Reform Immigration For America to March on DC (3/21/10)

Reform Immigration for America is another liberal outfit that is funded by the Tides Foundation/Advocacy Group much like ACORN.  They engage in community organizing, voter registration, and campaigning, among various other activities, and coming to a Capitol near you, they will be marching on DC for immigration ‘reform’ on March, 21, 2010.

The site makes no mention on undocumented immigrants until the 7th paragraph on their about page.  They prefer to call these undocumented workers immigrants because it sounds as though you are being racist or insensitive to say you are against ‘immigration.’ “How can you be against immigrants, your forefathers were immigrants?” Well, of course my forefathers were immigrants and I can even trace my roots back to the Mayflower, but that isn’t the point.  The point is not advocating amnesty for 12 million ILLEGAL aliens who came to this country without following our rules, our customs, and our laws.  I would think that if an individual wants to enter this country and truly wants to be American, he/she would enter the right way — believe me there are plenty of now legal immigrants who feel the very same way.

This organization would prefer to go after “rogue” immigration agents who “tear families apart.” I assume they mean ICE agents and others who work on behalf of the government finding illegals who decided they could cross a border, not be documented, get free health care, not pay taxes, and work  here without any repercussions.

Untargeted raids in workplaces and neighborhoods and rogue enforcement agents at all levels are terrorizing immigrant workers and dividing families without making us any safer and without fixing the real problems with our immigration system. Our out-of-date laws force many American families to remain separated for years – and in some cases, decades – because of backlogs and barriers to family unification in our immigration system.

RIA also goes after corporations who hire and exploit illegal immigrants for cheap labor.  I agree that these corporations need to be found and they need to be fined, however, you can’t have your cake and eat it too – both are doing things that are illegal and both need to be held accountable.  As I like to say, however, Illegal immigrants are really just undocumented Democrats to the liberals in our government and the other liberals in labor unions and elitist-run organizations.  The bigger question becomes: Who is really exploiting who?

Besides, my own personal feelings on the subject – it’s important to note that this rally is taking place and who knows maybe we will see some of our favorite Republicans attend; John McAmnesty and Lindsey Grahamnesty.

ACORN and SEIU are also in the thick of it.

On Saturday, over 400 community members, clergy, students and SEIU (Service Employees International Union) members crammed into Los Angeles offices of SEIU ULTCW (United Long Term Care Workers) for a Community Accountability and Planning Session on Immigration Reform.

Congressman Xavier Becerra and SEIU ULTCW Trustee Laphonza Butler were in attendance, hearing the stories, fears, and hopes of many in the crowd on why we need Immigration Reform.

And just to show how much a Democrat from California who attended an immigration reform meeting with SEIU loves this country – he laughs when the Pledge of Allegiance is suggested at the start of the meeting [from Gateway Pundit]:

We need to pay attention to the amnesty bill that has been brought up in Congress [watch both the Republicans and the Democrats] and make sure it doesn’t pass.  We need reform to make the system more efficient, but we don’t need amnesty and we certainly don’t need to continue making the problem worse.

The Obama Administration Continues To Play Favorites With Unions

We are all well aware that the Obama administration is beholden to the unions like SEIU and the UAW who gave millions to then Senator Obama during his campaign for the White House. However, what many may not know, or have forgotten is the fact that Barack Obama signed three executive orders that would make it easier to favor unions and unionized companies.

Here is the synopsis of the three pro-union executive orders signed early in 2009:

The first executive order requires employers with federal contracts above $100,000 in value to post a notice in the workplace informing their employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), including the right to join a union. This order also repeals Executive Order 13201, issued by President Bush in 2001, that required federal contractors and subcontractors to post so-called “Beck notices.” Such notices, named after the Supreme Court’s decision in Communication Workers v. Beck, 487 U.S. 735 (1988) informed employees covered under the NLRA that they could not be required to join a union or maintain union membership in order to retain their jobs and that employees who are subject to a union security clause and choose not to be union members may object to the purposes for which mandatory union dues are used.

The second order applies to federal contractors who provide services to government buildings. While there are several exemptions, under this new executive order, when a federal agency changes contractors, the new contractor will be required to offer jobs to the non-supervisory employees of its predecessor. This order is designed to try to ensure that when a unionized contractor is replaced, its successor will be obliged under existing labor laws to bargain with the original contractor’s labor union.

The third order prevents federal contractors from being reimbursed in federal funds for money spent to oppose (or support) union organizing efforts among their employees, which could violate first amendment rights if ever challenged in a court of law due to government interference and a company’s freedom of speech.

That’s why the latest news coming from the Obama administration is very disconcerting since they are planning on supporting proposals that will favor unions and unionized companies bidding on federal contracts, which will only increase the size of the government, the amount of bureaucracy, and the cost of contracts.  However, it’s not anything we don’t already know since Obama’s philosophy seems more like “Go big, or go… you know something? just go big because you won’t have a home by the time our administration is through.”

Here’s more information regarding the proposal via the Daily Caller:

The proposals, collectively known as “High Road Contracting Policy,” were first reported earlier this month. The basic elements of the policy would give preference to companies bidding on federal contracts that pay their hourly workers a “living wage” and provide health insurance, employer-funded pension plans and paid sick days.

Following the report Republicans slammed the proposal, with Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma referring to it as “backdoor card check.” Other critics, led by Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, worry the new rules would increase the cost of government contracting by as much as 20 percent, or more than $100 billion annually, while further slowing the procurement process.

Proponents of the proposals, including the Center for American Progress and the Economic Policy Institute, argue government contracting should be used as a vehicle for expanding the middle class and many of the workers that would be impacted by the changes end up costing the government more through public assistance programs such as Medicaid and food stamps. David Madland of CAP also pointed to studies on the state and local level that show no cost increase following the implementation of similar policies.

However, the White House did admit that contracting costs would increase if this proposal went through.  Pardon me if I’m a little skeptical and a little tired of unions being used as the end-all-be-all of the middle class.  Most of the middle class are professional workers or even blue collared workers who don’t belong to unions.  Take for example my father – he’s a mechanic but doesn’t belong to the UAW, much like many of his co-workers.  Does he make a ton of money? No, he’s just simply middle class and thus it is completely disingenuous for anybody to equate unions with the middle class at all times.  It seems as if the current crop of bureaucrats would love nothing more than for the true middle class to be unionized and therefore controlled and dependent upon the federal government.

And lest we forget some of the eye-opening clips of Obama speaking with organizations like SEIU:

{My favorite part is Obama telling SEIU that they should want a leader who can tell the truth… Interesting that he’s now been caught in many lies, most recently ACORN}

Big Labor = Big Corruption; Jimmy Hoffa Would Be So Proud

It’s time to clean house!  I’d like to see a sweeping investigation into any and all big labor unions, “non-partisan” taxpayer funded groups, lobbyists, and major corporations that donate to politicians. 

Union bosses are still acting much like mafia characters, and some would argue that’s what they in fact are.  A union boss is admitting to using/exploiting his union members as political activists.   

An interesting admission by James A. Williams, president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades in Philadelphia, can be seen in an interview he did with the Philly Inquirer. It is an admission that confirms one of the things that anti-union folks have been saying for years, but one union officials are loath to admit.

While discussing the hard economic times, the Philly Inquirer asked how the recession was affecting the union. In his answer President Wilson admitted that his union uses out-of-work members for “political events.” Wilson mentioned that they lower dues to $1 a month after a member has been out of work for more than six months, but that isn’t just the kind hearted union looking out for its members. No, the union expects something in return for that lowering of dues. 

Would exploitation and quid pro quo be considered commendable by the bleeding heart liberals?  Union leadership has always been in the business of lining their own pockets and achieving their own objectives, no matter who gets stepped on along the way, including their own members.

Obama has long been a union advocate, as are many other Democrats.  Unions became part of the Democrat voting block after FDR focused his efforts on creating certain groups that could be used for votes.  Big labor, since that time, has been a large contributor to the DNC.  Obama has spoken at the UAW, SEIU, and AFL-CIO conventions numerous times and most recently this past week.  The latest push for union control of ports and the fact that Obama supports easing the rules of union organizing should give anyone pause. 

President Obama gave a corker of a campaign speech yesterday at the AFL-CIO convention in Pittsburgh, promising to deliver on his promise to ease the rules for union organizing. If you want to know what this means in action, consider the current Teamsters play to control California ports. 

[…]

The American Trucking Association sued to block the rule, and with good cause. Federal law has long pre-empted state and local regulation of interstate trucking “prices, routes and services,” for the reason that international and interstate trade depend on uniform regulation. The courts have recognized this, and even the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the new port rule had likely violated the Constitution’s Commerce Clause, which led to a court injunction earlier this year. Trial on the merits of the rule has been set for next year. 

[…] 

Unionization would give the Teamsters enormous bargaining leverage over work rules and pay, sharply raising the cost of moving goods, as well the power to shut down ports in a strike. Some 32 trade groups, from farm organizations to the National Retail Federation, signed a recent letter to Mr. Oberstar opposing the legislation. The response of shippers would be to divert cargo to Mexico or Canada, or pass through an expanding Panama Canal for ports on the Gulf or East Coasts. California doesn’t need more reasons for business to flee the state. 

For a group who continues to point their finger at George Bush and the Republicans for the current state of the economy, it sure seems as though they would prefer the economy to stay stagnant and hand it over to big labor and government, two of the causes for our hardships now. 

An example of the sheer lack of morals and utter corruption that has corroded big labor for quite some time is the recent conviction of Jaime Enrique Feliciano, a 50 yr. old man sentenced to 25 years in prison for child molestation, possession of child pornography and the intent to manufacture child pornography.  So who is Feliciano?  He was the former district president of the California SEIU, a proud partner of ACORN.

It’s time to wake up and take control of our country again.  These big labor organizations and large non-profits that are acting as arms to the government, doing their bidding, need to be disbanded and swept clean.  People on both sides should be sick and tired of the corruption, the ponzi schemes, the pay-to-play politics, and the lack of consideration for the people of America.