Laborers Union of North America

Poster: Manifestation Pour L'Egalité
December 10, 2014
Janice Fine

This case study examines the Laborers International Union of North America's (LIUNA) organizing and policy work on immigration. In recent years, LIUNA has engaged in a number of immigrant worker organizing efforts, including asbestos and poultry workers as well as weatherization and residential construction campaigns, which involved new partnerships with worker centers- the National Day Laborers Organizing Network, New Labor and Casa Latina. 

The case also describes the union's historic shift towards supporting immigration reform and outlines the union's position on employer verification, guest worker programs and amnesty for undocumented workers.  The case analyses these legislative, organizing and union-worker center collaborations and the challenges faced by the union as it embraced immigrant workers and policy reform during a period of membership loss.