Labor Day Reflection: America Should Be The Land of Opportunity, Not Worker Exploitation

America's Voice Blog

Posted 09/04/09 at 02:05pm

The Center for Urban Economic Development, National Employment Law Project, and UCLA Institutute for Research on Labor and Employment, released a study titled "Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers" that explored the treatment of approximately 4,500 workers in three of America's biggest cities - New York, LA, and Chicago.

It cites a surprising number of labor and workplace abuses happening right here in the United States.

One of the most glaring findings is that the current dysfunctional immigration system also makes it harder for immigrant workers to assert their rights in the workplace-- and that this hurts all American workers.

The New York Times notes:

"Workplace abuses are flourishing in the absence of a working immigration system, where illegal immigrants are vital to the economy but helpless to assert their rights. The report upends the argument that the way to help American workers is to make illegal immigrants ever more frightened and exploitable. Only by protecting all workers will the country begin to rebuild a workplace matching its ideals of decency and fair play."

The authors of the report state that there are solutions, among them being that we need to "strengthen government enforcement of employment and labor laws," "update legal standards for the 21st century labor market," and "establish equal status for immigrants in the workplace."

And if we don't, the chances are very good that the violations will continue - and the violations are no doubt atrocious. The report finds the following:

Over two-thirds of workers suffered an illegal wage violation in just the past week
More than one quarter received pay below minimum wage
8 percent of workers who had been injured on the job had filed for workers' compensation, largely because of threats and fears of employer retribution

According to America's Voice founder and Executive Director Frank Sharry:

"It's never been clearer that our dysfunctional immigration system leads directly to worker abuse and exploitation. When immigrant workers are without the protection of the law, unscrupulous employers can undercut the wages and working conditions of all, and gain unfair advantage against honest businesses who do play by the rules."

With Labor Day approaching, we ask what better way to honor American workers and American labor than to fix our broken immigration system.