Excellent article! Food for thought.
I recall a friend of my dad's, a member of a trade union and a good
Democrat, complaining about the unruly Negroes who were demanding to
be allowed membership in "his" union.
Dad said, "We will lose our right to organize if we fail to defend the
rights of others to also organize". Dad's friend never did get it.
Carl Jarvis
On 9/22/18, Roger Loran Bailey <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
https://socialistaction.org/2018/09/21/organized-labor-slow-to-defend-the-rights-of-immigrants/
Organized labor slow to defend the rights of immigrants
/ 10 hours ago
Sept. 2018 Immigrant AFL 8-15 (John)
About 2000 East Coast trade-union members marched in Philadelphia for
immigrant rights on Aug. 15 (John Leslie / Socialist Action)
By JOHN LESLIE
Trump’s reactionary immigration policies have created a climate of fear
in immigrant communities. Deportations, workplace raids, and hate crimes
are on the rise as ICE, police, and far-right vigilantes target
immigrant workers and their families. Naturalized citizens are now the
object of administration reviews of their citizenship status, based on
the expansion of a policy originally put into place under Obama. Under
Trump, families and communities are being ripped apart.
Trump’s rhetoric against the foreign born, and calls to “build the
wall,” have reached a fever pitch as the midterm elections loom. The
point of Trump’s campaign is to energize his base while enforcing a
sense of terror to silence immigrant workers and their supporters.
Trump and his allies are currently working overtime to politicize the
rape and murder of Molly Tibbetts, an Iowa college student, by a man who
is allegedly an undocumented farmworker. Molly’s family has called for
Trump and company to stop using her memory for political gain.
The number of workplace raids has doubled under Trump. During the George
W. Bush years, large workplace raids hit meatpacking, agriculture, and
other employers. While Obama is known for deporting a record 2.5 million
immigrant workers during his tenure, the number of large-scale raids was
smaller. Since Trump took office, the number of ICE raids have doubled.
ICE has announced its intent to quadruple the number of workplace raids
compared to the Obama years.
Liberals and their allies in the labor bureaucracy have concentrated
mostly on appeals to vote for Democrats in the November midterm
elections alongside some mass mobilizations. These demonstrations have
mainly been aimed at getting out the vote for the Democrats.
Union leaders, like AFL-CIO top Richard Trumka, have denounced family
separation and the enforcement policies of the administration, but
actions speak louder than words. While there are examples of
working-class resistance to the ICE raids and immigrant bashing, the
response of the unions as a whole has been slow. Tech workers, at
Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and other firms have taken stands against
their employers’ cooperation with ICE. Airline flight crews have refused
to serve on flights carrying children separated from their families.
Immigrants, both documented and undocumented, are part of the U.S.
working class. In some sectors, unions are organizing immigrant workers.
Hospitality workers, organized by UNITE-HERE, are a shining example of
how the union movement could gain members and renewed militancy. The
Painters’ Union has also made strides in organizing immigrant painters
and drywall finishers.
Building trades unions often repeat the “they’re stealing our jobs”
myth, while the housing sector, where many of the workers are
immigrants, is left largely unorganized by these same unions. An
aggressive organizing drive, aimed at housing construction workers,
would help strengthen the economic and political position of all of the
construction unions.
A lesson could be learned from the 1992 drywallers’ strike in Southern
California. Hundreds of sheet rockers built a movement to demand fair
treatment, wage increases, and health benefits. Eventually, the drywall
installers joined the Carpenters’ Union, which ended up signing more
than 50 employers. In the process, the drywallers defied la migra and
waged an inspiring struggle against the bosses. This fight also forced
the Carpenters’ Union, at least for a time, to organize Mexican workers
in the housing sector.
On Aug. 15, a labor-based march for “Liberty & Justice For All: Labor
United To Free The Children” was held in Philadelphia. It was a missed
opportunity; the turnout of about 2000 fell far short of the organizers’
expectations. While many unions endorsed, and some labor bureaucrats
showed up to speak, the unions generally failed to mobilize their ranks.
The notable exceptions were UNITE HERE, which brought members from all
over the Eastern Seaboard, the Laborers (LIUNA 332 and 57), and the
Painters (IUPAT).
The march and rally was endorsed by the Building Trades Council, the
AFL-CIO, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT), SEIU, Teamsters,
community, and faith-based organizations. The most visible local
teachers’ presence was the Working Educators rank-and-file caucus of the
PFT.
Trump’s attack on immigrant workers and communities is part of the
larger ruling-class offensive against working-class people. The terror
campaign against undocumented immigrants weakens all of the U.S. working
class. The unions must recognize that the undocumented are a component
part of the U.S. working class and act accordingly. An all-out defense
of the rights of immigrants is central to a broader working class
fightback against union busting, austerity, and concessions.
One example of what could be done is the Rapid Response Network built by
pro-labor forces in Western Massachusetts. The Pioneer Valley Workers
Center has created a democratically run network to mobilize the
community against ICE raids. Organizing and mobilization are important,
but as long as the union movement is subordinated to the Democrats, we
will be fighting with one hand tied behind our backs.
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September 21, 2018 in Immigration, Labor.
Related posts
Trump uses kids as bargaining chips as immigration fightback grows
Abolish ICE! No Wall! Free the children!
Immigration crackdown: Just Trump’s policy or a disease of capitalism?
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