AFL-CIO Cuts Deal on Immigration, Sells Out American Workers, Warns FAIR

Amnesty and Guest Workers Threaten Viability of American Middle Class

WASHINGTON, April 1, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- America's largest labor union, the AFL-CIO, has reportedly cut a deal with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on an immigration package that would legalize about 12 million illegal aliens and admit anywhere from 20,000 to 200,000 low-skilled "guest" workers annually, all of whom may become permanent additions to our labor force through a pathway to citizenship. 

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Moreover, under the AFL-CIO/Chamber agreement, this annual influx of new, low-skilled "guest" workers would come in addition to more than 800,000 guest workers who enter our labor market each year and the addition of approximately 12 million illegal aliens to the U.S. workforce—all despite historically high levels of unemployment.

"This deal is a monumental betrayal by organized labor of American workers," charged Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). "The AFL-CIO is gambling the future of the American middle class on the false assumption that our economy can support this huge swell in low-skill workers and that the federal government will end the flow of illegal immigration that results in illegal workers undercutting wages and jobs opportunities for U.S. workers."

Finally, the AFL-CIO is also betting that big business will abide by this agreement. Business lobbyists are already beginning to say that the new guest worker program sanctioned by the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce isn't big enough. These business interests will no doubt lobby hard to significantly increase the size of this new guest worker program—whether during debate in the Senate, in the House, or the moment after it is enacted.

"The AFL-CIO has consistently failed to stand with American workers who have lost jobs and wages to illegal aliens. Now it is further undermining American workers by getting behind a deal that would allow tens of thousands of 'guest' workers and millions of illegal aliens to compete for virtually every job in the United States, all without any assurance that millions more illegal aliens will not flood into the labor force," said Stein.

"As we have seen in the past, the interests of union leaders do not necessarily represent those of rank and file members. As American workers, unionized and non-unionized, consider the ramifications of mass amnesty and massive increases in guest workers, there is likely to be significant resistance to a deal that would further endanger our already struggling middle class," Stein said.

"Barely half of working age adults in the United States with less than a high school diploma are currently participating in the labor force," Stein noted. "In agreeing to a deal that allows for new flows of low-skill workers, America's largest labor union is essentially ensuring that millions of less educated Americans will never be productive members of our society."

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a national, nonprofit, public-interest, membership organization of concerned citizens who share a common belief that our nation's immigration policies must be reformed to serve the national interest.

Visit FAIR's website at www.fairus.org.

SOURCE FAIR