WASHINGTON (March 15, 2013)--The Chamber of Commerce's lead immigration negotiator says he hopes for a deal with the AFL-CIO on a new temporary worker program, but the two sides are at odds over important details.

On Capitol Hill, senators working toward agreement on an immigration bill, and the temporary worker program would be an important part of the measure.

The chamber and the AFL-CIO were given the job of helping negotiate an agreement on that program.

The chamber's Randy Johnson says points of contention include wages and the overall number of visas in the new program.

He said the chamber sought 400,000 new visas for temporary workers while the AFL-CIO's number was much lower.

The business group says that some, but not all the workers would be able to get permanent residency and eventually citizenship.