If Bush & Business Want Immigration "Reform" Tell Them We Want Easier Unionization

If you click on the link in this entry's title, you can read a short critique by Nathan Newman of the proposed immigration law that is being talked up in the media. This bill is being hailed as a compromise and apparently has the support of Sen. Ted Kennedy. As Newman points out in his critique, however, this bill will allow 450,000 "guest" workers a year into the United States. These workers have the potential to become a second-class labor force with no intent on becoming American citizens and with the potential to undercut American workers' ability to organize.

Here's our suggestion: tell our Senators and Representatives that Democrats want an easier way for unions to organize. There is a bill in the Congress right now that is being pushed by Democrats that would do away with the need for union representation elections if a majority of a workforce signed cards indicating that they want a union. This would stop employers from conducting campaigns where they intimidate workers by bringing them in for meetings, firing organizers, and hiring expensive law firms whose business is stopping workers from organizing.

Don't make the mistake of thinking of the issue of illegal immigrants as separate from the issue of labor rights. Such division is how the right beats the left. Leftist organizations become too interested in protecting their own interests and fail to see how their interests mesh with the interests of other progressive organizations.