AFL-CIO Is Opposed to Arizona Immigration Law,
But Is Silent about Attacks on Targeted Workers

By Harry Kelber

The AFL-CIO leadership has  strongly condemned Arizona’s new immigration law and will join  with the growing public  campaign for a federal comprehensive immigration law.   The Federation’s president, Richard Trumka, said: “The law is not only  an affront to American values of fairness and respect for the U.S. Constitution— it severely undermines workers’ rights.”

But Brother Trumka went further to describe how the Arizona law would threaten the jobs of millions of workers and disrupt union organizing campaigns.  He explained:

    Any employer faced with Latino workers’ complaints—in the form of
    a picket or a lawsuit—can simply call the police and have workers
    arrested under the guise of ‘reasonable suspicion.’ The law’s chilling
    effect is all too  clear."

And that’s what’s been happening to workers—with the active assistance of the Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, known as ICE, which is said to be auditing the employment records of 654 companies around the country in the hunt for undocumented workers.

The new policy, initiated by the Obama administration, replaces the workplace raids and mass roundups used by the Bush administration to ferret out ”illegal's." The goal is to create a “truly national deterrent” to unauthorized labor that would “change  the  practices of American employers as a  class,” says John T. Morton, assistant secretary of  Homeland Security.

Here is an example of  the  harm caused by a  witch-hunt against undocumented workers.  Last September 29, the American Apparel Company, a major garment factory in Los Angeles, was compelled  to fire 1,800 immigrant employees—a quarter of its work force—because federal investigators found discrepancies in the documents that those workers presented when they were hired. Under the new rules, employers could be penalized if they didn’t discharge their “illegal” workers.

Millions of ‘Illegal's’ Are Now  Rooted in Our Economy

An estimated  six to eight  million undocumented workers are now employed in agriculture, construction, transportation, health care and other industries. It is sheer fantasy to imagine that we could fire them all  and somehow replace them with white, unemployed workers--without wrecking the American  economy, even though some hysterical groups and politicians are mindlessly advocating it. And what about the brutal  act and mind-blowing  cost of deporting millions of immigrant families, as some groups see as a solution to our unemployment problems?

It is true that immigrant workers  take jobs at wages that may be substantially lower than white workers.  It is equally true that unorganized workers earn less than those who belong to unions. It is the task of organized labor to raise the wages and benefits of all workers.  But unfortunately, the AFL-CIO has not done its job  very well. The wages of most workers have remained stagnant for some time, and  little has been done to strengthen the bargaining power of unions.

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Speaking about immigration policy, Brother Trumka says:  “We need urgent action.”  But he offers no suggestions for action. Characteristically, Brother Trumka is better at  asking what we “need” to do, rather than supplying us with  possible solutions.

For one thing, we need the AFL-CIO Executive Council to issue a statement that it will come to the defense of any worker fired unfairly, and that includes undocumented workers. Let’s remember we are all descendants of immigrants, and that solidarity among workers is one of our most treasured values.

The AFL-CIO should consider setting  up a national task force to monitor the activities of federal immigration authorities, and it should  request each state affiliate to do the same. And of course, it  makes sense to establish a close working relationship with the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. And speaking of worker rights, rank-and-file members should be allowed to have their say in an open debate on the AFL-CIO web site

Brother Trumka, we’re still waiting for your plan to “make Wall Street pay.”   And what about the 11 million jobs that you expect to win, We are all waiting to hear from you. Please,  don't let us down.—Harry Kelber