Ernie Greco, President of the Baltimore Metro AFL-CIO

Ernie Greco, president of the Baltimore AFL-CIO, said that the Central Labor Council, which represents 200 labor unions in the Baltimore area, voted unanimously to support the IWFR. Greco said he was the son of two Italian immigrants and knows "what's it all about for people to move to this country for a better life." Greco, who had earlier been at a prayer breakfast where 300 had shown their support for the Freedom Riders, said that he speaks good English, but "there's something I don't understand. I hear this term 'illegal alien'" used by many of the 535 Congressional representatives. Greco then cataloged statistics about some in Congress--29 accused of spouse abuse, 7 arrests for fraud, 19 for writing bad checks, 3 served time for assault, 14 arrested on drug charges, 8 arrests for shoplifting, 84 for drunk driving, and 28 current defendants. Greco asked, "Where do they get the balls to say 'illegal'?"