Kentucky Unions Stand Up to Halt Deportation of Two Hundred Workers

Thousands of people gathered in Jefferson Square Park in Louisville, Kentucky as part of the "Hands Off!" protest against the Trump administration. Photo credit: Cassie Lyles.

April 10, 2025 / Luis Feliz Leon

Two hundred union workers, out of 5,700 who assemble dishwashers, refrigerators, washers, and dryers for GE Appliances-Haier at Appliance Park in Louisville, Kentucky, received notice this month that the Trump administration is revoking their work authorizations.

The immigrant workers from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Venezuela have received a mixed reaction to their imminent deportation—hostility from some co-workers and an outpouring of support from their union and the local labor movement. They’re part of the Communications Workers’ industrial division, IUE-CWA Local 83761.

They’re in the U.S. on “humanitarian parole,” a program that the government until now has used to provide visas to people fleeing war or political instability in certain countries.

“I worked with a lot of those people—they’re some of the nicest people I've ever dealt with,” said Halee Hadfield, who worked at the plant until last year and is now part of the United Auto Workers organizing drive at the nearby electric vehicle battery park BlueOval.

FULL story: https://labornotes.org/2025/04/kentucky-unions-stand-halt-deportation-two-hundred-workers