May 2008: Immigration and Labor, Where Do We Stand?

This May Day, immigration and labor stand at crossroads.

In immigration, a legislative stalemate exists between reactionary interests that hope to simply expel immigrants, versus liberal business interests that hope to exploit more immigrants through a Guest Worker program like the infamous 1950s bracero program. So instead, immigration police are sweeping the nation in the worst workplace raids in decades.  But workers all over the country have marched on May Day to support immigrant rights.

In labor, a huge fight is developing. Workers will need strong and united action against layoffs and wage cuts as the country goes into recession, yet one of the country’s largest unions is rolling out a strategy of growth by cooperation with corporations and employers, and is signing secret contracts with employers forbidding strikes and designating which facilities can be unionized.  But longshore workers have defied their employers and even their top union leaders in an 8-hr shut-down of all shipping on the West Coast, demanding an end to the MidEast oil war.

It is becoming clear that workers’ needs and immigrants’ needs are the same. We will explore these connections and how we can work together to build a movement that improves life for us all.

Brian Cruz is longtime immigrant rights and labor activist.  He has been involved planning May Day marches and protests against ICE raids, and has organized against national SEIU’s support of guest worker programs and interference in local union politics.

On on Monday, May 5th, hundreds of angry immigrants-rights supported demonstrated at the ICE headquarters, responding to the May 2nd arrest of 62 immigrant workers at 11 branches of El Balazo restaurants in the greater SF Bay Area.    See video and pictures of the demonstration here and here.  Read SF Chronicle article on the raids.

"They told us we were enemies, but we realized we were brothers." Read the inspiring story of black and latin carpenters fighting the racism of AIMCO property management in Bayview-Hunters Point.

Read the SF Gray Panthers solidarity and Immigrants' rights webpage.

Read SF Gray Panthers position paper on immigration.

Read Wall St. Journal's "Unions Forge Secret Pacts With Major Employers."

Getting to the meeting:

This event is at the Unitarian-Universalist Center, 1187 Franklin St, between Geary and O' Farrell.
map The #38 bus stops right at the Unitarian-Universalist Center. The #47 and #49 buses run along Van Ness, but the block of Geary St. from Van Ness to Franklin is fairly long and steep uphill.