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Failure to Enforce U.S. Labor Laws Fuels Exploitation of Workers |
The failure to enforce even weak U.S. labor laws has created an incentive for many employers to hire undocumented immigrant workers, several experts told a House committee earlier this week.
Bill Beardell, director of the non-partisan Equal Justice Center, told the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee some unscrupulous employers actually prefer to hire undocumented workers. In the absence of effective federal enforcement of worker protections, they know they can easily exploit and silence such workers, he says. During the hearing, Beardell read a transcript of an employer’s chilling phone message to an immigrant worker who simply wanted to be paid for the work he had done. (See video.)
During the hearing, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), committee chairman, said that with more than 7.6 million unemployed workers in this country, some employers insist they cannot find workers to fill unskilled jobs. Miller makes it clear that Congress needs to enact stronger labor protections to protect the rights of guest workers and U.S. workers. (See video.)
The hearings backed up the position of the AFL-CIO, unions, human rights and workers’ rights advocates: The nation needs comprehensive immigration reform that ensures immigrant workers’ rights are respected and provides relief to the growing number of undocumented workers in our country by offering them a path to citizenship.
In a letter to Miller, AFL-CIO Legislation Director William Samuel said our immigration system is broken, but expanding guest worker programs is not the solution.
…the strategy of over-reliance and expansion of flawed federally-sponsored temporary guest worker programs will harm all workers rather than mitigate the tragic consequences of our broken system.
Instead, we must search for comprehensive solutions that will both provide relief for the millions of undocumented workers who work every day yet are afforded no legal protections and also ensure that we are safeguarding quality jobs with fair wages for all who labor within our borders.
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“The hearings backed up the position of the AFL-CIO, unions, human rights and workers’ rights advocates: The nation needs comprehensive immigration reform that ensures immigrant workers’ rights are respected and provides relief to the growing number of undocumented workers in our country by offering them a path to citizenship”.
I cringe everytime I hear someone use the word ‘immigrant’ when referring to illegals. To do so is to disrespect those who come to this country LEGALLY. And no, we DO NOT need comprehensive immigration reform. What we need is to see our immigrations laws ENFORCED! And why would anyone, other than the illegals themselves and their ’supporters’, advocate rewarding illegals with a ‘path to citizenship’? That’s like offering a home invader a ‘path to ownership’ in the house he’s invaded!
“In a letter to Miller, AFL-CIO Legislation Director William Samuel said our immigration system is broken”
The system isn’t broken. What’s broken is the ENFORCEMENT of the system. And it’s absolutely disgusting to hear illegals and their supporters complain when we DO try to enforce our laws. I’m fed up with the whining and moaning about the ‘inhumane’ ICE raids and the ‘families being separated’ falsehood. ICE is doing it’s job when it conducts workplace raids. And as for families being separated? That’s laughable. If families are separated it’s a conscious choice on the part of the ‘family’. As I see it the ONE right an illegal in this country does have is to take their ‘family’ with them when they LEAVE.
“we must search for comprehensive solutions that will both provide relief for the millions of undocumented workers who work every day yet are afforded no legal protections”
And why, pray tell, should people who are in our country ILLEGALLY be afforded ‘legal’ protections in OUR workplaces? Protections that would allow them to continue to live and work here. Giving ‘protection in the workplace’ to illegals would be like waving a red flag in front of a bull. More illegals would come flooding over our borders demanding their ‘protections’. What part of ILLEGAL do people not understand? The American people DO NOT want illegals rewarded. We want them gone!
“also ensure that we are safeguarding quality jobs with fair wages for all who labor within our borders”.
I have to agree with this statement. We do need safeguards in place for qualiity jobs with fair wages for all who labor within our borders. All those who are here LEGALLY that is!
When I see or hear comments like that from NO Amnesty, I only wished that the American Indians had put into place their own immigration laws and agency!
Illegal? The “illegality” of coming into this country is a misdemeanor. NO Amnesty and his ilk prohably have far worse DWI or DUI records!
The real criminals are holed up in the White House, the Supreme Court, NLRB, OSHA, MSHA, EEOC, and other now useless federal agencies that have sold their souls and asses to the bosses!
No Amnesty wake up! The real enemy is not the so-called illegals or foreign workers. The real enemy wears a $1,500 suit and regards himself to be a pillar of the community while exploiting you and I and every other working stiff in this once great nation!
The undocumented workers are here thanks to NAFTA, CAFTA and the huge multi-national corportions that exploit workers in Mexico, Central and now South America! The corporate bosses are the REAL enemy!
Could not have said it better No Amnesty, fineng and imprisoning the employer, will go a long way to repair our broken immigration system.
I noticed a bumper sticker recently it said:
Calling an illegal immigrant an undocumented immigrant is like calling a drug dealer an unlicensed pharmacist.
The AFLCIO has no business in illegal immigration they should stay out of it.