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Unions Can Help Create Good Jobs for People of Color |
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Increasing union membership is one of the keys to creating more good jobs for all workers, but especially for people of color and those in low-wage jobs, several experts said today. Many of the 8.1 million jobs lost during the current recession have been good jobs, including union jobs in manufacturing. The jobs now created, mainly in the service sector, are less likely to provide what working families need.
In a new report released today, Algernon Austin, director of the Economic Policy Institute’s (EPI’s) program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy, says the United States has too few good jobs. He defines a good job as one with a wage that can support a family, health care benefits and retirement security. Using that minimal standard, Austin found that Hispanics are less than half as likely as non-Hispanic whites to have good jobs, and African Americans about two-thirds as likely.
Speaking at an EPI forum this morning on “Reversing the Decline of Good Jobs,” Austin and a panel of experts agreed that several policy changes must occur for more workers to hold down good jobs. One major change would be to make it easier for workers to join unions. Austin and Catherine Singley of the National Council of La Raza pointed to studies showing union members of all races fare better than nonunion workers.
The union difference is most striking for Hispanic workers, with 40.8 percent of Hispanic union members working in good jobs, compared with 14.1 percent of their nonunion counterparts. For black workers, the ratio is 46 percent to 21.3 percent. Among white workers, 56.9 percent of union members have good jobs compared with 30.9 percent among nonunion workers.
The experts said the nation’s leaders must commit to making the creation of good jobs a priority. They also must begin to vigorously enforce current laws on discrimination, wages and overtime, they said. Other policies that are needed include:
- Universal, affordable health care for all;
- Guaranteed retirement security;
- Increases in the minimum wage to 50 percent of the national median income; and
- A comprehensive reform of the nation’s immigration policies.
Judy Conti of the National Employment Law Project (NELP) warned that we are becoming a nation divided between the “haves and the have nots,” and we have lost the sense of a national community. She said good jobs also must include respect and fair treatment for workers.
Other panelists at the forum included Gustavo Andrade of CASA de Maryland Inc., Gail Arnall of the Offender Aid and Restoration and Philip Mattera of Good Jobs First.
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You can not have a sense of national unity when you have illegal aliens and others marching in the streets. Carry the Mexican Flag above the Stars and and Stripes and it upsidedown.Refuse to learn the langauge,refuse to leave the ways of their homeland behind as other immigrants have.Think our laws do not apply to them,think of themselves as LATINO and not AMERICAN.I have said this before I am not anti-immigrant I come from IMMIGRANTS,my ancestry is Irish,Swede,French,and English but I am not Irish American,Swedish American,French American or English American,I AM AMERICAN PERIOD and I’m sick of illegal aliens demanding things they do not have coming.In 2008 the U S had 680,000 applications for citizenship.Naturalized 1,046,539 legal immigrants.More than 22% from Mexico or 231,815 that’s more than from any other country.It takes these legal immigrants about 9 years to become naturalized.Immigration is not broken it’s unenforced.
What would you folks do open our borders and let everybody that would like to come here do it?How long before there is no American Dream for any of us? Or should we just let Latino’s come as they want because they are poor working folks just like you and me?Nearly 30 million out of work now it may already be to late.
Before we call immigrants “illegal” lets consider our history. African Americans were “illegal” in Oregon’s 1857 constitution, not allowed to live or work in the state. Chinese were “illegal”, prohibited from immigrating to America. Native Americans were “illegal”, not allowed to speak their own languages or live on their own land. It was once “illegal” for women to vote. The same arguments were used back then: “taking our jobs”, “using our resources”, “diluting our culture.”
Remember the Fugitive Slave Act? A dark-skinned people, escaping economic oppression in a southern land, crossed the border (Mason-Dixon) looking for opportunity, were declared “illegal” and, if caught, were deported back across the line.
No human being is “illegal”. Unjust laws can be changed. Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it.
- A white union brother from Oregon
On what planet do you live? ALL countries have borders and immigration laws to protect those borders. And the US is the most lenient country in the world when it comes to LEGAL immigration. We admit more LEGAL immigrants per year than every other country in the world combined!
And get your head out of the 1800’s. It’s the 21st century for crying out loud. Have you by chance taken a gander at Mexico’s immigration laws? Or the immigrations of any other country for that matter? Ours are a cake walk compared to most! There are three Americans currently being detained in Iran for accidentally stumbling across their border. And God only knows if they’ll EVER be released!
Anyone who knowingly enters a country without that country’s permission is illegally in that country. You can call them whatever you wish but to the majority of the American LEGAL population the people who are in OUR country ILLEGALLY are now and will always be ILLEGALS! Our immigration laws are NOT unjust and they are not to be ignored. When people cross our borders illegally they are disrespecting not only our laws but our country and her LEGAL residents.
Calling an illegal an undocumented worker is like calling a home invader an uninvited guest!
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
—Emma Lazarus, 1883
Women and minorities, primarily Latinos are the largest growth area of the union movement now.
I AM AN AMERICAN PERIOD and I believe what America STILL stands for. I am sick of people misunderstanding and misrepresenting what American freedom, strength, and bravery stand for.
Hey, Doc. Hate to tell you, but America was built by immigrants. It seems that every group dislikes the group that comes after them. If you go back far enough, I’m sure someone in your family got here even without papers -even if they came on the mayflower. That rant makes you sound a little biggoted (I hope my impression is mistaken). Besides, I don’t think many of them take a job you want. If we are willing to organize with them, we may all benifit.
Kent C, I never said America wasn’t built by immigrants.I never said i dis-liked anty group or culture.You are correctt that some of my ancestors came before there was any formal country or government.How to you know what kind of job anyone else would be willing to take.I have neighbors and family that have been out of work for over a year.Unemployment is gone their homes are gone I’m pretty damn sure they would take any job offered.Why should we organize illegal aliens when we have plenty of legal citizens that would love a job any job, and if I sound a little like a bigot it’s not that I am it’s just I’m white used to be middle class legal American citizen that’s a little tired of being of being screwed by the rich and the poor.By the way I am not a doctor just your typical building trades member that has stood on many picket lines in my 42yr. carreer and watched these scabs do work behind them.Now the AFL-CIO would like nothing better than to say it’s OK scab come on in we know your just a poor family trying to better themselves.What about all the poor legal Americans that these people have screwed over.With lower wages poor working conditions and a general lowering of our way of life.How do you get these people into jobs that really help anybody when the vast majority don’t have a high school education,can’t speak the langauge and are more than willing to break any law that they think should not apply to them.
Maybe a little education will help please read this.
Policy Brief Legislative Update Perspective Policy Reports Bad Bill of the Week Myths About Illegal Immigration
Dr. Jameson Taylor | February 13, 2008
Myth #1: We need illegal immigration to be competitive in the global economy (or: Illegal immigration is good for the U.S. economy).
Response: Success in the global economy is based on knowledge and skills. This explains why U.S. immigration policy has historically favored skilled workers over unskilled workers (with the result that nonagricultural immigrant workers were on average more skilled than native workers). Importing low-skilled, uneducated workers is bad for the economy and also contradicts the state’s current educational policies, which emphasize the attainment of job skills and a college education. Most important, the foundation of a strong economy is respect for the law.
Myth #2: Illegal immigrants are a necessary part of North Carolina’s workforce.
Response: As of December 2007, 226,300 (seasonally adjusted) workers were unemployed in North Carolina. This number does not include thousands of working-age residents who are not counted as part of the civilian labor force because they are not looking for a full-time job. Shouldn’t we find jobs for these people before we hand over their jobs to illegal aliens? Historically, tight labor markets have stimulated investment and led to gains in productivity for the U.S. economy.
Myth #3: Illegal immigrants only do the jobs Americans won’t do (or: Illegals don’t really take jobs from American workers).
Response: Between 2000 and 2004, 100 percent of the net increase in the number of employed civilians went to new foreign born workers. During the same period, the number of employed natives declined. Similarly, Harvard economist George Borjas found that between 1980 and 2000 immigration reduced the average annual earnings of native born men by $1,700. During the 1980s, the poorest of workers saw a 14 percent drop in wages while those in the top percentile saw a 1 percent increase. Another study by Borjas found that from 1960 to 2000 black high school dropouts saw their employment rate fall from 88.6 percent to 55.7 percent. For black dropouts in their twenties, employment rates are even lower: 28 percent for 2004. This is compared to 66 percent for whites and 81 percent for Hispanics.
Myth #4: Cracking down on illegal immigration would destroy North Carolina’s agricultural sector.
Response: A report by economists at the Iowa State University found that ending U.S. reliance on illegal agricultural workers would increase the average price of fruits and vegetables by less than 1 percent. And part of this price increase is attributable to resulting wage increases for U.S. workers that would increase demand for fruits and vegetables. Reliance on cheap labor hurts U.S. agricultural productivity because it removes the incentive to mechanize.
Myth #5: We should permit illegal immigration because we have an obligation to help the poor.
Response: Mexico enjoys the 12th largest economy in the world (measured by GDP). Some 4.9 billion people live in countries poorer than Mexico. Even if we accept that U.S. immigration policy should be devoted to aiding the poor, this requires limiting immigration from relatively wealthy countries like Mexico – in short, it requires securing our borders. But what about the poor in the United States? As indicated above, illegal immigration leads to lower wages and fewer jobs for natives. If you want to help the poor, stop illegal immigration.
Myth #6: Controlling immigration requires deporting millions of people.
Response: Americans are not going to support mass deportation. The good news is that deporting millions of illegal immigrants is not necessary. Once we begin to enforce the law and remove the incentives that encourage illegals to come to the United States, they will begin to self-deport. This is precisely what happened in the Pakistani community after 9/11. For every Pakistani actually deported under the NSEERS program, 10 more left voluntarily.
Myth #7: People who oppose illegal immigration are racist.
Response: U.S. immigration law does not discriminate on the basis of race or national origin. We are talking about applying the law equally. By contrast, advocates of illegal immigration do not wish to enforce the law equally. Is this fair? Why are American citizens obliged to obey the law, but illegal immigrants aren’t? While previous waves of immigrants – primarily those from certain European countries and Asia (immigration from countries within the Western Hemisphere was not generally subject to quotas) – did face opposition and discrimination in the past, these immigrants were legal immigrants. This issue is not about race or even immigration, but about the law, preserving the culture of law that is vital to the preservation of democracy. Note also that “illegal alien” is a legal term – not a racist term. It is how Title 8 of the U.S. Code refers to those aliens (foreign nationals) who are in the United States illegally.
Myth #8: The flipside of the accusation that opposition to illegal immigration is racist is the assertion that illegal immigrants are morally superior in some way to native Americans. Thus we have the myth of the “redemptive Hispanic” who works harder than the average American and who prizes family above all things. In turn we hear that most illegal immigrants are good hard-working people who only want to support their families.
Response: Illegal immigrants are criminals. They have broken U.S. law. In order to work in the United States, many illegals break the law again by stealing an American citizen’s identity. Likewise, it is a myth that Hispanics have stronger families than U.S. natives. Nearly half of the children born to Hispanic mothers in the United States are born out of wedlock. Likewise, Hispanic women have the highest unwed birthrate in the United States: nearly 50 percent higher than for blacks and three times higher than whites.
Myth #9: Immigration is a federal problem. North Carolina can’t do anything about it.
Response: Governor Mike Easley (D) made this argument while explaining why he thinks illegal immigrants should be eligible for a publicly subsidized college education. Yet, we don’t take the same approach regarding other important policy issues: education, healthcare, transportation, the environment. Imagine Governor Easley saying we don’t need to pass laws against pollution because the Environmental Protection Agency is already working on this issue. Prior to the late 1800s the states possessed almost exclusive control over immigration policy and continue to play a significant role in this area, especially as it relates to welfare and education benefits, employment practices and law enforcement.
Myth #10: Illegal immigration is necessary to prevent the Social Security and Medicaid systems from running out of money.
Response: According to the Center for Immigration Studies, the average age of immigrants (both legal and illegal) in the United States is “40.5 years compared to 35.9 years for the average native.” The average age of new arrivals (since 2000) is 29.4 years. All this is to say that immigration will have little positive impact on the elderly-dependency ratio or on the viability of Social Security. Thus the Social Security Advisory Board cautions that while the “entry of immigrants and their fertility rates will have some mitigating effect on the overall aging of the population,” the impact “is likely to be very slight.”
Myth #11: Illegal aliens contribute more in taxes than they use in benefits.
Response: Based on a review of the extensive literature on this subject, the U.S. Congressional Budget Office recently concluded that “the cost of providing public services to unauthorized immigrants at the state and local levels exceeds what this population pays in state and local taxes” (December 2007). Here in North Carolina the myth that illegal aliens are paying their own way has been perpetuated by a report (Kasarda and Johnson, 2006) – sponsored by the Mexican consulate in Raleigh – that claims Hispanics (both legal and illegal) are having a positive impact on the state’s economy. Yet, even this study admits that Hispanic residents impose a net burden of $102 per capita. The report also undercounts costs, leaving out school construction costs, transportation costs, law enforcement costs, water and sewerage usage, electricity usage, pollution impacts, etc. – not to mention, local and federal payments.
Want a PDF? Click the link below:
MYTHS-Immigration.pdf
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Related Issues: Immigration
Dr, Interesting education you offered. It seems that Dr. Jameson Taylor (that wouldn’t be you would it?)is associated with NC Civitas - that’s a conservative to libertarian group dedicated to limited government and free market. As far as I can tell they are quite anti - immigrant, healthcare reform, union. That’s interesting company you keep for a 42 yr. picketing union man.
Thank you for your due diligence, Kent. Here is the link that you can copy and paste to the URL field:
http://www.nccivitas.org/media/publication-archive/fact-sheet/myths-about-illegal-immigration
The more the Dr delivers on his posts, the more I believe he is from the other side of the political aisle and using this blog as a front for his right-wing propaganda.
Thanks again, Kent.