Big Labor Scores A Win.

The compromise package will now move on from the negotiating table of the two 
interest groups to the eight lawmakers who are trying to pass immigration reform.

Organized labor succeeded in attaining special provisions in the illegal immigration compromise that will boost union contract prospects.

The AFL-CIO and U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsed a package of immigration reforms on Friday after months of negotiations. Under the deal, 200,000 work visas would be issued each year, up from 66,000. Companies would be forced to pay those workers “prevailing wages” dictated by the Department of Labor’s regional standards.

Prevailing wages, which were first adopted nationally with the Davis-Bacon Act, require employers to pay workers at industry standards that are often determined by union pay, according to Steve Allen of the Capital Research Center.

“[Prevailing wage is] usually interpreted to be union wages, which gives unions advantages in bidding for contracts,” Allen said. “It raises prices for whoever’s paying for the project and by requiring union wage regardless, you might as well hire the union guy.”

The immigration deal would advance prevailing wage laws from federal contractors and the construction industry to any employer that applies for a work visa.

Allen said the provisions are a major reason many labor unions have embraced immigration reform, despite historical opposition to bringing in foreign workers to domestic labor markets.

Neither the Chamber of Commerce nor the AFL-CIO returned requests for comment.