Illegal Immigration Sucks, however...

that doesn't mean I have to demonize the poor illegal immigrants themselves, and I don't understand why others do so as well. Before people start accusing me of being a fucking elitist, up until I was injured, I worked a number of regular and odd jobs that people would construe as something Illegal Immigrants do but Americans do not. To give a list, I was a Wal-Mart Associate, Trashman, Office Cleaner(FREE PCs, all for tax credits, couldn't believe they would throw those out, what happened to recycling?), Manufacturing, Janitor, various odd jobs at Day Labor(yes an actual company name), and also an Ice Cream Man, would still do that job, except gas prices killed that idea. I also ran my own business it was a home to home computer repair service, again, gas prices killed that. :(

I also have numerous friends who also worked jobs, either with me, or other jobs, like a Union Carpenter, so I have plenty of experience in the ways and means of lower income workers, for I was one, and would probably still be one, if I didn't require surgery. :(

OK, I have been downsized, laid off, and have quit because of bullshit at work(Wal-Mart stealing wages), etc. and let me just say that this has colored my perceptions, greatly, in regards to labor relations. I'll give an example if you wish, I talked to plenty of people in the area about all sorts of issues, one that I find disheartening is this, manufacturing jobs have been decimated, the smaller manufacturers have lately been using temp labor and day labor instead of full time employment because its cheaper to do so. This is because, being mostly plastics and small item(in this case plastic nozzle) manufacturers, they were struggling to compete with cheaper Chinese imports. Its odd to get hired by a company, laid offed, and then continue working there with a different name on top of the paycheque and no benefits to speak of.

The point being, I've been personally affected by the problems facing this nation, and those problems are getting worst. Yet, even then, I can't really say I blame Chinese workers for my plight, that's the easy way out, and not really realistic, because the question to then ask is, what choice did they have? The question is none, and therefore I cannot in clear conscience blame THEM for my plight, nor will I. Also, when I have to accept 6 dollar an hour wages for cleaning offices, do I blame the Illegal Immigrants that companies other than mine hire, yet had to compete with, for my plight? No, I do not, for I realized one thing, they didn't have much of a choice either.

I'm mad as all hell, do not even doubt that, but I'm not mad at fellow exploited workers, hell no, why be mad at them? They are in either as bad or worst situation as I am, economically if not politically. The only difference between Outsourcing of jobs and insourcing of them is that one type of job, manufacturing, is easier to move, you can close a factory here and open it up elsewhere and be able to keep production up, and profits even higher. All the jobs that aren't portable, service jobs, agricultural jobs, etc. are now being supplemented with Illegal Immigrants who employers can exploit with abandon because they don't have a legal status.

So who benefits the most from this misery that is being wrought on ALL of us? The answer is obvious, the employers, shareholders, and CEOs that profit from blood money in many cases, some running what amounts to slavery in sweatshops throughout the world, to ones who use and abuse Illegal Immigrants throughout this nation. From maids to fruitpickers, it doesn't matter. The problem is this, we have a system now that favors employers at the expense of employees, regardless of what their status is or where they are.

The point being that we need to identify who the actual enemy is, and what to do about them. We already have a de facto global government, and they are the ones who write our laws, change them, and destroy democratic governance, and those are Corporations, hell, in fact it a little over 2 dozen of them in all, if you wish, I could list them all, and what areas they govern(at request). This tells me one thing, they are organized globally, and think that way as well, as such we should do the same, if Capital can be Globalized as it is now, why not Labor.

What we need is a proactive rather than a reactive approach to this problem, for it effects every single one of us, and the problems associated with Globalization will not go away until we stand up and say NO! Now, the saying "Act locally, think Globally" comes to mind here, encourage local businesses to grow, using fair labor practices rather than cheap labor practices. Elect local, state, and national politicians who think the way you do. In addition to this, think Globally, if a factory in your area is going to be moved overseas, then protest against it, even if futile. Next thing to do, that I think is a more proactive approach is find out where the factory is going, and see if you or a labor rights organization can contact any people that are slated to work at said factory. If they do not have the information, tell them the facts, that they could and should try to organize, agitate for their rights, whatever. Another suggestion is to form a Labor rights direct action organization, an alternative to business oriented organizations like the WTO or NAFTA. Whether regional or international issues, such an organization could apply pressure on governments to pass laws to protect workers, enviromental laws, safety laws, etc.

This includes information wars, the Corporations have a lock on US Media, but they haven't quite accomplished that worldwide, this includes going low-tech, for while the Internet is a wonderful way to organize, most people in the world are offline, so we have to think that way as well. Imagine being at square one, 1880s United States or so, the Robber Baron Period, and how they organized, protested, striked, and through it all, including the bloodshed, were able to accomplish much, through DIRECT action.

One thing we need to understand is this, even if the United States is the LAST nation on Earth to get a clue about this struggle, that is NOT necessarily a bad thing. If Mexicans can actively agitate and get better wages and working conditions, living wages, good enviromental protections, etc. That would have a DIRECT effect on the lower working class in THIS country, many of the Mexicans here in this nation that don't have papers and don't have family here would most likely JUMP at the chance of working closer to home. If the Chinese were able to do the same, outsourcing would slow down, or even stop entirely, and the same the world over. The point being that just because Americans didn't do it first doesn't mean it wouldn't have a positive effect on our workforce. Then again, the reverse could also happen, where the United States becomes the factory floor for the world, rather than the reverse as is true now. That is why we need to take direct action here, if, for no other reason than to protect what worker protections we have NOW rather than losing them one by one in this race to the bottom.

Not everyone in the world, nor even the United States, can afford the myth of owning 2 cars per family in a garage in their own home, but dammit, we should, ALL of us, be able to afford to have a roof over our head, and food on the table(rather than family :)) without working 16 hours a day!