Letter to the Editor
By Mike Fishman
Published: September 6, 2008
Steven A. Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies argues for less immigration despite the fact that the graying of our workforce will cause severe labor shortages ["How Many Americans?" op-ed, Sept. 2].
This is not just a flawed policy prescription; it also turns a blind eye to the contributions immigrants make to our economy. Immigrants generate some $700 billion in economic activity, mostly by doing low-wage service jobs. Immigrants -- those here legally and otherwise -- pay taxes that go to schools, infrastructure and public programs such as Medicare and Social Security.
The ratio of retirees to working-age citizens is forecast to increase by 67 percent in the next 20 years. With retirement draining our labor supply, immigrants not only help keep our economy strong, they also are indispensable to keeping our economy running in the long term.
MICHAEL FISHMAN
President, 32BJ
Service Employees International Union
New York
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Letter to the Editor
By Mike Fishman
Published: September 8, 2008
Long Island workers deserve a sunnier forecast than what the Census reported last week ["Cloudy skies for laborers" Editorial, Sept. 1]. That 2007 was the first business cycle on record to see middle-class families end up with less inflation-adjusted income than when the cycle began is gloomy enough, but even worse news is that 2008 will be even gloomier.
As your editorial points out, union leaders are seeking better economic conditions by getting Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act - a bill that would make it harder for unscrupulous employers to block efforts by workers to join a union. Most workers say they want to be in a union, but never get a fair chance to join. Just 100,000 workers had the opportunity to vote in a union election this past year. That's because many companies, emboldened by weak labor laws, have successfully thwarted worker attempts to join unions.
While the campaign to provide workers greater employee free choice will partly depend on the political climate in Washington after the election, one point is clear: Union workers make more than nonunion workers. In New York, for example, low-wage union workers, such as cleaners and other service workers, earn 16 percent more than their nonunion counterparts and are 25 percent more likely to have employer-paid health care coverage and pensions.
The Employee Free Choice Act stands as one bright spot on an otherwise cloudy horizon for workers, but whether a new president and Congress are willing to stand up and usher in a new day remains to be seen.
Mike Fishman
Editor's note: The writer is president of Service Employees International Union 32BJ.
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Letter to the Editor
By Mike Fishman
Published: November 24, 2007
Re “Surge in Wages on Wall Street in First Quarter Helps Borough” (news article, Nov. 20):
Don’t be fooled. Surges in Wall Street wages don’t ease the affordability challenge for millions of New Yorkers. The first quarter of 2007 won’t be “remembered wistfully for years” by working New Yorkers who feel the pinch of rising gas prices, rents and groceries much more than Wall Street’s bankers and brokers.
For thousands of hard-working men and women who clean and guard the brokerage houses and investment banks, and thousands more who keep New York City running, wages have not kept up with inflation. Wall Street’s “bounty” might pull up the average wage for all Manhattan workers on paper - but not in their paychecks.
The gap between wealthy and working New Yorkers is widening, making New York unaffordable to too many. As the strikes by stagehands, taxi drivers and writers show, workers from all walks of life are standing up to say enough is enough.
Michael P. Fishman
President, 32BJ
Service Employees International Union
New York, Nov. 20, 2007
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