> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
> [mailto:owner-lbo-talk at lists.panix.com]On Behalf Of rc-am
> unlike nathan, i read the
> recent discussions and final policy statement on migrant workers as a
> narrowing down, specifically on the question of illegality. the
> AFL-CIO's statement, even though it includes one comment about the need to
organise
> illegal migrants, makes constant reference to how the AFL-CIO supports
> _legal_ migration. does that mean the AFL-CIO supports what is legal
> _now_? ie., the '96 legislation?
In the context of large numbers of rightwing forces calling for restricting immigration and ending family reunification as a major objective of immigration policy (which helps working class immigrant families), the AFL-CIO statement should be seen as fighting the attacks on legal immigration.
And as for the 96 legislation, I posted the statements by the AFL-CIO repudiating that legislation and demanding restoration of the benefits stripped of legal immigrants.
Why folks seek to read every progressive labor statement in the worst light possible, I still have no idea. It's reasonable to suggest improvements, but the substance of these statements are very progressive.
> so, the AFL-CIO were forced to acknowledge and include the emergence of a
> combative force created around the Prop 187 campaigns; they did so because
> it was the only route to renovation around; but they did so on terms which
> leaves intact the fundaments of the AFL-CIO's politics when it comes to
> cross-border organising. and, the didn't see the logical
> implications of such a movement because they aren't accustomed to thinking
in terms of
> 'bottom-up' solidarity and organisation, only alliances between those at
> the top.
First, the AFL-CIO came out against Prop 187 before the mass mobilization against it began and when it looked like a tidal wave -- it helped reelect Pete Wilson and hand the state legislature to the Republicans for the first time in a generation. And the labor unions stood against that tide, to their everlasting credit. I admit I worried they might waver and even have a few unions go the other direction, but they all publicly came out against it and a number of the unions, SEIU in particular, spent large amounts of money and time mobilizing against it. That was a pretty lonely position early in the fight.
The real mobilization against Prop 187 came extremely late in the campaign and really took off (unfortunately) only after its passage. For their forward looking position, that fight created a broad alliance with latinos that has created lasting bonds. When Prop 226 was launched to gut labor union power in 1998, latino voters returned the support and voted overwhelmingly against the proposition -- in fact voting more strongly against the anti-union proposal than they did against an anti-bilingual initiative on the same ballot.
And I wonder why you are so quick to argue that the AFL-CIO unions have no conception of bottom-up solidarity? There have been quite dramatic organizing drives where immigrant worker connections across the US-Mexican border played key roles. From Justice to Janitors campaigns to a massive Drywallers strike in the heart of rightwing Orange County to organizing among disparate Northern California shops like Mediacopy and Rubberstamped, migrant labor connections have played a key role in organizing. Unions have in some instances gone down to Mexican home villages to gather support for strikes in the United States, while other strategies have depended on working the community networks of immigrants extending throughout communities and across the border.
Of course, unions can improve these grassroots ties, but it is just inaccurate to argue union leadership does not recognize the need for grassroots strategies for immigrant worker solidarity.
If folks are interested in a good site describing both the strengths and weaknesses of the new union organizing among immigrants, I recommend David Bacon's site where his freelance writing and photographs detail many of these struggles:
See http://www.igc.org/dbacon/index.htm
-- Nathan Newman