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For too long, many newsrooms have defined the labor beat and the immigration beat as distinct beats, and the cultures of reporters on both beats have differed significantly.
The labor beat has historically been staffed by white labor reporters who don't speak foreign languages, and thus have focused mainly on traditional union meetings (organizing drives, strikes, and union political advocacy).
While the immigration beat, staffed mainly by Latino reporters who often speak foreign languages, has focused on the workplace issues that should define the labor beat, it is not considered part of the traditional labor news by most newsrooms.
The cultural division between these two beats always seemed absurd to me, as someone who speaks fluent Portuguese and lived extensively in Brazil, because they should be one beat.
In recent months, SMART, along with immigrants and community groups, helped to organize a coalition of protests to call for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a member of SMART Local 100 in suburban Maryland.
Some construction unions that had never called for an immigrant to be released from detention showed up to demand his release. And the call didn't stop at SMART. The cause of Abrego Garcia reached the top of the traditionally immigrant-averse construction unions.
"We demand (he) be returned to us and his family now," North American Building Trades Unions President Sean McGarvey said at an address of 2,000 construction union members. "Bring him home!"
So much is changing in national attitudes about how immigration is perceived in the United States.
At a time when unions are becoming increasingly involved in immigration, we must dismantle the barriers between the labor and immigration beats.
Payday Report has been doing this in our reporting, and we ask for our readers' support to continue doing so.
As abuses of immigrants get more attention, polling shows that Americans have solidly turned against Trump's immigration policies. According to a Gallup poll, disapproval of Trump's immigration approach outweighs approval by a record 27 points.
It's crucial that labor reporting adapt so that we can build support for immigrant rights. Payday has been doing this since Trump's Inauguration.
In February, we published an in-depth analysis showing that the mainstream media largely ignored a series of 'Day Without Immigrants' strikes in 120 cities. (See our story "MAP: Day Without Immigrants" Strikes in 120 Cities & 40 States)
In May, we used mapping to illustrate the scale of protests that unions were conducting to demand the release of their members. (See our story "SEIU Launches $100,000 Ad Campaign & Holds 18 Rallies to Release Immigrant Activist")
In early August, we traveled to the historic mill town of Ambridge, PA, and reported on how the community rallied to defend its immigrants. People often write about racists in the Rust Belt, but this article showed that many mill town residents really welcomed the Latino immigrants and were shocked by their treatment. (See our story "Following ICE Raid, Mill Town Fights Back Against Local Police Cooperation")
This past week, Payday Report traveled to rural Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania, where the pressure created by immigration activists, many of them from out of town, inspired some ICE detention center guards to quit their jobs and speak out about these abuses. (Check out our on-the-ground reporting here)
We have begun partnering with publications such as Migrant Insider and Al Dia to share our coverage and promote their reporting. We have offered free reprints of our stories to small Latino publications, and promote their coverage. Payday intends to do a lot more, but we need your help to do it.
The issues of labor aren't limited to the bargaining table. The kitchen table issues of every rank-and-file and unorganized worker are the same, no matter the language spoken over the table. The same bosses threatening native-born workers with replacement by immigrants are threatening those immigrants with arrest by ICE.
Today's ICE agents are the modern equivalent of the Pinkertons, police, and National Guard, which were sent to break up strikes in the past. On issues of labor and immigration, the bosses speak with one voice, and the Congress, courts, and the White House echo the message. It's long past time for journalists to stop pretending these issues should be kept in separate boxes and bylines.
By sharing the stories of the intersection of immigration and labor, Payday Report is showing the way for other reporters to take off the racist blinders and see the connections. From traditional publications like The American Prospect to upstart publications like Migrant Insider and smaller publications, Payday is a crucial incubator of a growing network of immigrant and labor reporters coming together to connect the shared struggle.
We need to tear down these walls between the labor and immigration beats; we need your help to do so. We plan to share this reporting with a variety of publications, as nothing is more important right now than bridging the division between the labor and immigration beats.
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