To the editor:
I applaud Bill Dagnon for his well-researched and well-written letter that appeared recently (Catholic Herald, April 28). It is not a coincidence that stagnating wages for lower and middle-class Americans parallels the decline of the labor movement over the last 30 or 40 years. The reasons for the decline are varied, but, to put it simply, due to steady erosion of U.S. labor laws, it is now easier to “bust” a union than it is to form one.
To the editor:
Tony Magliano’s column, “Immigration reform needed” (Catholic Herald, September 16, 2010), is correct on many points, but falls short on one of them. In his article he repeats the worn-out phrase that immigrants perform the work that Americans won’t. Nothing could be further from the truth.
There are thousands of jobs that are being performed by Americans on a daily basis that are not only undesirable but downright dangerous. Jobs, such as foundry work, powerhouses, shipyards, oil fields, etc. — most of which are covered by union contracts and state and federal health and safety regulations that make them attractive to an adventurous few.
