Since the Class Struggle Action Network (CSAN) voted to launch our Immigrant Worker Solidarity and Defense Campaign, we have worked to build the organizational foundation needed for united working-class action. As workplace raids, detentions, and deportations of immigrant workers intensify, our network—spanning workers from over 30 unions—has advanced organizing efforts that recognize the necessity of coordinated mass action and class unionism to defend immigrant workers and strengthen the entire working class.
The Capitalist Class’s Intensifying Attack on Immigrants and the Working Class
Since this campaign began, the assault on immigrant workers has only intensified. Arrests have crammed people into overcrowded detention centers, and deportations continue to ramp up. In June, for example, agents from multiple federal agencies raided the Ambiance Apparel factory in downtown Los Angeles, detaining dozens of workers. ICE has also conducted sweeps at construction sites and farms throughout California and beyond
The bosses’ immigration laws and policing force many immigrant workers into undocumented status, creating a section of the working class trapped in a precarious social and legal existence; constantly under threat of deportation and detention. This state-enforced blackmail allows the capitalist class to hyper-exploit these workers, paying poverty wages while restricting access to legal recourse and social resources. Many of these workers, including children, work in sectors such as domestic work, construction, service, and agriculture. By maintaining an ultra low-paid, highly exploited section of the working class, the capitalist class drives down wages and worsens conditions for all workers through competition, fear, and control over labor supply and demand. This is why defending immigrant workers is essential for every worker, regardless of where we were born.
Campaign Progress
Following the network’s vote to prioritize this campaign, CSAN members have advanced immigrant worker defense resolutions across multiple unions and regions, laying the groundwork for coordinated action. Workers in our network have:
- Passed a resolution in a local of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU).
- Played collaborative roles in the adoption of resolutions in the Teamsters, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Southern Workers Assembly, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).
- Actively worked to pass resolutions in additional locals, including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Oregon Education Association (OEA), and more.
These resolutions establish the principle that “an injury to one is an injury to all” and commit unions to mobilize their memberships in defense of all workers, regardless of national origin or immigration status. They are more than symbolic statements; they create formal organizational commitments. Each resolution passed becomes a stepping stone toward building the capacity for coordinated work stoppages and mass action in defense of immigrant workers locally, regionally, and nationally.
Moving Forward: Join the Fight!
Victory and defense of the working class will not come from appealing to the political parties of the bosses or hoping for better laws. As our network recognized when we launched this campaign, it will come from building the organizational strength to unite workers across all divides and exercising our collective power whenever workers, immigrant or otherwise, are under attack.
The Immigrant Worker Defense and Solidarity Campaign is a step toward the broader working-class action our network has committed to pursue. We need union members, unorganized workers, and working-class militants to help advance this fight by:
- Bringing the resolution template to your union local, labor council, or worker organization – Use one of our network’s resolutions to win formal commitments for immigrant worker defense in your organization.
- Spreading the word through workplace conversations – Help other workers understand why defending immigrant workers strengthens all of us.
- Linking up with others organizing along similar lines – Connect CSAN to workers and organizations fighting for immigrant worker defense and class unionism.
Contact us at class-struggle-action@proton.me to get the resolution template, connect with local organizing, or learn more about the network and how to join.
Also join us at our next General Meeting, where the planning and organizing of this campaign takes place. We meet virtually every month on the second Thursday at 6:30 PM PST / 9:30 PM EST, connecting workers across North America to coordinate our work. Visit our General Meeting page for details.
