These days everyone is talking about immigration. In our industries we know firsthand that our immigration system is broken and that corporations have hijacked it for their own profit. We’ve watched employers import, exploit and, ineffect, deport immigrant workers with little or no regard for federal law. We’ve seen them drive down wages and working conditions at the bargaining table–that’s how we know that it’s not immigrant workers who are threatening our livelihoods, but the companies who are hurting all of us.
“It’s the companies that are dragging down our wages,” says Michael Sheffield, a UFCW Local 227 steward at Swift & Co. in Louisville, Kentucky. “A workerno matter where he or she comes from isn’t the one who tries to lower our pay.”

The recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids at Swift & Co. were yet another example of how our immigration system isn’t working. Basic civil liberties and human dignity were thrown out the window and families torn apart. “I’m pretty upset with our government. I think we can do better than what we did the day of the raids,” says Randy Imler, UFCW Local 22 steward at Swift & Co., whose plant was raided in Grand Island Nebraska. “This is supposed to be the country that everyone wants to come to, not one that people are mad at or afraid to live in.”
As stewards, we’re on the front lines in the fight for a better workplace. We believe that all workers deserve decent wages, benefits, safety conditions and respect–no matter the color of their skin or the language they speak. That’s why it’s so frustrating to know companies specifically hire people to work in dangerous conditions for substandard wages because they don’t know their rights on the job and are too afraid to speak up. “If you’re a union member, and you go to work and pay union dues, the UFCW has a responsibility to protect you just as they would protect the rights of anyone else-no matter your race, creed, or color,” says Kevin Diale, a UFCW Local 227 chief steward at Swift & Co. in Louisville, Kentucky.
Stewards can help educate members on how the system which enables companies to violate workplace laws for immigrant workers is allowing them to violate protections for all workers. Immigration is not an easy thing to discuss, but it’s something we need to talk about-and stewards can take the lead.
“It’s time for a change,” says Lenora Reed, UFCW Local 227 chief steward at Equity Group in Albany, Kentucky. “Our government needs to hold somebody accountable–and it needs to be these companies.” The need for change is clear; however, there’s much debate on what reforms should be made. That’s why the UFCW has presented several principles of reform that you can use as talking points. The most relevant in our industry include:

•  End ineffective work site immigration enforcement programs like “Basic Pilot”and ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers (IMAGE);

•  Meaningful and enforceable employer punishments for immigration and labor law violations;

• Wage and working condition protection for all workers;

• No new guest worker or temporary worker programs that allow employers to turn permanent, full-time, family-supporting jobs into temporary, go-nowhere, exploitative jobs.

The UFCW supports comprehensive immigration reform that respects all workers’ rights. It’s important that we keep in mind that, a hundred years ago,the Polish, Italian, and Southern European immigrants who worked in our nation’s packing plants helped build the UFCW. Today, it’s immigrant workers from Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Africa who work alongside native-born workers in the processing lines of our industries who can make us stronger.

“We work side-by-side because our kids have to eat, because we have bills and rent to pay,” says Lenora Reed, “We share the same duties. We laugh, we joke, we cut up, and we move on. We’re buddies. We’re brothers and sisters.”

We look a lot different, but we are still the same union–one that is responsible for representing and protecting UFCW members and is committed to ensuring that all working people, immigrant and native-born, are able to improve their lives and realize the American dream.