KS: State passes bill that will encourage more illegal immigration and punishes unions who try to help the workers

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Submitted by Joe638NYC on Sat, 04/05/2008 - 12:47pm.

"There will be no punishment for law-breaking employers and they get the bonus of a state-sponsored tool for union busting." -Mark Desetti

Wow, if I didn't read it, I wouldn't believe it.

Kansas, a state in this United States, has passed a bill through it's Senate that will exclude punishment for the employers of undocumented workers, but would fine a union who lets the worker into it's ranks. You got that? They do not blame the employers, they want to stop anyone from helping the workers.

This is a tremendous blow to organized labor. This is a great defeat to workers in the United States. It encourages more slave labor. More criminal behavior. More dissension and confusion in our country. More separatism and division.

We are becoming a third world nation, and these multi-national corporations are dragging the entire world down with us.

From Kansas Workbeat :

Kansas Senate Votes to Punish Unions for Illegal Actions of Employers!
By Mark Desetti, Director, Legislative and Political Advocacy of the Kansas National Education Association

The Kansas Senate adopted an amendment by Senator Karin Brownlee (R-Olathe) to the immigration reform bill that would put responsibility for controlling illegal immigration on unions and other employee organizations.

Under the amendment any union or employee organization that would “impose or collect union dues from any alien who is not lawfully present in the United States” would be subject to fines from $2,000 to $10,000. The amendment was adopted in the wee hours on a vote of 19 to 18.

It is important to note that the Senators repeatedly rejected attempts to impose punishments on employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens. In other words, in Kansas, while employers are free to do whatever they want when hiring, employee groups will be punished for fraternizing with other employees.

This is a new low for the Kansas Senate. A majority of them are happy to turn a blind eye to the hiring of illegal aliens and will use immigration reform to bust unions.

So here is the scenario:

An employer, knowing that he will not be punished for hiring an illegal, puts the illegal alien to work side by side with unionized American workers.

The union, believing that the employer would not hire illegal aliens (that is illegal, you know), signs the employee up as a member of the union.

The union is now subject to criminal action and fines even though the union has no ability to verify the legal status of a worker.

What a boon this will be to union busting employers! All they have to do is drop in a few illegal aliens, let the union recruit them, then make sure the union gets reported for collecting dues. The fines help to bankrupt the union and the employer gets off free and easy!

Brownlee argued that she was protecting these workers from “exploitation” by a union that had no intention of providing them with benefits. Oh, after the union gets caught “exploiting” the worker saved by this “protection,” the government can get about the business of deporting him.

This amendment – and the bill it is on – rise to a new level of hypocrisy. Senators who claim to want to stop illegal immigration into Kansas do nothing to remove the primary reason undocumented workers come to this country – jobs. Employers enjoy the benefit of very low wages payable to illegal immigrants and they lobbied hard to block any attempt to institute punishments for employers who knowingly hire illegal workers. They stand against minimum wage increases that would make jobs more appealing to citizens. And now their “pro-business” friends in the Senate have delivered. There will be no punishment for law-breaking employers and they get the bonus of a state-sponsored tool for union busting.

The site goes on to list those in favor and against, 19 Republicans voted for the passage, while 8 against. 3 Republicans did not vote. All 10 Democrats voted against the measure. Go there and see who doesn't deserve you vote in 2008

I applaud the 10 Democrats and 8 Republicans who stood up against this anti-union/pro-corporate Legislation. As you can see, most Republicans are absolutely not for the working class.

Not since the “Kentucky River" decision handed down by the Republican-dominated National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Sept. 9th of 2006, which can alienate 8 million workers from being in a union, has there been such an Anti-Union ruling or law established in these United States.

This is the Third World War, the war against the worker.

Recent headlines about the Kentucky River decision "International Labor Organization condemns "Kentucky River" Decision" Sphere: Related Content

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KS: State passes bill that will encourage more illegal immigration and punishes unions who try to help the workers

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