REVIVING THE LATINO WORKFORCE: COMPLEX PROBLEMS DEMAND COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTIONS

Washington D.C. – The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) released a critical White Paper entitled “Reviving the Latino Workforce: Complex Problems Demand Comprehensive Solutions” examining the role that Latino workers can play in revitalizing the U.S. economy, along with how policy makers, political leader and law-makers can best support them.

This White Paper offers a set of critical arguments to inter-relate the imperative of achieving the passage of progressive legislation like the Employee Free Choice Act, immigration and national health care reform combined with the national priority of an economic stimulus process that addresses both the priorities and needs of Latino workers - native-born and immigrant, including the undocumented. Although politically daunting, the priorities are ultimately complementary and merit immediate attention by both Congress and the Administration.

“The economic recession has impacted the entire nation, but when combined with other socio-economic factors, the Latino community, African-American community and other low-income groups have reached a critical mass. To address the complex needs of Latinos and to better integrate our nation, the economic stimulus plan alone will not suffice,” stated Dr. Gabriela D. Lemus, LCLAA’s Executive Director. “It is also important to engage in progressive policy reform in the areas of health care and immigration, and to target adult workforce retraining and unionization efforts such as the Employee Free Choice Act so as to better empower the community in its social, economic and political aspirations.”

“Reviving the Latino Workforce: Complex Problems Demand Comprehensive Solutions” is an effort to gain understanding of the impact that the current recession has had on the Latino community, in combination with other factors affecting the welfare, economic growth and political potential of this rapidly growing community. It offers a set of critical arguments to inter-relate the imperative of achieving the passage of progressive legislation with the national priority of an economic stimulus process that address the priorities and needs of Latino workers – whether native-born or immigrant, including the undocumented.

With an in-depth look of how even before the current recession, despite growing rates of productivity, working class people were not being adequately rewarded for their work. Wages were frozen; health care costs skyrocketed while access to health care benefits was reduced; and workplace violations went unchecked, a particularly troublesome trend for the Latino community because of the industrial sectors in which the overall workforce is concentrated (construction and meatpacking are two examples) and because its immigrant workforce is more vulnerable to employer abuses.

“LCLAA is committed to advancing the status of the Latino workforce and the Labor movement. When combined, the social and political force of the two can change the face of America as we know it,” said Milton Rosado, LCLAA’s National President. “Latino workers are a critical element to the revitalization of today’s U.S. economy. Labor is critical to the Latino community.”

The problems of unemployment are compounded by other social and economic realities. Latino and African-American communities are over-represented in the sub-prime loan pool and their communities are hardest hit by the mortgage crisis. For every $1 earned by a White household, Latino households earn just over 50 cents.

This White Paper offers various recommendations on how to enhance workers’ rights and improve working conditions for the youngest workforce in the U.S. - a median age of 25.8 years old. Latinos contribute significantly to the United States and are a vital part of the engine that drives its economy. The data are clear – the gap between rich and poor is widening, and certain communities—including Latinos— have been placed on the margins. If ever there was a time when private interests and social interests can be converged and harmful market forces can be corrected by public policy, this is it.