Washington ( CNN ) -- It should come as no surprise that prominent union leaders are among the first group President Barack Obama courts as he seeks support for overhauling immigration policy . It was organized labor that helped ensure defeat of a bipartisan effort to reform the nation 's immigration laws five years ago . At that time , the AFL-CIO and other prominent union groups came out against the initiative , fearing a proposal for a temporary guest worker program for seasonal workers would weaken union membership and bargaining clout . That led to a handful of liberal-leaning Democrats to vote against the bill , including Sens . Sherrod Brown , Tom Harkin and Debbie Stabenow . Mindful that a potential split in the Democratic coalition this time around could again prove fatal to the passage of an immigration bill , Obama met on Tuesday with more than a dozen labor leaders . They included AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka , Eliseo Medina of the Service Employees International Union , and Arturo Rodriguez of United Farm Workers . Castillo : Five reasons why time may be right for immigration reform . The purpose of the hour-long , closed-door meeting was to engage in a `` dialogue '' about `` immigration reform and how it fits into his broader economic agenda , '' the White House said . In comments to reporters following the meeting , there was evidence the president had sought to ensure that the union leaders were in his corner before he unveils an immigration proposal . `` It was an excellent conversation , '' Trumka said outside the White House . `` I think we are all on the same page . '' The White House has long been hopeful that the labor movement get on board . Despite a contentious relationship at times with labor , the president 's agenda has largely been supported by the major union leaders . Trumka also notably attended Obama 's immigration speech last week in Las Vegas . Nonetheless , the same sticking points that turned labor against immigration reform five years ago remain . 'Now 's the time ' to move on immigration , Obama says . Conservatives , including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio , are again pushing a temporary guest worker program that is favored by the business community and agricultural interests that depend on seasonal employment . But the major unions remain opposed to such a measure . In 2009 , both the AFL-CIO and the SEIU jointly released guidelines on an immigration reform package they would support . Those guidelines called for `` improvement , not expansion '' of temporary worker programs . Obama has so far not mentioned a guest worker program in his broad outlines of an immigration reform plan . The burden of attaining citizenship is another trip wire . Both the AFL-CIO and SEIU are lobbying for an easier path to citizenship than was proposed by the 2007 effort . That is in part because union membership has declined significantly over the past two decades along with contraction of U.S. manufacturing . A surge of new citizens , many of whom will seek unionized jobs , could boost their numbers . `` We were talking about trying to fix a broken system , '' Trumka said after the White House meeting . `` We were talking about commonsense reform that has an inclusive and broad path to citizenship that allows us to bring people in and take advantage of that . '' America 's brain drain dilemma : immigrant students who leave . Trumka declined to specify the kind of path to citizenship the president suggested he would support . Another leader said she thought there was agreement between the labor groups and Obama . `` There was joint agreement by everybody in this room and the president that there must be a pathway to citizenship and it must be meaningful and real , '' said Janet Murguia of the National Council of La Raza , also a participant in the meeting . `` It 's our job to get the kind of solution that will reflect that meaningful path . ''
Obama sits down with labor leaders to discuss immigration reform . The White House says the meeting is a chance for President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats to talk about how they can work together on an issue that has divided them. Both the AFL-CIO and SEIU are lobbying for an easier path to citizenship .