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News and Updates
Immigration
April 2, 2013
Labor and Business Reach Deal on Employment-Based Visa Program
Over the weekend, labor and business reached an agreement which includes a new kind of worker visa program called the W-Visa. This is a key step in the push for comprehensive immigration reform.
The UFCW has been one of the main players in the negotiations, lobbying for reform that creates a process for determining the need and allocation of employment-based visas. The UFCW has said reform must establish a methodology for assessing labor shortages and determine the impact of visas on the economy, wages, the workforce, and business. This agreement meets those principles.
Under the new visa program, workers will have the ability to self-petition for permanent status after a year and they are not tied to a single employer. Unlike previous programs, this one is data-driven and will be staffed by experts in economics, labor markets, demographics and other specialties needed to identify labor shortages and make recommendations on the number of visas. Visa holders will be paid fairly, meaning their wages will not adversely affect the wages or working conditions of U.S. workers. They will be covered by state and federal employment laws to the same extent that other U.S. workers are covered.
This breakthrough will help move forward comprehensive immigration reform that creates a road map to citizenship for 11 million aspiring Americans.
UFCW locals spent last week meeting with their Members of Congress lobbying for comprehensive immigration reform. They are preparing for an all-out campaign once legislation is introduced to ensure its passage.
March 26, 2013
Iowa UFCW Locals Endorse Braley for Senate
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Locals 222, 230, 431, 440 and 1149 of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) today announced their endorsement of Congressman Bruce Braley for the U.S. Senate.
“We are proud to endorse Bruce Braley for Senate,” the locals said. “He is a ferocious champion of working families and the middle class. His experience growing up in Brooklyn as the son of a grain elevator operator and a teacher helped shape his passion for economic justice.”
In the House of Representatives, Braley has proven himself as a tough and smart leader. He has fought to ensure equal pay for equal work, strengthen the right to organize, and reform America’s broken immigration system.
“Bruce has been a rising star from day one—and the people of Iowa have benefitted,” the locals said. “He never forgets where he came from or who he represents.”
Braley is running to replace Senator Tom Harkin who is retiring after five outstanding terms of service. As Chairman of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee, Harkin has put the needs of workers front and center. “Tom Harkin never stopped fighting for us,” the locals said. “We can think of no one better to follow in his footsteps than Bruce Braley.”
“We look forward to doing everything we can to help make Bruce our next U.S. Senator,” the locals said.
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The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) represents more than 1.3 million workers, primarily in the retail and meatpacking, food processing and poultry industries. The UFCW protects the rights of workers and strengthens America’s middle class by fighting for health care reform, living wages, retirement security, safe working conditions and the right to unionize so that working men and women and their families can realize the American Dream. For more information about the UFCW’s effort to protect workers’ rights and strengthen America’s middle class, visit www.ufcw.org, or join our online community at www.facebook.com/UFCWinternational and www.twitter.com/ufcw.
February 22, 2013
UFCW Kicks Off Campaign for National Comprehensive Immigration Reform
The UFCW recently kicked off its public campaign for comprehensive immigration reform. Civil Rights and Community Action Department Director Esther Lopez says she expects a bill to be introduced in March or April, followed by hearings in May or June, and a vote in August.
In addition, over 80 UFCW leaders have signed a letter to President Obama in support of comprehensive immigration reform.
“The time to create a principled, legal immigration system that treats all immigrants with respect and dignity is right now,” the letter read.
Immigration reform rallies are being planned across the country. If you live near any of these major cities, be sure to support the cause! And if you don’t, gather a group of coworkers and friends and let political leaders in your area know that the time for immigration reform is now.
The scheduled rallies are as follows:
l February 25: San Francisco
l February 28: Houston
l March 6, 12, or 13: Minneapolis/St. Paul
l March 7: Chicago
l March 11: Phoenix
l TBD: New York City
June 21, 2012
HANSEN: ROMNEY IMMIGRATION PLAN MORE OF THE SAME
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Joe Hansen, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), today released the following statement in response to Mitt Romney’s speech before the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO).
“During the Republican presidential primaries, there was no one more radical on the issue of immigration than Mitt Romney. He promised to veto the DREAM Act and encouraged undocumented immigrants to self-deport. Last week, he criticized President Obama’s historic immigration order as temporary, even though it would prevent the deportation of nearly a million young, patriotic immigrants who work hard and play by the rules. Today, in front of the nation’s Latino leaders, Romney offered more of the same, pledging to replace the President’s order with something more permanent. That something is likely to be in the mold of Arizona’s restrictive and inhumane immigration law, an approach Romney strongly supported. Mitt Romney may be a flip-flopper, but when it comes to immigration, his extreme position is crystal clear.”
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The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) represents more than 1.3 million workers, primarily in the retail and meatpacking, food processing and poultry industries. The UFCW protects the rights of workers and strengthens America’s middle class by fighting for health care reform, living wages, retirement security, safe working conditions and the right to unionize so that working men and women and their families can realize the American Dream. For more information about the UFCW’s effort to protect workers’ rights and strengthen America’s middle class, visit www.ufcw.org, or join our online community at www.facebook.com/UFCWinternational and www.twitter.com/ufcw.