The bill includes reforms we in the union movement believe are absolutely necessary to address what is now an unworkable system.
This legislation would allow long-term undocumented workers -- people who have worked hard and given so much to their communities -- to become legal permanent residents and take the first step towards citizenship.
It would also set up fair and efficient methods to make sure that the dream of family reunification can become a reality for US citizens and legal permanent residents.
Although we continue to be concerned about expanding guest worker programs, the visa programs in this bill include key wage and labor law protections, enforcement provisions and eventual access to permanent residency status - - provisions that we believe are essential in any eventual temporary worker program.
For instance, under this legislation, immigrant workers who were illegally fired for standing up for their rights through forming a union could win back all their lost wages - - a right that was recently undercut for immigrant workers by the U.S. Supreme Court Hoffman Plastic decision.
The fact is that meaningful immigration reform is a high priority the AFL-CIO. Fixing our broken immigration system is not just a matter of what is fair and right for millions of immigrant workers—it’s also a matter of what’s fair and right for U.S. workers.
We know that our workplace rights, our economic security, our future are linked to that of immigrant workers. If unscrupulous employers can exploit immigrant workers' status, violate their rights, and crush their freedom to choose to join a union, then it will be harder for non-immigrant workers to exercise their rights and build a better future.
But when immigrant workers have their rights respected, then the rights of all workers are safer and stronger.
This legislation will bring our nation one big step closer to justice for America's immigrants.
Contact: Lane Windham or Esmeralda Aguilar at 202-637-5018
