APFN
Trading jobs for campaign dollars
Thu Jul 3 22:36:12 2003
208.152.73.131
Trading jobs for campaign dollars
Unemployment Reaches 10-Year High Push for Guest Worker Program Continues in
Spite of Dismal Employment Picture
http://www.fairus.org/html/07447307.htm
(Washington, D.C.
July 3, 2003
Despite the bleak employment picture, congressional leaders and the White
House are moving forward with plans to expand the number of foreign guest
workers admitted to fill U.S. jobs. Under pressure from some domestic
industries and the Mexican government, serious negotiations continue in an
effort to add to the legions of foreign guest workers already working in
sectors of the economy ranging from high tech, to manufacturing, to
construction, to agriculture. The June unemployment data indicate a gloomy
Fourth of July for millions of American workers as joblessness reached 6.4
percent of the workforce, the highest levels since March 1994.
For the fifth straight month, American businesses have trimmed payrolls,
bringing the total number of jobs lost to 913,000 since March of this year.
"The most amazing thing is that there is not even a hint of embarrassment on
the part of American business or our government that hundreds of thousands of
Americans are receiving pink slips, while they work feverishly to bring more
foreign workers to this country," said Dan Stein, executive director of the
Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). "Many sectors of our
economy seemingly believe that access to cheap foreign labor is their right.
Meanwhile, the politicians who talk about jobs, jobs, jobs seem to be more
than willing to trade jobs for campaign dollars."
In addition to the disingenuousness of pursuing an expanded guest worker
program at the same time that unemployment is growing rapidly, FAIR noted that
the rush to move more foreign labor into this country potentially threatens
national security. "By their own admission, the new Department of Homeland
Security is still feeling its way around as they try to play catch-up on
decades of inattention to the connection between immigration and national
security," said Stein. "On top of dealing with the formidable task already
before them, a new guest worker program would require significant time,
manpower, and money to vet a new influx of workers from dozens of countries.
"On this Independence Day holiday, it is clear that the priorities of our
government are not the ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
expressed by our Founding Fathers, but rather the pursuit of cheap labor and
votes," Stein said.
U.S. unemployment rate highest since '94
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer%3FGXHC_gx_session_id_%3D9911d8892e6899a7%26pagename%3Dthestar/Layout/Article_Type1%26c%3DArticle%26cid%3D1057229631563%26call_pageid%3D968350072197%26col%3D969048863851
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR:
http://www.dol.gov/
Unemployment Rate: JUNE 2003 - 6.4%
Employment Situation
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.toc.htm
Labor Force Statistics
CPS Phone: (202) 691-6378
CPS data questions: cpsinfo@bls.gov
National Employment, Hours, and Earnings
CES Phone: (202) 691-6555
CES data questions: cesinfo@bls.gov
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