As Political Backing Grows, Labor Unions' Support of Immigration Reform Could Tip Scales on Legislation

With the debate on immigration reform still swirling, labor leaders are beginning to throw their support behind changing immigration policy.

President Obama met this week in Washington D.C., with more than a dozen labor leaders, which included the AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union and the United Farm Workers, among others to discuss his plan for immigration reform and its ties to improving the economy.

The meeting was described by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka as "an excellent conversation."

"I think we are all on the same page," Trumka said after the meeting.

It has been a busy few weeks on the immigration reform front, highlighted by President Obama's speech in Las Vegas on the need to fix the immigration system and the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" senators proposing a joint plan to provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants while securing the border and calling for improved immigration background checks on workers.

In the wake of this push, business leaders are starting to become more vocal regarding their support for immigration reform. Exelon Corp. Chairman Emeritus John Rowe is one of those leaders.

While reiterating to the Chicago Sun-Times in an interview this week that skilled immigrant workers are needed, Rowe pointed out that businesses also need workers with lesser skills, who were "equally important" to have.

"We need people who are willing to work and pay taxes. The business case is more diligent people creates more growth, and more growth creates opportunity for people who are here as well as more recent immigrants," he said.

Noting that the president and other legislators in Washington seemed committed more than ever before, Rowe predicted, with 2-to-1 odds, that a deal on immigration reform would be struck this year.

While President Obama's immigration plan is largely supported by labor unions, there is still friction over immigration reform from their end largely due to conservative Republicans, such as U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., pushing for a temporary guest worker program as part of immigration reform legislation.

While farming interests and the business community favor a temporary work program for undocumented immigrants, major union leaders are still against such a program, instead favoring guidelines that would improve, but not expand, guest worker programs.

Obama also seems to be gaining ground in the public eye on the way he has handled immigration reform, with a new poll from ABC this week showing that 49 percent of Americans approving his tackling of immigration issues, while 43 percent disapproved.