WHEREAS:
Immigrants and native-born workers founded the American union movement to fight exploitation and abuse and to bring about improved working conditions and living standards for all working families. Today, the fortunes and futures of all workers are linked regardless of immigration status, yet millions of hard-working people who make enormous contributions to their communities and workplaces are denied basic human rights because of their undocumented status; and
WHEREAS:
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, there is a need for some tightening of immigration laws and procedures, where necessary and done in a careful and targeted manner, to deter terrorists or other ill-intentioned persons who enter the United States to do harm. At the same time, it is critical that measures to ensure our security not overreach to permit discrimination, racial or ethnic profiling or other abusive treatment of honest, hardworking immigrants or to countenance workplace inequities; and
WHEREAS:
The current system to deter employers from hiring undocumented workers has resulted in discrimination and does not punish unscrupulous employers who exploit undocumented workers. Unscrupulous employers have systematically used the I-9 process in their efforts to retaliate against workers who seek to join unions, improve their working conditions, and otherwise assert their rights; and
WHEREAS:
The United States Supreme Court recently held in Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board that undocumented workers may not receive backpay even if their employers illegally fired them for seeking to form a union under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). This decision gives employers further incentive to hire undocumented workers without fear of penalties or punishment, not just under the NLRA but potentially under other labor laws; and
WHEREAS:
Guestworker programs too often are used to displace U.S. workers, depress wages and distort labor markets. The proliferation of guestworker programs has created a class of easily exploited workers, who find themselves in a situation very similar to that faced by undocumented workers; and
WHEREAS:
The immigration laws enacted in 1996 have had severe consequences that significantly affect American families, legal immigrants and individuals seeking to enter the United States legally, including refugees. The 1996 laws do not respect the fundamental principles of fairness and due process. Many thousands of hard-working American families have been torn apart because of these harsh and arbitrary laws, and many more are at risk until the laws are changed.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
That there be legalization of the undocumented workers who are working hard, paying taxes and contributing to their communities and the nation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That there should be repeal and replacement of the employer sanctions/I-9 immigration enforcement scheme that neither deters the flow of undocumented immigrants nor protects the rights of any workers or the interests of honest employers; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That there should be full protection of workplace rights, including the right to organize for all workers, regardless of their immigration status, and stiff and meaningful penalties for employers who break immigration and labor laws in order to exploit workers. AFSCME will join others and work with the Congress to enact legislation to overturn the Hoffman decision; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That there should be reform, not expansion, of guest worker programs. These programs should be reformed to include more rigorous labor market tests and the involvement of labor unions in the labor certification process; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That AFSCME supports the full restoration of benefits that were unfairly taken away through Federal legislation in 1996, causing tremendous harm to immigrant families; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED:
That AFSCME commits to building broad democratic grassroots power to achieve action on these immigrant issues in the local and national political processes.
SUBMITTED BY:
Lakesha Harrison, President
Gail Price, Secretary Treasurer
Angelina Mendoza, Vice President and Delegate
AFSCME Local 3299
California