When it comes to immigration, organized labor has developed the ability to talk out of both sides of its mouth. On the one hand, it supports the importation of foreign workers who are potential union members. On the other hand, it would like to dam up the flood of immigrant workers so that they do not take away the jobs of their members. In addition, during periods of increased immigration, wages and the bargaining leverage of unions decline.
Samuel Gompers, the founder of the American Federation of Labor, opposed unrestricted immigration as did the AFL-CIO when it supported the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which would fine employers for hiring illegal immigrants. In later years, the AFL-CIO changed its position, mildly supporting the Immigration Act of 1990, which significantly increased the number of legal visas. Several years later, at one of its conventions, the union even accused immigration reformers of a “new hate campaign…making immigrants scapegoats for economic… problems.”
As union membership declines and organized labor becomes less important in a global economy, unions will continue to thrash about unable to decide which causes it should support. Organized labor is desperate to maintain a position of strength and influence, but it seems to be stumbling along the path that leads to the burial ground of all dinosaurs.
