Two weeks after the Department of Labor gave Cianbro permission to hire 70 foreign workers, a local union is suing. These were good-paying union jobs for welders. But once again, the federal government is bringing in cheap foreign labor, deliberately driving down the wages of American workers so our companies can compete in a global market. How long are we going to buy the story that we need foreign labor to do the jobs Americans won’t do? When did Americans stop doing welding?

But there is a deeper and more sinister betrayal in this story. The AFL-CIO, which supports this lawsuit against legal foreign workers, is the greatest champion of illegal workers, lobbying for another amnesty for illegal immigrants. How do we explain this hypocrisy? Illegal workers represent a huge pool of untapped new members for organized labor. If we didn’t have millions of exploited low-wage workers, we might not need unions.

That is the greatest fear confronting union leadership. The AFL-CIO leaders work for themselves, and care little about protecting the jobs and wages of American workers. When it comes to amnesty for illegal immigrants, the AFL-CIO leadership stands shoulder to shoulder with corporate America.

This betrayal of American workers will come back to haunt us and our children. We cannot continue to flood this country with millions of new workers and maintain livable wages for our own citizens. The AFL-CIO leadership and the federal government, which gave away the Cianbro jobs, needs to know how angry we feel about their betrayal. Also, the media needs to tell the whole story.

Doris Watkins

Orland