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Season 5, Episode 72

Retired professor calls for respect for immigrant workers in America

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Guest Name:

Dr. Steven Volk

Guest Website:

 StevenVolk.com 

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Dr. Steven Volk, an Oberlin College Professor Emeritus of History, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to talk about his recent op-ed article discussing the vilification of immigrant workers and the misrepresentation of workers who aren’t American-born.

Volk recently penned an op-ed for Cleveland.com that talked about the need to honor, not vilify, immigrant workers, and why the recent events in Baltimore have amplified the discussion. Volk discussed why it’s important to give respect to the workers and not immediately treat them as a problem. Throughout history, the labor movement has been helped by immigrant workers who have taken on the more dangerous and demanding jobs in the construction, distribution and production industries, he said.

For Volk, it’s difficult to see these immigrant workers being misrepresented as a problem when their work is vital to daily life. He discussed many incidents that have occurred in recent years where immigrant workers have been disregarded. However, it’s not a new issue, Volk talked about the history of immigrant workers being dismissed going back to the early days of America, but the plight of immigrant workers has been assisted through the protections offered by unions.

Finally, Volk discussed the misclassification of immigrant workers who were granted access to work in the United States through various legal processes. These workers are working to prop up the current economy in America., he said, and warned that if Americans aren’t careful, the misrepresentation of these immigrants and their roles could eventually be detrimental to the American economy. 

To hear more about Volk’s op-ed, listen to the show above.

 

America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, American Alliance for Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North America, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, Survey and Ballot Systems, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

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