Indy Interview: Talking about the Democrats, the 2008 Elections and Immigrant Rights with AFL-CIO President John Sweeney
By John Tarleton

September 6, 2008

Organized labor’s strength has been waning for the past three decades under both Republican and Democratic administrations. But after eight especially difficult years under George W. Bush, the labor movement is preparing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to help elect Barack Obama. During the Democratic National Convention, I caught up with John Sweeney, head of the union organizing was going on and the raids appear timed to disrupt that organizing.

JS: I think there will be attempts to disrupt organizing campaigns. I think that’s going on now with the exploitation of these workers. But, we’re aggressively committed to organizing these workers who are especially at the lowest level of the economic ladder. Those people need the help they can get with a good union and with strong labor laws.

JT; What do you say to people who say crack down on immigrants to protect jobs?

JS: We are for strong reform of our immigration laws and for the enforcement of the immigration laws. But, laws that protect immigrant workers from being exploited, laws that give immigrant workers the power of the fair wage and hour laws—these workers shouldn’t be exploited the way they are where they’re being paid less than minimum wage. Why aren’t we enforcing the minimum wage lawfor these folks at the low level?
This country really has to take a hard look at our immigration laws. We’re not proposing anything that impacts on workers who are here, who are working in jobs. I know some workers see immigration reform as a threat to them in their own jobs. But, that’s not what the effect is going to be. This is to protect all workers. How we achieve it, what regulations we have in terms of people coming into the country should be enforced. But once folks are here they should have the protection of the laws and the benefit of them.
I really have to go now…

JT: One more question. Do you support immigration reform that creates a <a href=http://www.indypendent.org/2007/07/25/bitter-harvest>guest worker program</a>? Or, do you think that would create a two-tier labor system in this country?

JS: We really are not in favor of the guest worker program. It can be exploited in terms of creating a two-tier system. We think we should have overall immigration legislation that protects these workersbut set standards for how workers come into he country. But, we think that once workers are in the country, they should have a clear road to becoming citizens if that’s their desire and they should have the standards other workers enjoy here.

JT: Thank you very much.

www.indypendent.org