Public Employee Press

Rights at stake
Rally presses Bush on new immigration policy

By ALFREDO ALVARADO

On May 1, thousands of immigrant workers and their supporters took to the streets around the country to demand that elected officials in Washington push through comprehensive, progressive immigration reform. Some of the largest demonstrations took place in Los Angeles, Chicago and Phoenix.

In New York City, immigrant workers and union activists gathered in the afternoon at Washington Square Park, where they heard several speakers and then marched to Union Square Park.

Among the many labor supporters at the New York City rally was a contingent from DC 37 led by the union’s treasurer and president of Local 1407, Maf Misbah Uddin — a Bangladeshi immigrant — and Cuthbert Dickenson, president of Local 374 and chair of the Citizenship Committee, who was born on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts. DC 37 is part of the Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition, which co-sponsored the rally.

“We at DC 37 with our 121,000 members stand behind you in this important struggle for immigration reform that is fair and dignified,” said Uddin, who addressed the rally from the stage. “You can count on us for our support.”

The immigration plan proposed by President Bush, and the similar plan that a bipartisan group of Senate members announced in mid-May, call for two new massive guest worker programs. One would open the door to legalization a crack for some for the estimated 12 million undocumented people currently living in the United States, and another would supply employers in the future with hundreds of thousands of temporary workers.

Labor blasts plan
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney blasted the Senate plan: “It will perpetuate the dire situation of immigrant workers and their families and provide employers with a ready pool of labor they can exploit to drive down wages, benefits, and health and safety protections for all of America’s workers,” he said.

“The theme of this plan is inequality. It guarantees inequality now, for 12 million undocumented workers, and it guarantees inequality for those immigrants who come to our shores legally in the future. We will continue to fight for an immigration reform plan that benefits workers, both foreign and U.S.-born.”

Last year close to 1 million immigrant workers took to the streets throughout the nation to protest proposed legislation, HR 4437, which would have labeled undocumented workers as felons, subject to immediate arrest.

The bill, which would have made it a federal crime for even family, lawyers and clergy to assist undocumented workers, died in the House of Representatives not long after the rally. The new Senate plan faces formidable opposition in the House.

Gerald W. McEntee, president of AFSCME,DC 37’s national union, has called on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform that will allow hardworking immigrants to earn their citizenship.