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:
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 two labor federations have agreed in the past to proposals that would give legal status to illegal immigrants. But in 2007 the A.F.L.-C.I.O. parted ways with the service employees and several other unions when it did not support legislation put forth by the Bush administration because it contained provisions for an expanded guest-worker program.
In the new accord, the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and Change to Win have called for managing future immigration of workers through a national commission. The commission would determine how many permanent and temporary foreign workers should be admitted each year based on demand in American labor markets. Union officials are confident that the result would reduce worker immigration during times of high unemployment like the present.
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.