Employers want


illegal workers To the Editor: I would like to respond to and support


(the April letter from) James E. Close. The move to legalize undocumented


workers is diametrically opposed to the efforts of labor to attain fair wages for all workers. The economic impetus for the importation of undocumented labor has always been to undercut the wages of available labor. By making previously undocumented


labor legal, we effectively exclude those workers from the labor market and invite the next wave of undocumented workers. When workers strike, employers have


unrestricted use of illegal aliens to break the strike.Why would any employer hire a previously undocumented worker, when he can get the real thing? Believing the traditional role of unions is


still germane in todayʼs labor market should not be conflated cynically with being anti- immigrant, a tactic presently being used to silence any opposition, no matter how legitimate the concern.


ELLEN CHECKES Massapequa


Editor’s Note: Under current federal law,


employers who knowingly hire illegal workers can be fined up to $10,000 per worker. The employer also may face up to six months in jail if a pattern of violating the law is found. A conviction for knowingly employing 10 or more workers with illegal status in a 12-month period can lead to the employer’s imprisonment of up to 10 years.


He appreciates engineering technician with the state


Sandy relief To the Editor: I am a PEF member in Region 12, an


By DEBORAH A. MILES May is National Labor History Month,


and many key events played a role in building the labor movement. The stories are of America’s working people and how their struggles, successes and hopes for a better future changed the way we live and work today. Stories have been recorded as far back


as 1619, when North America’s first recorded labor uprising occurred. Polish craftsmen, who produced glass, pitch and tar for the Jamestown colony, went on strike to protest their lack of voting rights. The incident ended peacefully when the Poles were granted full voting rights. The Homestead Strike was an


industrial lockout and strike that began June 30,1892, and culminated in a bloody battle between strikers and private-security agents on July 6, 1892. The battle was one of the most serious disputes in U.S. labor history. The dispute occurred at the Homestead Steel Works in Pennsylvania, between the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers and the Carnegie Steel Company. Management was determined to lower costs by breaking the union. The final result was a major defeat for the union and a setback for efforts to unionize steelworkers. Two years later, gold was discovered in


Cripple Creek, CO. More than 150 mines sprang up, and so did a strong miners union called the Free Coinage Union No. 19. Cripple Creek became famous for the important, dramatic battles of workers who fought to win their rights. In 1909, a significant strike took place


Page 2—The Communicator May 2013


STUNNINGTHE COUNTRY—More than 2,000 postal workers defy a federal back-to-work order and continue to strike in March 1970.The wildcat strike was started by Branch 36 of the National Association of Letter Carriers.


in McKees Rock, PA when immigrant workers rose up and changed the course of American unionism. It took place at the huge Pressed Steel Car Company plant near Pittsburgh, where nearly 8,000 mostly immigrant workers from 16 nationalities created railway cars. Eugene V. Debs, one of the foremost


union activists in American history, said, “This is the greatest labor fight in all my history in the labor movement.” Year after year, more and more strikes


occurred as the voices of workers became stronger and louder. Activists from across New York state


and the nation pushed for fundamental reforms after 146, mostly young women, died in the well known Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911. For some, such as Frances Perkins, who stood helpless watching the factory burn, the tragedy inspired a lifetime of advocacy for workers’ rights. Throughout the 1990s, labor advanced


Transportation Department and a member of PEF Division 170. Today, I received a $300 check from


PEF (Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund). It will help my family and I very much with our basic needs as we are still struggling to get our house back in shape. I also wrote a letter to the American


Federation of Teachers thanking it for its contribution of $35,000 (to the PEF Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund), along with the PEF membership donations to make this happen. My family and I have suffered, but we


will recover thanks to all who have supported us in this time of need. Once again, a very big, humble thank


you.


JAMES B. CALFA Mastic Beach


Email your ideas or comments to thecommunicator@pef.org


Labor history – the power of solidarity


by forming unions, councils and coalitions comprised of not only working men, but women and people of various nationalities and occupations. Key people in labor history such as the


farm worker’s leader Cesar Estrada Chavez, or Samuel Gompers, the longest serving president of the American Federation of Labor, or Mother Jones, “the most dangerous woman in America,” became household inspirations. The nation’s working people recognized


that standing together is the most effective means of improving their lives on and off the job. Strikes continued. In 1970, the headline in Time magazine was “The strike that stunned the country,” referring to the 200,000 postal workers who got fed up, united and transformed the Postal Service and their own lives. As time and technology has changed


the way of life, it also has changed the way unions operate. The ability to organize people was seen in 2008 when the AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions mobilized 250,000 volunteers during the U.S. presidential election. They made 76 million telephone calls, knocked on 14 million doors, sent out 57 million fliers and distributed 29 million leaflets at worksites. The 21st century workplace rights and


protections, such as the eight-hour day and laws covering safety and health on the job, have been won by the struggles and sacrifices of working women and men. They were empowered by the strength of solidarity and their actions embodied the American dream of fairness and an opportunity for all to succeed.


PEF Information Line: 1-800-553-2445


ROOTS OF STRUGGLE


IDEAS FROM MEMBERS


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