I suspect this is going to cause a big hoo-hah in labor so let’s have a discussion here, too. Two large unions, SEIU and the Laborers, have joined with the Chamber of Commerce to push for an immigration bill that would “legalize millions of illegal workers,” as reported today in The New York Times.

One of the most contentious parts of a possible bill is a guest worker program, which would allow many thousands of people to work in the U.S. as temporary workers. Interestingly, SEIU and the Laborers don’t agree on that piece of the program: SEIU support a guest worker program, the Laborers opposed it.

And even more interesting will be a split on the issue that may pit SEIU and other unions versus the AFL-CIO, which opposes a guest workers program. The Times article quotes an AFL-CIO lawyer: “We’re turning permanent jobs into jobs that are temporary, staffed by temporary workers. It’s really troubling that any labor union is just sitting back and conceding that this is something that needs to happen.”

Personally, I think the Drum Major Institute has put forth a helpful set of principles to guide the discussion. My gut instinct says: we have to push for laws that protect workers, period, no matter what their status is.

So, what do you think?