Why Unions Support Illegal Immigration
As the debate over illegal immigration has raged in this country some of the staunches opponents to border security and deportation have been union advocates. Time and again union spokespeople have ridiculed attempts to crack down on illegal immigration as "marginalizing" the illegal immigrant population, but what I've always been left wondering why unions are taking this position.
Cheap illegal immigrant labor drives down wages for the jobs they take and allows business owners to bypass labor laws many unions have fought for. You wouldn't think this would be something unions would be happy about, right? Well, unions have an ulterior motives in all this.
You see, union enrollment has been declining for years. This is due to a number of factors. Chief among them, I believe, is the prosperity America has achieved. Workers in this country are, for the most part, happy. The government closely monitors work conditions and with unemployment at pretty much full-employment for over a decade now wages are pretty much satisfactory. Of course, it isn't perfect (what ever is?) and there people in this country who aren't satisfied with their jobs, but by and large the need for powerful labor unions to ensure workplace safety and decent wages has passed.
This will derided as heresy by the pro-union types who read this, but it is true and the declining enrollment rates and influence of labor unions proves it. Which is exactly why the unions want want illegal immigrants in this country. The unions need exploited workers to represent in order for them to remain relevant in our modern economy, and they see the millions who enter this country illegally looking for work each year as fitting the bill.
If the unions can use their political influence to negotiate legal status for illegal immigrants in this country then they can set about organizing them for the collection of the dues that keep organizations like the AFL-CIO flush with cash and, by extension, political influence.
So the next time you hear some union advocate waxing poeting about the "plight of undocumented workers in America" just ignore it. They don't care about the workers, they care about keeping their organization flush with cash.
Cheap illegal immigrant labor drives down wages for the jobs they take and allows business owners to bypass labor laws many unions have fought for. You wouldn't think this would be something unions would be happy about, right? Well, unions have an ulterior motives in all this.
You see, union enrollment has been declining for years. This is due to a number of factors. Chief among them, I believe, is the prosperity America has achieved. Workers in this country are, for the most part, happy. The government closely monitors work conditions and with unemployment at pretty much full-employment for over a decade now wages are pretty much satisfactory. Of course, it isn't perfect (what ever is?) and there people in this country who aren't satisfied with their jobs, but by and large the need for powerful labor unions to ensure workplace safety and decent wages has passed.
This will derided as heresy by the pro-union types who read this, but it is true and the declining enrollment rates and influence of labor unions proves it. Which is exactly why the unions want want illegal immigrants in this country. The unions need exploited workers to represent in order for them to remain relevant in our modern economy, and they see the millions who enter this country illegally looking for work each year as fitting the bill.
If the unions can use their political influence to negotiate legal status for illegal immigrants in this country then they can set about organizing them for the collection of the dues that keep organizations like the AFL-CIO flush with cash and, by extension, political influence.
So the next time you hear some union advocate waxing poeting about the "plight of undocumented workers in America" just ignore it. They don't care about the workers, they care about keeping their organization flush with cash.
