Migrant Organising: Community Unionism, Solidarity and Bricolage

Description

"In Migrant Organising: Community Unionism, Solidarity and Bricolage, Emma Martín-Díaz and Beltrán Roca explore recent developments in community unionism and solidarity networks among migrant workers in a post-Fordist context characterised by transnationalism and global chains. The contributions in this edited book describe different types of trade union strategies toward migrant workers and the rise of solidarity and bricolage initiatives in situations in which conventional union organising cannot succeed. Cases from Germany, Spain, Italy and Argentina reveal that the transformation of work, the rise of global chains and the intensification of international migrations are the basis of new forms of union and extra-union intervention. Contributors include: Beltrán Roca, Emma Martín-Díaz, Simone Castellani, Mark Bergfeld, Juan Pablo Aris-Escarcena, Giulia Borraccino, Paula Dinorah Salgado, Alicia Reigada, Giuseppe D'Onofrio and Jon Las Heras"-- Contents Notes on Contributors Introduction: Post-Fordism, Transnationalism and Global Chains as a Context for Community Unionism 1 Trade Union Policy Toward Immigrant Workers 2 Community Unionism and the Transformation of Labour 3 Migrant Constituencies and New Forms of Labour Activism 4 Bricolage and Diffusion as Conceptual Tools for Collective Action 5 The Objectives of This Book 6 Background and Outline of the Book 1. Labour Activism and Organisational Bricolage among Spanish and Italian Emigrants in Germany 1 Intra-EU Mobility in the era of Platform-Capitalism and Welfare Chauvinism 2 Spanish and Southern EU Migration to Berlin 3 Methodology 4 Spanish Migrants’ Activism 4.1 15M Diffusion to Berlin 4.2 The Creation of the Precarious Office 4.3 The Union Action Group 4.4 Framing Militancy: Innovation, Transnational Bricolage, and Brokerage 5 Italian Migrants’ Activism in Berlin 5.1 The Reconstruction of Political Activism in Emigration 5.2 Berlin Migrant Strikers: An Experience of “Bio-Unionism” 5.3 Framing Militancy: Innovation, Transnational Bricolage, and Brokerage 6 Final Remarks 2. Community through Corporatisation? The Case of Spanish Nurses in the German Care Industry 1 Introduction 2 The German-Spanish Care Context 3 The Recruitment of Spanish Nurses 4 Saving Labor Costs 5 The Externalisation of Costs 6 From Community and Solidarity to Organisation 7 Conclusion 3. Cross-Border Domestic Work in Ceuta: Challenges and Alternative Organisations 1 Introduction 2 Gender and Migration: Transnationalism and Global Care Chains 3 The Constrictions of Domestic Work in Ceuta 4 The Limits of Union Participation 5 The Digmun’s Activity. Solving Problems in a Creative Way 6 Conclusions 4. Organising Migrant Porters of the Logistic Sector: The Italian Case of SI Cobas 1 Introduction 2 Social Movements, Migrants, and Trade Unions Strategies 3 Migrant Unrest and Radicalisation of the Conflict During the Crisis 4 The Italian Logistics Sector and Cooperatives System 5 Origin and Development of SI Cobas 6 Building a Political Subject: Logic of Action, Repertoires of Contention, and Ideology of Logistics Porters 7 Conclusions 5. Migrant Worker Organisations and Overexploitation in the Garment Industry in Argentina 1 Introduction 2 Labour in the Garment Industry: Overexploitation and Migration 3 Overexploitation: A Conceptual Arrival Point 4 The Dialectic of Formality and Informality 5 Trade Unions and Organisations in the Garment Industry 5.1 Economic and Social Consequences of a New Regime 5.2 Collective Organisations: Migration and Labour 5.2.1 Organisations Primarily Focused on Migration 5.2.2 The Migrant Workers Bloc (Bloque de Trabajadorxs Migrantes, BTM) 5.2.3 Organisations Primarily Focused on Labour 5.2.4 Garment Workers and Employees Union (Unión de Costurerxs y Empleadxs del Vestido, UCEV) 6 Final Thoughts: Labour and Migration, Community and Unionism 6. Collective Action, Experience and Identity in Global Agrarian Enclaves: The Case of Andalusia 1 Introduction 2 Socio-Historical Context and the Work-Life Trajectories of Producers and Workers 2.1 Strawberry Growers: From Fishermen, Manual Workers and Day-Labourers to Landowners 2.2 From the Regional Migration of Andalusian Day-Labourers to International Migrations 3 Meanings of Justice, Dignity and Rights in the Collective Actions of Different Social Actors 3.1 “They Need to Stop Devaluing Our Work”: Strawberry Growers and the Production/Distribution Conflict 3.2 “He Didn’t Respect Us”: Male and Female Immigrant Workers and the Producer/Worker Conflict 4 Conclusions 7. Transforming Labour Law or Recurring to Grass-Root Mobilisation? The Struggles over 1 Introduction 2 After the Mediterranean There Is Also a Sea of Poverty and Exclusion 3 Foggia’s Global Tomato Value Chain 4 Unions and Migrant Workers 5 CGIL: The Contractors Law and the Caravans 6 Radical Unions Creating the Space for Migrants’ Empowerment 7 Discussion: The Limits and Possibilities of Bridging Italian Unions with Migrant Struggles 8. Putting the Pieces Together: Post-Fordist Migrations, Community Unionism, Solidarity Networks Index