Split in organized labor over immigration

[dragonfire]

Updated: 25 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - The revival of the Senate's immigration legislation also resurrected a rare split inside organized labor.

The AFL-CIO formally came out against the bill Wednesday, reflecting the distaste among manufacturing unions and others whose members have been displaced by overseas competition and would have to compete with an influx of cheaper workers who don't have labor rights.

Embracing the bill are a couple of unions that cater to workers in the fast-growing service sector of the economy and also split from the AFL-CIO in 2005. They've seen their membership rosters swell with immigrants taking jobs in hotels and restaurants and as janitors.

The Senate legislation would legalize some 12 million unlawful immigrants and create a new temporary guest worker program wanted by employers in virtually all sectors of the economy. That's where the unions' interests diverge.

Earlier this month, the AFL-CIO and its allies succeeded in getting the Senate to limit the temporary worker program to only five years. The bill's proponents vowed to try and make it permanent again in later negotiations with the House if the bill makes it that far.

That victory, however, didn't placate labor leaders still opposed to the bill.

"This bill is far from the kind of comprehensive immigration reform that would improve the status quo for either U.S.-born or immigrant workers or their families and, in fact, it is likely to make matters much worse," said AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard L. Trumka.

Temporary foreign workers
Several unions see a real threat to American workers under the Senate bill because temporary foreign workers would for the first time be able to hold non-seasonal jobs.

Ana Avendano, an AFL-CIO attorney and director of its immigrant worker program, said that would give employers like Wal-Mart and owners of meatpacking and poultry plants a lower-wage source of year-round workers that could be exploited.

On the other side are unions like the Service Employees International Union and UNITE HERE, an amalgamation of formerly separate unions representing hotel, restaurant, laundry and textile workers.

For the full story see this link.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19352537/from/RS.2/

[Captainron]

As I have been saying, the Change to Win Coalition, has been the most active in pushing open borders activity. As the full MSNBC article states:
"Embracing the bill are a couple of unions that cater to workers in the fast-growing service sector of the economy and also split from the AFL-CIO in 2005. "

Actually there's more than a couple of unions. What do they get out of rapidly swelling membership rolls? I really don't thind added bargaining strenth is one of them. Whatever stength they have picked up now will be challenged when the economy takes a downturn, if past events are any indicator. One thing they are geting is some huge salaries for top level union bureaucrats.

I'm sure many other societies have had this same problem: the temptation to import workers during very brisk times. But then when things come back to earth what do you do with them? I don't feel that our nations immigration laws that affect the labor pool deserve to be broken just so a vocal, demanding lobby of individuals and groups can benefit.