When Jose Castro was fired for organizing a union, he had no idea his dismissal would threaten the rights of 8.5 million undocumented immigrant workers in the United States. Castro worked for Hoffman Plastics Compounds and when he was fired, the National Labor Relations Board took up the case. It ruled against the company and ordered $67,000 in back wages.
Hoffman Plastics appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which recently decided that undocumented workers wrongly fired for union organizing have no right to back wages.
With this ruling, many of our nation's farmers, factory workers, office and house cleaners, trash collectors, and restaurant and service workers have lost a basic human right. They do the work undesired by most, their jobs lack benefits, child care or a living wage, but if they dare fight for humane working conditions, they can be fired without just cause and back pay.
Workers' rights - specifically the rights to associate and to organize - are not a mere policy option but a legal obligation enshrined in human-rights treaties and conventions. Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Congress in 1992, "Everyone has the right to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and join trade unions." These inalienable human rights protect all workers, regardless of their legal status.
U.S. labor and immigration laws have failed to keep pace with changes in a global economy. Migration of workers is inevitable in our globalized world, where trade and investment agreements enable corporations and capital to cross borders at will. Workers, whether they are here legally or not, deserve protection of their basic organizing rights. Without such protection, employers can and will abuse them.
Recent world events show that a page in the history of human rights is being turned. A few weeks ago, the United Nations ratified the International Criminal Court that will bring human-rights violators to account for crimes committed under international law. And on the streets of Italy and India, millions of workers staged strikes against government reforms that eliminate job security and widen the gap between the rich and the poor.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
These events are not coincidental. There is a growing international movement that recognizes that human rights cannot flourish without ensuring workers' rights. The United States needs to awaken to the global movement to honor and protect the rights of workers, the backbone of our economy.
by Christine Ahn
Knight Ridder-Tribune
Christine Ahn is a New Voices Fellow working in the Economic and Social Human Rights Program at Food First (www.foodfirst.org) in Oakland, Calif. The fellowship is funded by the Ford Foundation and administered by the Academy for Educational Development. She can be reached at pmproj@progressive.org, or by writing to Progressive Media Project, 409 East Main St., Madison, Wis. 53703.
