Durazo and other Latino union leaders – among them Eliseo Medina, International Executive Vice President of SEIU and David Sanchez, President of the California Teachers Association – maintain that immigrants have become the back bone of organized labor in California.
Los Angeles hotel workers union leader Maria Elena Durazo rallies some of her union members at an organizing event.
Organized labor in California, whose power is heavily influenced by immigrant unions, is facing a major challenge by growing unpopularity over opposition to its role in campaigning for reform of the country’s immigration policies.
Labor and Hispanic power in California have become almost synonymous in recent years, but those Latino labor leaders increasingly face mounting opposition to organized labor.
The Golden State is also home to the largest network of Tea Party organizations in the U.S. who have been pressing Californians to consider the financial impact of illegal immigration.
And the Tea Party is doing so with some success.
A new Field Poll shows that Californians’ negative opinions of organized labor has intensified, with even those who identify as Democrats or have union affiliations indicating their views on labor unions has taken a turn for the worse.
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