AFL-CIO’s Trumka, SEIU’s Henry touch off big immigration push
WASHINGTON, D.C. (PAI) —
Backed by strong statements from AFL-
CIO President Richard Trumka and
Service Employees International Union
(SEIU) President Mary Kay Henry,
dozens of local union leaders from
around the nation descended on Capitol
Hill starting June 11 for a big push for
comprehensive immigration reform.
They lobbied lawmakers to create a
13-year path to admission and eventual
citizenship of undocumented people in
the U.S., plus stronger enforcement
along the U.S.-Mexico border and a
strong employment verification system.
Their campaign came as senators be-
gan work on legislation along those
lines, which President Barack Obama
backs. Senate leaders want to approve
an immigration reform bill by July 4.
The federation also sent activists to
offices of 27 senators nationwide.
Trumka and Henry helped launch
the latest drive at a White House press
conference on June 11, after Obama
made the point that employers who ex-
ploit undocumented workers hurt all
workers.
“Right now, our immigration system
has no credible way of dealing with the
11 million men and women who are in
this country illegally,” Obama said.
“And, yes, they broke the rules; they did-
n’t wait their turn. They shouldn’t be let
off easy. They shouldn’t be allowed to
game the system. But at the same time,
the vast majority of these individuals
aren’t looking for any trouble. They’re
just looking to provide for their families,
contribute to their communities.
“Too often, they’re forced to do what
they do in a shadow economy where
shady employers can exploit them by
paying less than the minimum wage,
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making them work without overtime,
not giving them any benefits. That
pushes down standards for all workers,”
Obama continued. “It’s bad for every-
body. Because all the businesses that do
play by the rules, that hire people
legally, that pay them fairly, they’re at a
competitive disadvantage. American
workers end up being at a competitive
disadvantage. It’s not fair. But that’s the
broken system that we have today.”
That’s one big reason that organized
labor strongly backs immigration re-
form. Analysis of the proposed legisla-
tion shows it would immediately bring
undocumented workers, the majority of
the 11 million undocumented overall,
under U.S. labor laws, including the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act and its right
to organize, even before they seek per-
manent citizenship.
“What you see here is probably the
broadest coalition of American society
that’s been assembled,” Trumka said.
“You have business, you have labor, you
have law enforcement, you have entre-
preneurs — we have groups from all
over the place, and we all agree on sev-
eral things. We all agree, one, that the
system is broken; two, that we need
comprehensive immigration reform and
we need it now.
“It will be good for not only new-
comers or immigrants, but it will be
good for every worker,” Trumka contin-
ued. “It will be good for business. It
will be good for the economy. And
that’s why all of us have come together
to try to push and get this thing done this
year. Because every day that we wait is
a day wasted and a day that we’ve lost,
a day that the economy won’t grow.”
“We want to be able to restore eco-
nomic fairness across this economy,”
said SEIU’s Henry, whose union in-
cludes tens of thousands of immigrant
workers. “We stand proudly with the
rest of the sectors from all across the
walks of life represented here to insist
that the Senate needs to move this now.”
SEIU also took to the media to push
senators to approve immigration re-
form. Starting June 11, it spent more
than $1 million to buy advertising on
national cable television networks, urg-
ing constituents to call their senators
and advocate for the bill. The ads fea-
ture law enforcement officials, small
business owners, veterans, youngsters
called Dreamers, who were brought to
the U.S. as children, and Republican
voters who call on the Senate to act.
However, presidents of two sectors
of the American Federation of Govern-
ment Employees (AFGE) oppose such
legislation. Kenneth Palinkas, who rep-
resents federal law enforcement offi-
cers, and Chris Crane, who represents
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
agents, say enforcement isn’t strong
enough. “There has been much public
concern over the fact that the legaliza-
tion occurs prior to any border enforce-
ment,” Palinkas said. “History tells us
future promises will not be kept and that
our border agents will be left high and
dry by the executive branch as they have
so many times before, regardless of who
writes the plan.”
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