5. Temporary and Permanent Immigration Under Unionization

Some argue that labor is the least mobile factor of production in the real world due to legal barriers set up by sovereign states. Despite of being an integral part of globalization, immigration is viewed negatively in public opinion. Often when related issues appear in the media, they are about illegal immigrants or some other negative images such as taking jobs away, depressing wages, etc. It seems the imperfections in the labor market, such as unionization, also serve to create the negative images. For instance, it is alleged that “mass immigration helps employers and hurts workers, and unions flourish when immigration is low and they flounder when immigration is high” (Salt Lake Union Tribune, September 3, 2001). There are also cries that the AFL-CIO has abandoned American workers, because the Executive Council of the AFL-CIO in February 2000 announced a reversal in its posture, by proclaiming that it now “proudly stands on the side of immigrant workers.” While before that, the AFL-CIO had sought to protect wages of native-born workers by excluding immigrants. However, by making immigrants more vulnerable, such sanctions also helped put pressure on the wages of native-born workers. Also, in Japan while many employers hire immigrants (sometimes illegal ones), it is the local workers and the government that are against immigration.