Undocumented Workers:Globalization Creates Migration

I just started "Illegal People" by David Bacon and I would like to share some thoughts from the book.In 2006,the Social Security Administration sent out letters to employers,listing the names and numbers of an estimated 8 million people with numbers that don't agree with their files.There are many reasons why the numbers don't agree but the vast majority are from undocumented workers who use nonexistent numbers or one that belongs to someone else.The I-9 form is filled out when employment begins and the usual course of never looking at the document again persists around the country.It continues until the undocumented workers(some working 15yrs for a company)start to ban together to improve wages and working conditions.Former President Bush and his administration hated collective bargaining more than Mr.Roger's disdain for violence between children. In 2006,he sent his goons (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)to companies that were struggling with employee rights to fire or deport twenty-one thousand. He got the word from his business buddies that these ungrateful,undocumented workers had the nerve to ask for more pay and better working conditions.The way to do it was easy. These workers were released or deported if they couldn't verify their SS#'s.One could say that this reaction put a quick damper on the union movement in numerous companies around the country.The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 imposed sanctions(rarely enforced) on employers who hired undocumented workers.The workers needed an immigration visa to work.But in making it illegal for the employer to hire them, the law also made it a crime for those workers to hold a job.

Many immigrants leave their homeland(later chapter will reveal why...all valid political and social reasons) and make a life in America as best they can.They only want to work hard and feel respected and appreciated. Recognition of their labor is the yardstick undocumented workers fall back on to measure their acceptance in the United States.They are just fighting for the right to work.Many unions are behind the Employee Free Choice Act that is still being debated in Congress that would increase penalties for companies who fire workers for union activity and make it easier for workers to organize.Undocumented workers(6.5 million) who play by the employer's immoral game are welcome to continue working for wages well below the average. ICE only comes to company doors when undocumented workers want a fair playing field for themselves and families.

The most common protections denied undocumented workers include:

The right to receive the promised wage and/or at least the minimum wage and overtime pay for work actually performed.

The right to healthy and safe conditions on the job.

The right to receive workers’ compensation benefits for injuries on the job.

The right to be free from discrimination based on sex, color, race, religion, and national origin; age; and disabilities

 

More from "Illegal People" in the near future.