Raising Arizona

Recently defeated in their attempt to undermine Arizona’s Right to Work law, Big Labor hasn’t given up its efforts to grab workers’ dues money in the prosperous and growing Grand Canyon state.

Organized labor is making one of its largest efforts in state history to organize new members and increase the funds flowing into its political coffers. Targeted industries include iron workers, painters, grocery store workers, and probably most vulnerable, state government employees.

But there is another reason why union officials are targeting Arizona — its large population of illegal immigrants.

Barry Hirsch, an economics professor at Trinity University in San Antonio, points out that Big Labor has “had a big shift on immigration policy,” he said. “They used to see immigration as a threat that was pushing down wages, but now they see that it has potential to attract new workers.”

The AFL-CIO supports amnesty for workers who are already illegally in this country and has partnered with the National Day Laborer Organization Network to ensure that, if the country adopts a guest-worker program, they will be able to collect dues from the immigrants.