Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees - GCIR

Finds that although working immigrant families were twice as likely as working native families to be low income or poor, they were much less likely than low-income native families to participate in the EITC, receive income assistance, Food Stamps, or housing assistance, and/or have their children enrolled in child care.

During the 1990s, one out of every two new workers was an immigrant. While many immigrants speak English well and enter the United States with strong academic credentials and skills, many others do not. Like other low-skilled workers, few of these immigrants enjoyed the benefits of employer-provided training programs, most of which are geared to managers or highly skilled workers.

The need for a workforce to fill middle-skill jobs, those requiring more education than high school but less than a bachelor's degree, will likely remain strong in the coming years. Because Baby Boomer retirements will occur most rapidly in the lower to middle ranges of skills and immigrants are more likely to fill the bottom and top jobs, expanded educational opportunities and workforce training programs will be essential for less-educated workers to meet the demands of the U.S. economy.

Documents critical hazards to worker health and safety in the U.S. meat and poultry industry, which increasingly relies on immigrant workers. Explains how government failure to regulate the industry violates international human rights and labor standards protections; recommends ways that federal and state governments and meat and poultry companies can improve conditions and comply with international standards.

Organizing and providing legal assistance to migrant and guest workers poses a challenge to lawyers and activists on both sides of the U.S. and Mexican border.  Many workers are unaware of the living and working conditions they may encounter working in America, and they often do not know their legal rights as workers.  The Binational Labor Justice Convening brought migrant worker advocates from Mexico and the United States together to coordinate efforts to educate workers, understand international law, and strategize how to promote justice and human rights for migrant workers.

On September 17, 1997, the Unpaid Wages Prohibition Act was signed, giving New York State the strongest wage enforcement law in the country. The campaign that won the Act was conceived of and led by immigrant workers and members of the Workplace Project, a nonprofit workers center in Long Island. It was supported by a broad coalition of business, labor, religious, and community groups, as well as two other workers centers, the Latino Workers Center and the Chinese Staff and Workers Association.

The analysis paints a detailed picture of the penalties of wages and living conditions imposed on undocumented workers by their lack of legal status, with results relevant to other large urban areas where the undocumented are concentrated. A survey of 1,323 immigrant workers found Latin American workers earned less than other comparable workers (22 percent for men and 36 percent for women) and reported higher levels of unsafe working conditions, wage-and-hour violations, and lack of health insurance.

Rapid increases in the foreign-born population at the state level are not associated with negative effects on the employment of native-born workers, according to a study by the Pew Hispanic Center that examines data during the boom years of the 1990s and the downturn and recovery since 2000. An analysis of the relationship between growth in the foreign-born population and the employment outcomes of native-born workers revealed wide variations and no consistent pattern across the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Our current immigration policy does not adequately address our economic future, and its administration is marked by inefficiency, delay, and frustration. The policy fails to meet the demands of a global marketplace that rewards mobility and skills. The Committee for Economic Development (CED) recognizes that increases in immigration are no panacea for the problems of an aging population and cannot replace basic education and training as the source of a skilled workforce. But an efficient and flexible immigration system can help us confront the economic challenges ahead.

This report recognizes many immigrant workers "toil in high-risk occupations, work in the unregulated 'informal' economy and often fear reporting workplace injuries. Many are not aware of their legal rights to safety and health on the job and to workers' compensation if they are injured. The report examines several successful outreach attempts by unions and community groups to educate immigrant workers on worksite hazards and about their legal rights on the job.

The Center for Justice, Tolerance and Community (CJTC) profiles eight organizations that have experienced success working with immigrant worker populations in the context of broader efforts for community and policy change. The report flows from work conducted as part of collaboration between CJTC and two Bay Area Neighborhood Improvement Initiatives (NIIs), the Mayfair Improvement Initiative (MII) in East San Jose and One East Palo Alto (OEPA).

This exploratory initiative on the integration of immigrants is an effort to help human resource professionals, community activists, educators, labor activists, and professionals in the public workforce system seek and develop solutions to real-life challenges of integrating immigrants in the workplace. The authors' primary objective was to illuminate policies, practices, and processes that lead to the successful integration of immigrant workers.

This paper reviews and analyzes the patterns of union membership among Mexican-born workers over the decade from 1994-2004. Survey data suggest that immigrants, and Latinos in particular, are more positive in their attitude toward unionism than most native-born workers (with the exception of African-Americans). There is no systematic source of data on the range of organizing efforts that do not involve formal unionization, but the paper includes some discussion of such activity as well.

More than eight million working-age adults in the United States—5 percent of all adults—speak English poorly or do not speak it at all. Immigrant populations, many of them limited English proficient, are going to be essential for the growth of the U.S. workforce in the years to come. This study recommends improving the resources for language and job training available to LEP populations.

Shows how state laws and agency actions can advance the labor rights of immigrant workers; profiles selected local campaigns. Describes improved policies for language access, government benefits and services, confidentiality provisions, access to drivers' licenses, rights and remedies under labor and employment law, and access to workers' compensation.

The report’s findings reveal that the day-labor market is rife with violations of workers’ rights. Day laborers are regularly denied payment for their work, many are subjected to demonstrably hazardous job sites, and most endure insults and abuses by employers. The vast majority of laborers are immigrants and Latino, 28 percent are U.S. citizens, 75 percent are undocumented, and almost two-thirds of the workers have children.

Leading portrait of economic factors facing low-wage workers, updated bi-annually by the Economic Policy Institute, examines trends in benefit growth and inequality, the shift to low-paying industries, the impact of demographic change on poverty, and international comparisons; includes information on Asian, Hispanic, and immigrant workers.

PICUM (Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants), presents detailed information obtained from nearly 50 NGOs, trade unions and other actors working with and advocating for undocumented workers, both in Europe and in the United States. Grouped in ten actions, these pragmatic approaches contribute to the aim of respecting the dignity of undocumented migrants as humans and as workers. The report also provides expert insight on all issues that should be considered to reach just and pragmatic policies in the fields of migration, economic growth, and social inclusion.

Young Hispanics, the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population, are among the leaders in the tech vanguard, according to a new report issued by the University of Southern California's School of Policy, Planning and Development. The report illustrates how broadband has become the new telecommunications standard. Half of online U.S. Hispanics now have broadband at home and its impact has been the greatest among those users who are English-speakers, better educated, live in urban centers, and have higher incomes. Many Hispanics fit into those categories, but some Hispanics do not.

The author documents the growing role of worker centers in protecting rights and promoting social connection for low-wage immigrant workers. She identifies 137 worker centers in 80 cities and 31 states that assist immigrant workers in recovering unpaid wages, provide English classes and other services, advocate for enforcement and new laws, and organize members through leadership development. The author also assesses the strengths and weaknesses of worker centers in helping workers navigate the worlds of work and legal rights in the United States.