Guest-Worker Proposal Would Legitimize Some Retail Workers’ Status

Most who would be affected by the new legislation work in the restaurant, construction and hospitality industries.

May 08, 2013

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate’s immigration legislation holds hope for some retail workers who are in the country without permission, the Chicago Tribune reports. Many of these employees have jobs in the construction, hospitality and restaurant industries. 

The proposal would make available as many as 20,000 guest-worker visas (W visas) to employees and their families in metro locations with unemployment rates higher than 8.5%. The cap would rise to 200,000 after four years and visas could be renewed every three years. However, first employers must show they could not hire American citizens for the jobs before their undocumented workers could be eligible for the W visas.

Many business groups and labor unions are in favor of the W visa bill, but not everyone is on board. “The goal of this new program is to replace illegal immigration, right?” said Tamar Jacoby, president of Immigration Works USA. “The program only works if it's really big enough to give people who are coming to do jobs that we need done a way to enter legally.”

Some see the program as a way to help undocumented workers receive better treatment from employers. “Workers would know they can exercise their voice in the workplace,” said Jorge Ramirez, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor. 

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