Los Angeles Times
By Brian Bennett
March 30, 2013
Labor
and business leaders have agreed to a plan for setting wages for a new
category of low-skilled immigrant workers, possibly ending a scuffle
that delayed negotiations in the Senate over a sweeping plan to overhaul
the country's immigration system, officials involved said.
Senators
drafting the bill are reviewing the compromise worked out Friday by
representatives from the AFL-CIO and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. But
the breakthrough may put the bipartisan group of eight senators on track
to unveil a bill soon after Congress returns from recess on April 8.
"We
are very close — closer than we've ever been," Sen. Charles E. Schumer
(D-N.Y.), who has been brokering discussions between labor and business
leaders, said Friday in a statement about the Senate talks. "We are very
optimistic but there are a few issues remaining."
AFL-CIO
President Richard Trumka and U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and
Chief Executive Thomas J. Donohue told Schumer in a phone call late
Friday that they had reached an agreement, said an official who asked
not to be identified, as did two others who spoke about the closed-door
negotiations.
The
union organization and chamber were asked by the senators in December
to design a new foreign worker program that would satisfy labor
shortages in the U.S. while protecting the rights of U.S. and incoming
foreign workers.
The
senators working on the compromise bill could not be reached Saturday.
But the deal triggered a response from a key senator who opposes efforts
to expand the number of work visas.
"Every
American worker, union and nonunion, is right to be concerned about a
large guest worker program combined with a large amnesty of illegal
workers," said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), a senior member of the
Judiciary Committee, which will review any immigration overhaul bill.
"There is no doubt that such a plan will reduce Americans' wages and job
prospects."
The
senators — four Democrats and four Republicans — have spent four months
drafting a bill that is intended to appeal to lawmakers in both
parties. The comprehensive proposal would make dramatic changes in the
nation's immigration system, including the new visa program and a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the
country.
A
dispute between the labor and business negotiators flared up earlier
this month over how much to pay immigrant workers in low-skill jobs such
as landscaping, meatpacking and housekeeping. The impasse threatened to
derail the talks and caused the senators to push back plans to finish
writing the bill by the end of March.
Labor
leaders wanted to ensure that the salaries of foreign workers would not
depress the wages of Americans doing the same job in the same part of
the country. The chamber was concerned that if employers were required
to pay too much, businesses would not use the program and would continue
to hire illegal immigrants.
After
heated discussions last week, the two sides agreed that employers would
pay the equivalent of either the actual wages paid to American workers
or the prevailing wages, whichever was higher. The prevailing wage for a
job is determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics based on city,
experience and training.
The
workers would be admitted under a new class of visa, called the W visa.
The current work visa programs are widely seen as inefficient and
cumbersome to use.
Under
the proposal, the number of visas issued each year would be determined
by a formula based on job demand, unemployment numbers and other data. A
new bureau likely based at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
would be in charge of the visa allocation.
The
number of visas could start at 20,000 the first year and move up or
down based on job demand and unemployment levels. The program would be
capped at 200,000 visas.
"Ultimately,
the final decisions will be made by the senators involved," Randel
Johnson, a senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said
in a statement.
If the senators don't agree to the proposal, labor and business leaders will have to go back to the negotiating table.
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