One might think that given more than 20 million Americans unable to find full-time jobs, and testimony by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke that the American job market remains weak, that organized labor’s highest priority would be getting Americans back to work.
Or, one might think that the highest priority of the labor movement would be representing the interests of union members, negotiating salaries, benefits and working conditions on their behalf.
Or, perhaps, one might think that given that real wages for American workers have stagnated over the past 40 years and declined for lower skilled workers, despite significant productivity increases, that improving the wages of American workers might be the top priority for the labor movement.
But, no, none of objectives tops the list of priorities for the AFL-CIO. The highest priority for the labor movement is amnesty for illegal aliens, according to a statement by Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO. “The labor movement has no higher priority in 2013 than a workable immigration system that will allow 11 million aspiring Americans to become citizens,” Trumka said on May 21.
Given the ALF-CIO’s self-proclaimed priorities, perhaps it is time that they cease calling themselves a labor union and register as an immigration advocacy lobbying organization.