SSA Workers: Unwilling Agents of DHSJanuary 3, 2008By Witold Skweirczynski Traditionally, SSA sent “No Match” letters to employers to ensure the accuracy of earnings records. If there was a request to match wages but the data did not match, the information would go into the SSA suspense file and would not be credited to anyone until the discrepancies were resolved. The objective was to insure that the wage information in the suspense file was properly credited to the correct wage earner so that any future benefits would be accurate. Now the push is to punish employers and the workers who are hired but who can’t be matched. Information that would be sent to SSA to be matched would be name, SSN, citizenship, etc. If the employer information doesn’t match the SSA information, a “No Match” letter would be generated. There is currently a court injunction to stop data matching for existing workers. However, for new workers, SSA has a voluntary program called E-Verify that would perform the match for new employees. Under the “No Match” program for the existing worker, the legislation states that the employer has 90 days to connect with SSA to attempt to match the data. Under E-Verify, there is only a 10-day period to contact SSA and correct the discrepancy. Absent correction, the employer is required to terminate the employee or face fines and prosecution from the federal government. E-Verify is a voluntary program; however, in states like Arizona, the employer will be required to use the program. Today, the vast majorities of workers who have discrepant information discovered through either the No Match or E-Verify programs are citizens or those legally entitled to work. The discrepancies are due to keying errors, transposed Social Security numbers, discrepant information, name changes, etc. SSA employees are very uncomfortable doing this work. They are uncomfortable with it for the following reasons:
In order for the “No Match” issues to be resolved, multiple visits to SSA offices are likely due to evidentiary requirements. There are many problems in SSA that will make it difficult for the Agency to process the “No Match” workload:
Some in Congress have recommended that SSA issue a national ID card. The union representing SSA employees opposes such a measure. SSA estimates that the cost of issuing such a card to all U.S. residents could exceed $10 billion. Also, we do not think the U.S. should mirror apartheid in South Africa which required national IDs. We oppose sharing SSA records with the Department of Homeland Security. Such records are solely to insure that workers get credited with the right amount of earnings and should not be used to enforce immigration laws. Immigrants come to the United States legally or illegally to create a better life for themselves and their families. Often they are victims of oppression and are economic and/or political refugees. Often, they are forced to come to the U.S. due to misguided policies established by our government which have caused economic and political dislocation in their countries. Such policies include trade agreements like NAFTA, CAFTA, and support for oppressive governments in Central America, etc. They are often exploited by employers who knowingly hire them at below living wages, with limited benefits in order to secure greater profits. If they speak out and try to unionize, they are threatened with deportation. America has been viewed throughout the world as a land of refuge where the poor and the oppressed could come and make a decent life for themselves. Unfortunately, that view is changing and many immigration reform zealots want to build walls and barriers to immigration, deport many already here who are contributing to the economy and the culture of the U.S., and create burdensome, unaffordable and lengthy procedures for legalization. We support enforcement of labor laws. The Social Security union supports the struggles of immigrants to work in the U.S. without unjust harassment and with full rights to organize, and to create fair and just wages, benefits and working conditions. In March 2007, the AFL-CIO in consultation with many community based groups, coalitions, labor organizations and other civic groups created a Unity Blue Print for Immigration Reform. I urge AFGE to adopt this blue print. Some of its provisions are as follows:
In conclusion, the SSA workers union supports the cause of immigrants. It’s our objective to limit the role of SSA to an Agency that credits worker’s proper earnings and issues accurate benefits to those entitled to benefits under the law. We will work to prevent attempts to use SSA employees as agents of immigration law enforcement. We also support the ability of all workers, including immigrants, to organize and bargain better wages, benefits and working conditions. Achieving such a result will lead to a more humane and stronger nation. |
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