Sonia Ramirez, an AFL-CIO lobbyist in Washington, said the industrial unions had to weigh legalization against the interests of their members, who included electricians, teachers and nurses. "This isn't just about providing relief to the current immigrant population," she said. "We represent workers in 56 international unions. It's not as simple for us."
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For The Record
Los Angeles Times Friday June 08, 2007 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 61 words Type of Material: Correction
Immigration bill: An article June 1 in Section A on how unions view the Senate immigration bill said the AFL-CIO and large industrial unions had historically seen illegal immigrants as unwanted competitors to their membership. However, in recent years, the AFL-CIO has made efforts to reach out to illegal immigrants, including an alliance last year with a network representing day laborers.
'It reflects a fear'
Opponents say the industrial unions are being protectionist, attempting to defend manufacturing workers who have seen their ranks thin since the 1950s.
"It reflects a fear that's all across America. There's a worry about our ability to preserve decent jobs," said John Wilhelm, president of Unite Here's hospitality division.
In recent weeks, industrial unions have begun efforts to block the bill, including automated calls, letter-writing campaigns to Democratic lawmakers and advertising by affiliates.
Late last month, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney met with Sens. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Ken Salazar (R-Colo.), key members of the bipartisan coalition that drafted the Senate bill. At a meeting with Kennedy, Sweeney, who represents 10 million union members, was joined by Joseph T. Hansen, president of the 1.3-million-member United Food and Commercial Workers, and Terence M. O'Sullivan, head of the Laborers' International Union of North America, with more than 700,000 members.
While the industrial unions have not openly threatened legislators who have endorsed the legislation, the message is clear: "We support candidates who support our agenda," said Ramirez, the AFL-CIO lobbyist. "These votes definitely speak to that commitment."
The service workers' unions have launched a counter-campaign. A large number of Unite Here's 450,000 members -- 50,000 of whom are in California -- are immigrants, according to Tom Snyder, the union's national political director, and they back legalization.
Local 11 in Los Angeles is more than 80% immigrant, Snyder said, and other big locals in Las Vegas and New York have a majority immigrant membership, many of whom are illegal.
"As the makeup of the industry changed, we were -- and are -- very assiduous about appealing to and reaching out to those workers," Snyder said. "For us, the welcome mat is out."
Creating a temporary-worker program would undercut those efforts, Snyder said, because the new workers would be more dependent on employers and less invested in the workplace.
