Thread: New Immigration Proposals: A Fast Track to the Past (OP-ED)

http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_a ... 523777d55b

New Immigration Proposals: A Fast Track to the Past

Commentary, David Bacon,
Pacific News Service, May 20, 2005

Editor's Note: Corporations favor current guest-worker proposals not because these firms lack immigrant labor. What they lack is the unorganized, low-wage immigrant labor the guest worker programs will provide.

OAKLAND, Calif.--Proposals for a new temporary worker program are popular in corporate America. Now they're popular in Congress as well.

President Bush a main proponent of temporary worker programs since early in his first term. Bush, who opposes legalization for undocumented workers currently here, calls instead for linking "willing employees with willing employers."

Corporate pressure for these programs has grown so strong that even bipartisan proposals for immigration reform now include them. The word in Washington, D.C., is that no immigration reform is worth discussing unless corporate America gets what it wants. Last week, a new bipartisan bill was introduced by Senators Edward Kennedy and John McCain, which includes a program even larger than that proposed by Bush.

The President's program calls for three-year temporary visas for 300,000 people, renewable for another three. It was adopted point-by-point from a report written by Daniel T. Griswold for the conservative Cato Institute in 2002. The Kennedy-McCain bill calls for 400,000 temporary visas.

The Cato report, Bush's proposal and the bipartisan bill all incorporate demands by the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, made up of 36 of the country's largest trade and manufacturers' associations, headed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This group includes the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (think Wal-Mart), the American Health Care Association, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the National Council of Chain Restaurants, the National Retail Federation and the Associated Builders and Contractors.

These industries are already heavily dependent on immigrant labor. In fact, if Mexicans in the United States disappeared tomorrow, as imagined by the movie "A Day Without Mexicans," their operations would quickly grind to a halt.

Since these industries already have an immigrant workforce, why do they want workers on temporary visas? Despite their claims, there is no great shortage of workers in the United States, immigrant or native-born. But today's immigrants are actively organizing unions and fighting for better conditions. There is a shortage of workers at the low wages industry would like to pay.

Temporary worker proposals are not new. In fact, they're a fast track to the past. Hundreds of thousands of Mexican workers were contracted to come to the United States from 1942 to 1964, to work in the fields and on the railroads. The "bracero" program was abusive. Workers were kept in military-style barracks, paid low wages and sent home if they complained. Resident workers didn't like it either, because when they tried to strike, they were easily replaced. Growers kept wages low, and when they were through with the "braceros," they just sent them somewhere else.

Eventually, Mexican-American activists, including Cesar Chavez and Ernesto Galarza, fought successfully to end the program. Chavez later said that organizing the United Farm Workers, a union mostly made up of immigrants, would never have been possible if the program hadn't been stopped.

Some surveys claim undocumented workers here in the United States like the idea of temporary visas. But a choice between becoming a bracero or risking death by crossing the desert illegally is no choice at all. One respected group of Mexican immigrants, the Indigenous Front of Binational Organizations "disapproves (of the Bush proposal) because it doesn't guarantee respect for labor and human rights." Instead, the organization calls for legalizing current undocumented workers. Ventura Gutierrez, head of the Union Sin Fronteras, a group of veterans of the original bracero program, says "people who lived through the old program know the abuse (the new programs) will cause."

Real immigration reform could encourage immigrants to form stable families and communities. But temporary workers cannot do this, since they have no right to live with their families, to develop their culture, to housing and health care or to political representation. All that counts is their ability to work. When the work is done, so are they.

Seven years ago American unions came out on the side of immigrants, agreeing to fight for equality and legalization for the 10 million undocumented already here. Unions voted to seek the end of employer sanctions, a law which makes it a crime to hire undocumented workers and is frequently used to bust union organizing efforts. If unions support temporary worker programs, these goals will be harder to reach.

The flow of immigrants into the United States will not stop as long as huge differences persist between the world's rich and poor. Over 130 million people today live outside the countries in which they were born. Employers would like to channel this flow into temporary worker programs, eventually replacing their current workforce, whether all at once or over time. What other advantage can these programs give them?

Instead of increasing job competition and pitting one group of low-wage workers against another, the needs of all low-wage workers should be considered instead. African American and other minority communities need more jobs and training. Immigrant workers would benefit from legalization, permanent residence visas and stronger defense of their rights.

One bill, by Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Houston), takes this approach. Getting it passed may not be easy, and may take time and require demonstrations, marches and visits to Congressional offices. But a real solution, benefiting all workers, is worth fighting for.

PNS associate editor David Bacon (dbacon@igc.org), a freelance writer and photographer who writes regularly on labor and immigration issues. His latest book is "The Children of NAFTA" (University of California Press, 2004).

Since these industries already have an immigrant workforce, why do they want workers on temporary visas? Despite their claims, there is no great shortage of workers in the United States, immigrant or native-born. But today's immigrants are actively organizing unions and fighting for better conditions. There is a shortage of workers at the low wages industry would like to pay.

It is all about the money. Even more reason for the citizens to complain long and hard.

This Coalition....Essential Worker Immigration Coalition.....represents the self-serving BUNK of America's major corporations and how low they have SUNK.

Remember this: everything we know about the affects and consequences of illegal immigration on the USA and the American People, they know. In fact they have even better information than we do. These are the demographic experts of the world.

If you studied their cost structure, if you studied how much they spend on their facilities, if you studied how much they pay consultants, how much they pay their top officials, how much they pay their lawyers, how much they pay into PACS to control our politics, how much they pay for their real estate....then walk into a CVS, Eckerds, Walgreens....to name a few....count how many employees you see in each store on a given day....you'll find 2 to 3 clerks including a manager at the most....and 2 or 3 pharmacists or assistant pharmacists at the drug counter...

You mean to tell me that the Retail Drug Crones can't pay American wages and benefits for the 2 or 3 clerks checking you out at the retail counter and 2 or 3 pharmacists at the drug counter for a facility that generates $2,000,000 to $3,000,000 a year in gross revenue or MORE?

This makes no sense....no sense at all.....that they would form a coalition with the traitorous US Chamber of Commerce and make the absurd and totally false claim that they need "immigrants" to staff their stores when so few employees are hired at very low wages now, part-time, with limited or no benefits.....unless of course....they are Traitors themselves with an agenda that is something different altogether and worthy of investigation!

What do these businesses discuss in their "coalition" meetings? Obviously, they discuss labor needs as it relates to cost of operation as it relates to PRICES!!!

Hello Justice Department.....anybody home......when business and industries in the same field, selling the same products, like DRUGS, PAPER TOWELS, SODAS, COSMETICS, HYGIENE ITEMS, GIFT CARDS, SCHOOL SUPPLIES, etc. gather to coalesce which means team up to discuss labor costs and prices......

IT'S COLLUSION TO MANIPULATE THE MARKET AND PRICE FIXING!!

This is in complete violation of all the hundreds of LAWS that regulate our business and industries; to create a free and competitive market in the United States; which includes unequivocally....the Labor Market component of business.

In street talk, folks, this is a corporate gang bang against the American People, the American Worker, the American Consumer, our Free Market System, and our Democracy.

Any politician who gives the US Chamber of Commerce so much as the TIME OF DAY is walking on the plank of collusion, racially based labor market manipulaton, and price fixing.

Keep walking if you will....but there is no future for YOU in doing so.

Originally Posted by dataman

Since these industries already have an immigrant workforce, why do they want workers on temporary visas? Despite their claims, there is no great shortage of workers in the United States, immigrant or native-born. But today's immigrants are actively organizing unions and fighting for better conditions. There is a shortage of workers at the low wages industry would like to pay.

It is all about the money. Even more reason for the citizens to complain long and hard.

yes, it is ALL about having a semi-slave work force, with NO rights, NO benefits, NO pension plan, and NO way they can complain about it.

The corps, and ESPECIALLY chamber of (hell) commerce needs to be slapped around FIRMLY over this issue. It is time for the people to STAND UP and expose these slave traders for what they are!!!!!

Originally Posted by Judy

This Coalition....Essential Worker Immigration Coalition.....represents the self-serving BUNK of America's major corporations and how low they have SUNK.

Remember this: everything we know about the affects and consequences of illegal immigration on the USA and the American People, they know. In fact they have even better information than we do. These are the demographic experts of the world.

If you studied their cost structure, if you studied how much they spend on their facilities, if you studied how much they pay consultants, how much they pay their top officials, how much they pay their lawyers, how much they pay into PACS to control our politics, how much they pay for their real estate....then walk into a CVS, Eckerds, Walgreens....to name a few....count how many employees you see in each store on a given day....you'll find 2 to 3 clerks including a manager at the most....and 2 or 3 pharmacists or assistant pharmacists at the drug counter...

You mean to tell me that the Retail Drug Crones can't pay American wages and benefits for the 2 or 3 clerks checking you out at the retail counter and 2 or 3 pharmacists at the drug counter for a facility that generates $2,000,000 to $3,000,000 a year in gross revenue or MORE?

This makes no sense....no sense at all.....that they would form a coalition with the traitorous US Chamber of Commerce and make the absurd and totally false claim that they need "immigrants" to staff their stores when so few employees are hired at very low wages now, part-time, with limited or no benefits.....unless of course....they are Traitors themselves with an agenda that is something different altogether and worthy of investigation!

What do these businesses discuss in their "coalition" meetings? Obviously, they discuss labor needs as it relates to cost of operation as it relates to PRICES!!!

Hello Justice Department.....anybody home......when business and industries in the same field, selling the same products, like DRUGS, PAPER TOWELS, SODAS, COSMETICS, HYGIENE ITEMS, GIFT CARDS, SCHOOL SUPPLIES, etc. gather to coalesce which means team up to discuss labor costs and prices......

IT'S COLLUSION TO MANIPULATE THE MARKET AND PRICE FIXING!!

This is in complete violation of all the hundreds of LAWS that regulate our business and industries; to create a free and competitive market in the United States; which includes unequivocally....the Labor Market component of business.

In street talk, folks, this is a corporate gang bang against the American People, the American Worker, the American Consumer, our Free Market System, and our Democracy.

Any politician who gives the US Chamber of Commerce so much as the TIME OF DAY is walking on the plank of collusion, racially based labor market manipulaton, and price fixing.

Keep walking if you will....but there is no future for YOU in doing so.

Excellent post Judy. Please do as much research as possible about:

IT'S COLLUSION TO MANIPULATE THE MARKET AND PRICE FIXING!!

because YES, I 100% agree with that. However, we need some smoking guns. I am currently working on some smoking gun papers in relation to organized religion and illegals, so I don't have time. However, if this can be done PROPERLY, then by all means, lets look at taking them down. The group that need to be slapped the hardest is the chamber of commerce (Cronies of Corruption is more like it). If we can expose them, we win a HUGE battle towards stemming the flow. I am going to do my best to expose catholic charities, please whop on the chamber if you can.

Any politician who gives the US Chamber of Commerce so much as the TIME OF DAY is walking on the plank of collusion, racially based labor market manipulaton, and price fixing

This is why it is SO important to have a GOOD research paper done (2500 words at least with dozens/100s of quality references). With "proof" like that, we can cause it to be a VERY bad thing politically to be positioned with the crooks of collusion

H.

Drug Chains

Health Care

Hotels

Restaurant Chains

Builders

_____________________

American Consumer:

How about:

Buy Your Drugs at the Grocery Store? Sounding Good!

Go Camping This Summer or Stay Home, Clean out the Basement, and take Family Day Trips? Save Money, Get Caught Up, Avoid Disease, Save Money, Enjoy Nature, Save Your Country.....Sounding Good!

Get out Your CookBook, Get Out the Grill, Stay Away from the Restaurant Chains? Save Money, Eat Healthy, Please Your Kids, Save Your Country....Sounding Good!

Re-evaluate the New Home in the New Development and Just Say No...not This Year....not Now...but Thanks for the Decorating Ideas!! Pay Off Your Mortgage, Pay Off Your Credit Cards, Save Thousands in Interest Charges, Redecorate, Save Money, Save the Environment, Be Happy, Save Your Country......Sounding Good!

Health Care.....let your Global Insurance Company worry about it.....if you don't have insurance.....call Blue Cross Blue Shield and get the one with the $5,000 deductible. Very affordable.

If you don't have a job or insurance, find 5 friends in the same position and present yourselves at the Governor's Office....take a lunch....and sit there ALL day until they LET YOU IN to see someone!! The next day, go to your General Assembly.....take a lunch....and walk in to every office you can find.

Tell everyone you meet and greet, that you are there to talk to your representatives about Jobs and Healthcare, why you don't have any of either, and the reason is illegal and excessive legal immigration.

When you get in to someone's office...explain there are no jobs for you because of all these immigrants...and that you believe your Civil Rights are being violated....which of course, they certainly are.

If you see someone in the halls there is a good chance it's a reporter or a lobbyist....unload, spill your guts, tell 'em the whole story of your lives and your predicament. Do this 5 days in a row. Avoid holidays...the reps take vacations. Call ahead and find out when they are OUT and plan your schedule when they are IN.

There are still good people that represent us. They need to HEAR and SEE YOU!

Husker....I'll see if I can find the Anti-Trust Law Sections and post them...may be MSM will pick up on it or O'Reilly or Lou or Sean Hannity or Rush...or someone powerful enough to get attention of the lawyers in the Justice Department. We need honest lawyers to help us...but I'll do my best....where is Mamie???