Issued January 13, 2023
WASHINGTON — Responding to new guidance issued Friday by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to protect immigrant workers from retaliation for speaking out against poor working conditions, SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry issued the following statement:
“SEIU is the nation’s largest union of immigrants, as many of our almost 2 million members are immigrants working as janitors, hospital and nursing home workers, security officers, and in other essential roles across the service and care economy. By protecting workers from immigration-related retaliation, today’s announcement benefits all of our members and all workers who are fighting for better working conditions, wages and the right to join together in unions.
We thank Secretary Mayorkas for making worker protection a top priority, and we stand with the many brave immigrant workers who are fighting for themselves and their coworkers against exploitation by powerful and unscrupulous corporations and bosses. While it has always been illegal to retaliate against workers, today’s guidance makes it much easier for workers to seek and obtain protection.
We know there’s more work to be done. As our nation prepares to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we recommit to our fight for racial and economic justice for all working people. We look forward to continuing our work with the Biden administration, DHS and the Department of Labor to ensure that every worker regardless of race, background or where we were born are respected, protected and paid living wages.”