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AFL-CIO Calls to Legalize Workers


July 29, 2005


The United States' largest labor federation, the AFL-CIO, brought to a close its 25th annual convention with a call to legalize undocumented workers and a condemnation of the free trade agreement with Central America and the Dominican Republic known as the CAFTA-DR.

"Undocumented workers and their families should get the opportunity to secure legal status through a new legalization program," says a resolution endorsed by the assembly.

The AFL-CIO also called for putting a stop to "the immoral, chaotic and illegal flow of workers across our border" and criticized the Bush administration's temporary-workers program.

Union Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson told EFE immigrants are an essential part of the U.S. economy and should "enjoy its rights."

The main organization as well as a dissident coalition formed at the Chicago convention decided to focus attention and funds on recruiting Latino workers, especially women.

Chavez-Thompson, born in Texas and the grandchild of Mexicans, said the federation would devote 30 percent of its resources to organizing industries with an abundance of Hispanics, such as construction.

It also intends to focus on companies with fewer than 20 employees, "where women earn less than men for the same work," and on industries where professionals predominate "but receive nothing more than a salary."

The AFL-CIO will seek to involve more Latinos at every level of the labor organization, through people "who speak their language, understand their culture and see the union as their home."

Chavez-Thompson explained that the federation opposes CAFTA-DR because it does not protect workers, only large corporations.

"It takes rights away from workers here, but does not give them to the workers of Central America and the Dominican Republic, because those jobs don't pay enough," she said.

Chavez-Thompson minimized the largest schism to rend the organization in 50 years, with the defection of the Teamsters and Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which together accounted for more than three million members.

"We have to keep going for everyone's sake. All changes are positive," she said, noting that despite everything John Sweeney was elected federation president for a third term.

Many of those leaving the ranks will be immigrants, leaders believe, and federation stands to lose almost $35 million a year in dues, more than a third of its budget.

"It wasn't an easy decision," said SEIU president Andy Stern.

"Our world has changed. Our economy has changed. Employers have changed. But the AFL-CIO refuses to undertake fundamental change," he charged.

Teamster President James P. Hoffa called the split "historic," because it will entail growth and strengthening of the labor movement through the addition of new members.

Other unions, such as the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), the clothing and hospitality UNITE-HERE group and the Laborers International Union-North America (LIUNA), also underscored their differences with the federation and expressed their willingness to work with dissidents on a coalition dubbed "Change to Win," which also includes the United Farm Workers, or UFW.

UNITE-HERE has been active in organizing immigrants and for two years has been leading a strike at Chicago's Congress Hotel, where most employees are Hispanic.

In turn, the UFCW is waging a campaign to organize workers at La Casa del Pueblo restaurant in the Latino neighborhood of Pilsen.

Some of the reforms the dissidents demanded were in fact adopted at the convention, such as fair representation for women and people of color on the governing boards of state and national federations.