Business and Labor Struggling to Reach Compromise on Immigration

In February, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO released a joint press release stating that the two sides have agreed to principles for immigration reform. But after recent meetings on Capitol Hill, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says he’s unsure the two sides can agree on legislative language.The Gang of Eight’s immigration reform principles include an amnesty for the nation’s 11 million illegal aliens and a guest worker program – both issues have been opposed by Big Labor in the past. But the AFL-CIO has said that it would support an amnesty and also support a guest worker program if it was sensitive to the country’s union laborers. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants a robust guest worker program.”I’ll be honest with you. I can’t guarantee we’ll get an agreement with the Chamber,” Trumka told Univision.Trumka said that he supports a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens, but stood by his opposition to a guest worker program similar to the one included in the Bush/Kennedy/McCain amnesty bill in 2007. The AFL-CIO opposed that bill and has been blamed for its failure.”The Trumka statement reflects an increasing appreciation of reality by union and non-union workers both,” Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said. “A large increase in the supply of foreign labor will reduce the value of the individual American worker, threaten his job, and reduce his salary. There is no escaping that fact. This is especially serious at a time of high unemployment and labor surplus.” Sen. John McCain, who is part of the Gang of Eight that’s drafting the amnesty legislation, said writing the legislative language that satisfies the principles of both the Gang and Big Business and Labor has been difficult.”Future flow of immigration into the country … particularly on low-skilled workers and agricultural workers [remain an issue],” Sen. McCain told the Wall Street Journal. “We’ve still got some significant obstacles and disagreements.” Senators Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have also expressed their opposition to guest worker programs this week.”What I absolutely do not want to see is immigration legislation which would bring low-wage workers into the United States that would take jobs away from American workers,” Sen. Sanders said. “Don’t tell me that we don’t have people who can make beds in the United States, who live in the U.S., who don’t want those jobs.””You have to show that local help is not available, and you can’t bring in guest workers where there’s a labor dispute or a strike,” Sen. Harkin said.Both Sen. Sanders and Sen. Harkin voted against amnesty in 2007. For more information, see ABC News and Politico.