Immigration Reform Legislation

In June, the Senate failed to pass the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill. If passed, this legislation would have allowed hundreds of thousands of unskilled foreign workers to enter the U.S. without ensuring adequate wage protections for U.S. workers. This controversial guest worker program, which promised to erode wages and reduce benefits for BAC and other building trades members, was one of the major reasons BAC opposed the legislation. Another was the bill’s failure to stiffen penalties for the unscrupulous employers that exploit immigrant workers.

After failing to pass a key procedural motion on June 28th, the bill was withdrawn.  No significant action on immigration reform is expected until after the 2008 election.