Sen. Mel Martinez (R, Fla.) fights the Employee Free Choice Act today en Español.
This legislation would have exactly the opposite effect of what its title suggests. EFCA attempts to eliminate the fundamental freedoms of expression and association with others. Moreover, EFCA would devastate Florida’s and the nation’s economy…[It] would cost our economy millions of jobs; it would make our country less free.
Hispanics of all national origins, both English and Spanish-speaking, have been far and away the fastest growing group of small-business creators in the U.S. during the last decade. The last available Census study, whose data unfortunately end all the way back in 2002, found that Hispanic-owned firms in the U.S. were employing more than 1.5 million Americans and bringing in $222 billion in revenue.
Provisions such as EFCA, the death tax, and President Obama’s other proposed tax-hikes that will hit small businesses will be far more relevant to the average Hispanic voter than any immigration issue. One can only hope that more Republicans figure this out eventually.