Labor Day no holiday for exploited immigrant workers Saturday, August 31, 2013 James Andrews For many Americans, Labor Day barbecues and picnics mark a nostalgic end to summer. It’s also a time to celebrate work and the people who do the work (and of course, the people who want to work but can’t find jobs). This year, we remember especially that too many people labor in the shadows of our economy without access to the rights and protections that everyone deserves. More than 11 million aspiring Americans attend school, work in our neighborhoods, raise families, own homes and dream of a better life. But their dreams will never be realized with the threat of deportation hanging over their heads and a roadmap to citizenship so far out of reach. While these immigrant workers struggle to become part of a country that benefits from their labor but doesn’t protect their rights, unscrupulous employers abuse the system by exploiting workers and paying them less. This vicious cycle, in turn, lowers wages and working conditions for all American workers and makes it harder for businesses that play by the rules. No one can deny that our current immigration system is broken or that it depresses living standards for all workers. Across the country this Labor Day, people are calling for immigration reform that truly protects the rights of all workers. The message is loud and clear: If members of Congress continue to obstruct a vote on immigration reform, they will have to answer to a growing majority of Americans who support a roadmap to citizenship as part of comprehensive immigration reform. We saw this majority reflected in the diversity of faces that spoke up to ensure that a vote on comprehensive immigration reform was successful in the Senate by winning Kay Hagan’s support. Faith leaders, conservatives and business owners took action together with immigrant rights groups, community organizations, working families, and labor and civil rights leaders. The immigration legislation that passed with a solid, bipartisan majority in the Senate — while far from perfect — lays out a reasonable roadmap to citizenship for aspiring Americans, lifts up workplace standards and rights for all Americans, and strengthens border protections. This would boost the U.S. economy. According to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, modernizing our immigration system so that it is safer, more orderly and more humane would grow our economy and reduce the deficit by almost $1 trillion over two decades. The CBO also reports that reforms that include a way to earn citizenship would create 11,192 new jobs in North Carolina and increase our economic output by $903 million in just one year—such is the economic potential of bringing these workers out of the shadows. Passing comprehensive immigration reform with strong worker protections, including a roadmap to citizenship, is the economically and morally right thing to do. Unfortunately, some Republicans, like Iowa Congressman Steve King, have been very vocal about why they don’t want a vote on comprehensive immigration reform. According to King, the millions of young women and men who call the United States their home and are American in every way except on paper are actually drug mules with “calves the size of cantaloupes.” Will the Republican majority in Congress really allow bigots who alienate the significant Latino electorate to speak for their party on the pivotal issue of immigration? Rep. Walter Jones was elected to do what’s best for our state and our country, and he has a track record of speaking hard truths to leaders in his own party. Now he can do that by giving Americans and new American immigrants alike a vote on creating the kind of commonsense immigration process we deserve and ensuring that we no longer have millions of people working in the shadows — and that Labor Day celebrates all people who work. James Andrews is the president of North Carolina State AFL-CIO.
Posted on: Sun, 01 Sep 2013 15:05:07 +0000
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