From NPR:
The AFL-CIO begins a big push this week to build momentum for comprehensive changes to the nation's immigration laws. But it wasn't long ago that organized labor viewed illegal workers in the U.S. as a threat - and fought against proposals that would lead to citizenship... Louis DeSipio, a professor of Chicano/Latino studies at the University of California, Irvine, says the AFL-CIO had its eye on potential new members, and that the move was a recognition of changing national and union demographics. "The fastest growing unions have been the service sector unions, and those are overwhelmingly made up of immigrants and then family members of immigrants," says DeSipio. "So, you know, for the unions to represent their membership at some level, they have to be sensitive to the family concerns that drive support for legalization."

For the full story, please visit http://www.npr.org/2013/02/05/171175054/how-the-labor-movement-did-a-180....