Why unions embrace illegal immigrants | csmonitor.com

Why unions embrace illegal immigrants
Meet Dale Wortham, Houston AFL-CIO official and friend to the undocumented.
By Kris Axtman | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
HOUSTON - Poured into a pair of Wranglers, E. Dale Wortham looks out of place amid a group of Hispanic union organizers holding signs and protesting in Spanish about working conditions at a clothing factory.

He finally steps from behind the crowd, points a finger at the factory, and adds his opinion of the situation:
"You see those windows?" he bellows in full Texas twang. "We want them open. Those people are baking in there. And this gate, we want it fixed so workers aren't cut getting into the parking lot."

The group looks around awkwardly, some nod in agreement, others kick the dirt. Finally, someone else speaks up, and Mr. Wortham - president of the Harris County AFL-CIO - slinks back into the background.

Meet one of the front men for the new AFL-CIO: a self-proclaimed "recovering redneck," who finds himself embracing a group of workers he once routinely called the Immigration and Naturalization Service on.

Wortham's change of heart is a function of a larger change taking place in union halls across the country. For years, the illegal immigrant was seen as the enemy - someone who would work for next to nothing and drive down the wages of union workers.

While some unions don't go as far as the AFL-CIO - which last year called for legalizing millions of undocumented immigrants - many have jumped on the immigrants-rights bandwagon. American labor leaders are visiting Mexican officials, recruiting immigrant leaders for organizing campaigns, teaching undocumented workers about labor rights, and planning rallies, such as the "Immigrants Freedom Ride" in Washington Sept. 25.

This new pro-immigrant attitude stems from economic pressures, as unions seek to protect their wages from nonunion competition and to reverse long-term declines in membership.

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Americans want nuclear power now!

The Democrat party supports illegal immigration

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Americans want nuclear power now!

Unfortunately so do some Republicans, like Bush and McCain (I don't believe him when he says he has changed).

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If you want change stop electing "liberal: democrats and "radical" Republicans. Find and support true Conservatives; those who believe in fiscal responsibilities, individual accountability, and a smaller government, with less control of your daily life.

Astonishing. The corruption of Unions embracing the corruption of Illegal Immigration.

But it's all in the name of raping the last dollar out of American paychecks, so it's all fair.

Partisanship can screw itself on this issue...neither Dems nor Reps have done anything of note to stop the problem. Both sides see advantages to caving in to the demands of criminals, so they follow the money, not the Law.

Who would expect anything else from either Party? They've NEVER done anything to insinuate they were anything other than scum, so why be astonished to find that they are, in fact, scum?

Dems buy votes by stealing everyone else's money.
Reps steal everyone else's money by buying votes.

Illegal immigrants mean votes AND money. Win/win, no matter the Party lines.

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Global Warming is my favorite color.

Gee, unions are supposed to support the working man/woman. I guess the worker doesn't have to be legal to get support. If the company employing the illegal worker can do so without consequences, then the union should be able to recruit that same worker without consequences.

You guys dont see the whole picture.

The Unions are fighting against the WTO Slave labor program in which is endorsed by both Democratic and Republican presidents in the last 30 years (Especially Bush Sr. - Bill Clinton - & G.W. Bush). Their scam....
I mean plan is to take the jobs from Americans and give it to illegal aliens so that the corporations dont have to pay fair wages or follow labor laws.

Meanwhile, Unions are organizing and saying "Wait a minute......if you're going to let illegals come into America and take jobs then you have to follow the labor laws and treat them fairly as a citizen would be treated"

By doing this....there is no longer an incentive for corporations to hire illegals once they have the same rights as citizens. This action taken by the Union leaders will deter the corporations from hiring illegals.

The traitors in this country are the ones whom are endorsing Free Trade......which we all know does not exist because in order for it to be called "Trade" there has to be an exchange of goods between both countries and we very well know that this is not the case.

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BULLSHIT. The unions are just trying to recuite more dues paying members so there is enough money in their retirement/pension fund to make stealing it worth while. They don't give a rats ass about any members.

As for trade, this country no longer PRODUCED anything to trade, we are just another consumer nation. Dependent upon others to produce what we consume.

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If you want change stop electing "liberal: democrats and "radical" Republicans. Find and support true Conservatives; those who believe in fiscal responsibilities, individual accountability, and a smaller government, with less control of your daily life.

Actually you are a little off on this. Major international corporations are building factories here while American corporations build factories over there. Japan for instance, Toyota, Honda, Panasonic, etc have build many major factories on US soil in the last decade avoiding places like Brazil, Vietnam and Bangladesh. These are the very places the US corps are building factories.

Interesting dynamic I know but we are not a manufacturless nation and that will not happen. You are still almost as likely to find many products made in the USA as made anywhere else in the world unless you are talking consumer electronics. That is a whole different category.

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Rod is the Coolest Most Politically Incorrect Conservative Black Man on the Planet
www.thelibertycafe.blogspot.com

This is why I started this thread.

WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain threatened Tuesday to cut short a speech to union leaders who booed his immigration views and later challenged his statements on organized labor and the Iraq war.

“If you like, I will leave,” McCain told the AFL-CIO’s Building and Construction Trades Department, pivoting briefly from the lectern. He returned to the microphone after the crowd quieted.

“OK, then please give me the courtesy I would give you.”
Later, the senator outlined his position on the Senate immigration debate, saying tougher border enforcement must be accompanied by guest-worker provisions that give illegal immigrants a legal path toward citizenship.

Murmurs from the crowd turned to booing. “Pay a decent wage!” one audience member shouted.

“I’ve heard that statement before,” McCain said before threatening to leave.

Afterward, the senator said he offered to cut his speech short “because I wanted to be heard.”

In the speech, McCain also argued that withdrawing U.S. troops prematurely from Iraq would turn terrorists loose on the United States.

This time, there was no booing — though one audience member cursed from the back of the crowd.

McCain got another laugh when he finished the speech and asked whether anybody had “questions, comments or insults.”

McCain booed on immigration, Iraq - Politics - MSNBC.com

While some unions don't go as far as the AFL-CIO - which last year called for legalizing millions of undocumented immigrants - many have jumped on the immigrants-rights bandwagon. American labor leaders are visiting Mexican officials, recruiting immigrant leaders for organizing campaigns, teaching undocumented workers about labor rights, and planning rallies, such as the "Immigrants Freedom Ride" in Washington Sept. 25.

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Americans want nuclear power now!

It's all about the dues. End of story.