There's a perception that unions shouldn’t take up “divisive” issues like immigration, and should focus instead on bread-and-butter topics members already agree on. We think that’s bad advice!

Organizing around social issues like the defense of immigrant workers is an opportunity for open, productive conversations based on mutual respect—and it can mobilize members who feel left behind by their unions. 

Ryan Andrews, an English teacher and member of the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) put it this way: “Anybody who thinks we have to ignore certain issues or avoid certain political conversations in order to grow the base, they don’t understand what it means to grow the base.” 

As Natascha Elena Uhlmann and Sarah Lazare report in a collaboration with Workday Magazine, workers across the country are taking up the fight against ICE, and strengthening their unions in the process.