Posted on 11/06/2014 1:34:54 PM PST by mdittmar
Wasting no time after the midterm elections, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka immediately stepped back into the policy arena, calling on President Barack Obama to take executive action on immigration. Executive action is particularly important now that a historically obstructionist Congress is likely to be followed by one that takes even less action on issues important to working families.
The President needs to take executive action to support immigrant rights. But he also needs to take action on immigration to ensure the rights of all of us.
You see, in our country today, nearly 12 million people, and 8 million workers, are struggling to support their families without the protection of law. That is unacceptable. And it doesn’t just put immigrants at risk, it puts all people who work for a living at risk by driving down the standards that protect every one of us.
The AFL-CIO has been calling on the White House to halt unnecessary deportations since the spring of 2013 because we know that we are stronger when all workers stand together. And we know that executive action on immigration is connected to our larger struggle to ensure that all work has dignity.
So today I am here to renew our call for the executive branch to provide work authorization to, at minimum, all those who would be on a pathway to citizenship now if House Republicans had allowed a vote on the bipartisan Senate bill. In structuring his announcement, we believe that the President must include much-needed worker protections. And we know that now is not the time to expand guest worker programs that stifle wages and create a captive workforce.
It is well established that the President has the legal authority to end this crisis by granting temporary relief to a broad class of workers. It is also equally established that current enforcement of immigration law is at odds with our American vision of a just society and our values of family, hard work and fairness.
The America that the labor movement believes in does not criminalize people or deny them basic due process rights based upon their country of birth. We stand united here today because we know that we are all better off when we have fewer people behind bars, and because we find it disgraceful for private detention centers to profit from locking up our neighbors.
How the President implements immigration laws will be a major part of his legacy. The President’s job is to implement laws effectively, and the deportation crisis demonstrates that our immigration enforcement system is broken. When given a chance to fix it, Republican extremists refused. Now the President must act.
Executive action will be good for families and communities, good for workers and the economy, and good for the country. There has been enough consideration. The time for discussion, debate and delay is over. Now, it is time to act.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is seeking to replace Union Workers with illegal workers.
The AFL-CIO used to stand for preserving good paying high wage jobs for Americans.
Now it wants to legalize a flood of low income illegal aliens.
Not my father’s union.
Why is this idiot in favor of illegals coming in to take US jobs? Does he think he’ll get them to join his unions?
“Guest workers” drive down wages... but a flood of illegales doesn’t?
“AFL-CIO President”....
What a dumb ass! He wants amnesty for the illegals who have, or will take jobs away from the unions themselves. Wonder what his rank and file union members think of that. Could be that he winds up like Jimmy Hoffa in some bridge cement someplace.
Maybe he does. What would you do if you were an exalted thug?
Unions vote to SCREW union members....LOL!
Unions are for morons.
Bias much? FYI, blocking a socialist administration is not being obstructionist, but patriotic.
PS...too bad about WI, losers.
It’s become a fascist organization, forgetting many of its original ideals.
There was a historical time when they had a role to push back against industry abuses that are now forbidden by a plethora of Federal regulation. Now they are in an identity crisis.
And THAT is the question that needs to be put before all the Unionistas. Why does Trumpka want to flood the already depressed labor market with unskilled third-worlders?
The answer, of course, is that Trumpka is a Marxist who only cares about his only greed via the Union dues he can legally steal from low-income drones.
Trumka, a fat greasy screaming spittle spraying communist who should be sent to some third world snot bucket for the rest of his days.
my apology ... here is the answer to your first question ... There is money in being in favor of illegal workers ... AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is only trying to get what he considers his fair share.
It’s great irony. They started to curb abuses and now are the abusers. I wouldn’t set up manufacturing anywhere near a union state.
“Sound ludicrous but what other reason could there be.”
The illegals mostly get paid off the books in cash, they can’t join a union being paid that way.
Once legal they will demand more money, driving up labor costs. That is what the unions are thinking.
They are too stupid to consider the millions of new illegals that will flood in take their place.
Unlike labor unions in the West, Soviet trade unions were, in fact, actually governmental organizations whose chief aim was not to represent workers but to further the goals of management, government, and the CPSU.
This pretty much sums up the AFL-CIO under Mr. Trumka, who is quite the good little communist apparatchik.
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