 06:36 PM

The DailyKos has picked up the story (yeeeay). Please take the time to post a comment since this is the kind of people we can most likely turn to our side.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/4...gration-Reform

"Great news this morning, as the AFL-CIO and Change to Win labor federations (already in talks to reunite into a single House of Labor) have developed a unified, worker-oriented approach to reforming our broken immigration laws in a way that works for all workers in the US -- both citizens and immigrants ...

Labor has for some time been united in supporting a path to legalization for undocumented workers. But in 2007, the federations split over the McCain-Kennedy bill's push to expand guest worker programs -- programs that all too often operate to create 21st Century indentured servitude. Some unions believed that it was worth accepting the Chamber of Commerce-designed guest worker provisions in order to get immediate legalization, while others believed that we could get a better bill with no new guest worker plan.

Now's our chance to get that better bill.

Americans are increasingly convinced that it just makes sense to create a fair path to legalization for immigrants who are already working to build better lives for their families in the United States. After all, these folks are already participants in our labor markets -- and most pay taxes and otherwise contribute to the common good in the same manner as citizens and legal immigrants. It's unconscionable to continue to force such people to remain on the fringes of American society. But with "real" unemployment at 15.6% and rising, it's going to be nigh impossible for the Chamber and its cheap-labor-addicted allies to push for a guest worker plan aimed at importing temporary workers, a la Dubai, for the sole purpose of undercutting the wages of citizens and immigrants alike.

That's why this is such a great time for Obama to be pushing for common-sense, worker-oriented immigration reform like that urged by the AFL-CIO and CTW -- reform aimed at bettering the lives of all working families in America, regardless of where they were born. It's a chance to bring hard-working immigrants out of the shadows, and to develop a practical, reality-based system for determining future immigration flow based on real labor-market needs.

And with presidential leadership, a united labor movement, and the momentum of history on our side, we'll get it done. "

originalgabe · 04-14-2009, 09:05 PM

YES! this is exactly what ANY reform (dream, cir ) needs! less bickering between orgs with similar missions and more cooperation!

Lets hope this helps Obama push this throught!

lilbawler2001 · 04-15-2009, 06:27 PM

Updated story.

Quote:

Labor unions are preparing nonetheless to promote their framework as the way forward.
"We are not just looking at this from the perspective of Democrats or Republicans. We believe that we need 279 votes -- 218 in the House, 60 in the Senate, and one president," said Eliseo Medina, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union, a member of Change to Win.
"We are going to be having conversations with each and every member of Congress . . . about why we think this makes sense for America, why it makes sense now and why we need to take advantage of this opportunity. We are not taking anybody for granted," Medina said.

Quote:

But the AFL-CIO, representing industrial unions, lobbied against attempts to expand temporary worker programs or legalize the status of the estimated 11-12 million undocumented workers already residing in the country, citing concerns that allowing more workers into the economy would artificially depress wages across the board.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/cq/20090414/...itics3096817_3

This is the reason why so many dems voted against the CIR bill in 2007. I wonder how Byron dorgan is going to vote this time, because he is a very strong labor guy.

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Labor Groups Reach an Accord on Immigration