Happy International Workers' Day!

May Day Rallies Aim for Immigration Reform [Contra Costa Times] 

Exploiting immigrants: Labor laws need to protect undocumented workers, too [San Jose Mercury News] 

Bills to Protect California Immigrant Workers Introduced [San Jose Mercury News] 

A Pathway to Citizenship Should Create Workplace Protections [Huffington Post]

Five Ways Immigration Reform Will Help American Workers [Washington Post]

Immigration Raises Incomes in America [Slate] 

Palermo Villa Found Not to Violate Labor Protections With Immigration Check  [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel] 

FILED UNDER: Immigrant Workers

Statement of Christine Owens, Executive Director, National Employment Law Project

Washington, DC—The National Employment Law Project welcomes the Senate’s introduction of bipartisan legislation to reform our nation’s immigration laws.  In the coming days, NELP will analyze the details of this complex and far-reaching proposal and its impact on workers’ rights and low-wage labor markets.  

The centerpiece of the Senate bill is a pathway to citizenship for most of the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States.  A pathway to citizenship that enables undocumented immigrants to live and work out of the shadows will enable millions of workers and their families to overcome one of the greatest barriers to their own economic security and prosperity.  First-class citizenship will allow these workers to contribute fully to their communities and to our nation’s economic recovery.    

FILED UNDER: Immigration Reform

FILED UNDER: Immigration Reform

On Tuesday, April 16, 2013, the Senate "Gang of 8" released an outline of its proposed immigration reform bill. Although the Senate was scheduled to hold press briefings and introduce the full language of the bill, these events were delayed out of respect to the victims and survivors of the events at the Boston Marathon.

FILED UNDER: Immigration Reform

Five day hunger strike in solidarity with nine hotel workers facing firing after being subjected to E-Verify process

SAN DIEGO - Hotel workers and their allies launched a five-day hunger strike on Friday, April 8 to protest the unfair use of E-verify by the Hilton Mission Valley, amid hotel workers' year-long effort to organize a union. 

The sudden use of E-verify came in late March when a new management company took over the hotel and voluntarily subjected the hotel workers to the system. Hotel workers, clergy and community activists rallied at the launch of the hunger strike on Friday calling the hotel’s plan to fire the nine long-time hotel employees who the system flagged unfair.

Hotel managers told the nine employees they had until Monday, April 8 or Tuesday, April 9 to fix problems with paperwork or face termination.

FILED UNDER: E-Verify | Immigrant Workers