Photo Credit: Washington State Labor Council
Many unions and labor councils have been creating emergency response programs and trainings to counter imminent immigrant raids. For example, responding to Donald Trump’s promise to conduct early raids in Washington, DC, and Maryland, the DC and Maryland AFL-CIOs called an Emergency Meeting with this statement:
“Maryland State and DC AFL-CIO is ground zero.
“All of our unions will be impacted when the incoming Trump administration conducts high-profile raids targeting immigrants allegedly living in the United States illegally at a workplace in the Maryland/DC metropolitan area. Targets include businesses in the agriculture, construction, hospitality and health care industries.
“Under the leadership of the AFL-CIO Executive Council Committee on Immigration, (27 National Unions dedicated staff and resources) we developed a proactive strategy to prepare for the attacks on immigrant workers that president-elect Trump has promised to begin on day one of his administration. We recognize the urgency to equip our movement to respond and are pleased to announce the rollout of Frontline Solidarity: A Mass Deportation Fight-Back Toolkit for Union Activists and Organizers.”
To get the toolkit:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1xJtYqtnTvoXCuslT_p8a0KqDcWja2J7Xg2jEkPuDm5E/viewform?ts=6761ffc8&edit_requested=true
Union contracts are one way to provide protection for immigrant workers. The Chicago Teachers Union contract forbids the Chicago Public Schools to ask about or keep track of the immigration status of students or their families and barred ICE agents from entering school grounds unless they provide their credentials, a reason for their request, and a signed warrant. SEIU Local 26 janitors in the Twin Cities recently negotiated a contract that requires employers to disclose in writing any inquiries into workers’ documentation, and protects workers’ jobs for up to 120 days, with full seniority, while any issue is addressed.
In the first Trump presidency, Teamsters Joint Council 16 (including 27 Teamsters locals in the New York metropolitan area) announced that it was a sanctuary union. The locals pledged to resist cooperation with federal agents in prosecuting or deporting members and to fight for contract language protecting immigrant workers. The National Union of Healthcare Workers passed a similar resolution pledging that the union “will not voluntarily cooperate with federal agents to enforce immigration laws.”
Source: https://labornotes.org/2025/01/how-labor-can-fight-back-against-trumps-mass-deportation-agenda
Labor Notes and Workday Magazine have compiled a repository of collective bargaining agreement language protecting immigrant workers as well as resources on sanctuary resolutions and workers’ rights. You can access it here.