Explaining Labor Union Support for Immigrants in Western Europe
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Fair-Weather Friends? Explaining Labor Union Support for Immigrants in Western Europe By Akasemi Nzinga Newsome A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Margaret Weir, Chair Professor J. Nicholas Ziegler Professor Taeku Lee Professor Kim Voss Summer 2015 Copyright © 2015 Akasemi Nzinga Newsome All rights reserved. Abstract Fair-Weather Friends? Explaining Labor Union Support for Immigrants in Western Europe by Akasemi Nzinga Newsome Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science University of California, Berkeley Professor Margaret Weir, Chair Opposition among native workers to immigrants is well understood as a response to the economic and cultural instability caused by globalization. Increased capital mobility weakens the place-based leverage of strike action and collective bargaining, rendering unions susceptible to the protectionist concerns of native members. Yet, immigrant workers still join labor unions and turn to these organizations to improve working conditions and amplify their political voice. Little is known about the conditions underpinning pro-immigrant action by labor unions. This dissertation argues that when immigrant activists mobilize themselves, then partner with native trade unionists, they can pressure union leaders to support their concerns. By analyzing data from more than 120 in-depth interviews with trade unionists, employers, NGO-officials and politicians, conducted during 16 months of fieldwork in Denmark, Germany and the UK, I present evidence for the counterintuitive finding that weak, fragmented unions such as those in the UK more readily engage in pro-immigrant action than strong, encompassing unions such as those in Denmark and Germany. Combining cross-national and cross-sectoral observational and archival data with interviews, I explore three issue areas critical to the demands of immigrant union members: extreme right wing parties and movements, workplace discrimination, and job marginalization. Analysis of immigrant claims-making reveals that those immigrant activists who link their mobilization to the identity template prevalent in their host country, are better able to partner with native trade unionists and secure support from union leaders. 1 Table of Contents List of Figures ii List of Tables iii Acknowledgements iv 1 Introduction: How Agency and Alliances Elicit Pro-Immigrant Action 1 2 Identity Templates as an Intervening Factor 20 3 Confronting the Far Right 49 4 Addressing Discrimination at Work 71 5 Unions in the Neoliberal Economy 106 6 Resisting Dualization 127 7 Conclusion: Implications Beyond Unions 151 Appendix A 159 Appendix B 161 Bibliography 163 i List of Figures Figure 1.1: A Bounded Agency Argument of Pro-Immigrant Action by Unions Figure 1.2: Pro-Immigrant Action by Unions (Focus on Partnership) ii List of Tables Table 1.1: Foreign-born population in Denmark, Germany and UK, 2011 Table 1.2: Percent of Immigrant Workforce in each Sector Table 1.3: Overall Unionization Rates in Percent, 2005 Table 1.4: Unionization Rates for Immigrants by Sectoral Union in Percent Table 1.5: Labor Market Indicators in Denmark, Germany and the UK, 2011 Table 1.6: Union Density and Bargaining Coverage in Denmark, Germany and the UK Table 2.1: Identity Templates and Discursive Opportunities Table 2.2: Total Migrant Stock in UK in 2013 at Mid-Year Table 2.3: Total Migrant Stock in Germany in 2013 at Mid-Year Table 2.4: Total Migrant Stock in Denmark in 2013 at Mid-Year Table 3.1: Percent of Respondents Reporting Self-placement on Right of Left-Right Scale Table 3.2: Variation in Pro-Immigrant Action by Unions (Confronting the Far Right) Table 4.1: Variation in Pro-Immigrant Action by Unions (Addressing Discrimination) Table 5.1: Swindon in UK Context: Percent of Population by Ethnicity and Foreign-Born and Foreigner Status, 2011 Table 5.2: Berlin in Germany Context: Percent of Population by Migration background and Foreigner Status, 2011 Table 5.3: Unemployment Rates in Locality and Surrounding Region in Percent, 2 2011 Table 5.4: UK Unemployment by Race and Ethnicity in Percent, 2010 Table 5.5: Germany Unemployment by Nationality, 2011 Table 5.6: Public Hospitals and Beds as a Declining Share of the German Hospital Sector, 1991-2010 Table 5.7: Low Wage Work in the UK by Race, Ethnicity and Nationality, 2011 Table 5.8: Low Wage Work in Germany in 2007/2008 by Percent of Demographic Group. Table 5.9: Change Over Time in Percent of Demographic Groups in Low Wage Work (all jobs and sectors). Table 5.10: Low wage workers in Health, Veterinarian and Social Sector in Percent; Company Services sectors in 2007/2008 by Nationality and Migration Background. Table 6.1: Key Actors in the Strikes Table 6.2: Working Conditions for Contracted Out Immigrant Workers at GWH and Charité iii Acknowledgements This has been a long journey. I could not have stayed the course without the help of several individuals, communities and organizations. I owe the greatest debt to my parents, Osila Newsome (1950-2008) and Dr. Frederick Newsome. From an early age, they instilled in me a critical love of learning and stoked my curiosity about the world. Both were omnivorous and voracious readers, including of academic social science. They regularly shared with me their impressions of what they had read and asked for my opinions. My parents were the first to take my ideas seriously. I hope they find that I have written something worth reading. My brother and sisters, Imhotep Newsome, Nubia Newsome and Hatshepsut Oshun have been my greatest fans. They knew I could do it and repeatedly took the time to reassure me of their convictions. Each in their own way has modeled faith, grit and perseverance. I am grateful and lucky to have them as my family. Friends and family on the East Coast encouraged me from afar. I thank Kara Bauer, Shuemein Mar, Kristin Misner and Chansi Powell for all their transporting visits, calls and emails. You kept me tethered to the world outside of academia and to New York. I thank Enam Obi and her family for being my home away from home. I thank Cathérine Steegmann and her family for introducing me to Germany. I thank Mother Priscilla, Uncle Reggie and my cousins for cheering me on. I thank Auntie Nne for her many kindnesses. I thank Sally Earnhardt for welcoming me to my husband’s family with open arms. Thank you for asking me about my work and listening to my answers. My community of fellow graduate students has sustained me in countless ways. I thank Tierra Bills, Chris Chambers-Ju, Angela Fillingim, Joseph Gardner, Roselyn Hsueh, Francesca Jensenius, Martha Johnson, Mario Nisbett, Glenda Oskar, Heidy Sarabia, Toby Schulze-Cleven, Chloe Thurston and Robin Turner for their friendship and support. I presented early versions of the empirical chapters of this dissertation at the Berkeley Interdisciplinary Immigration Workshop led by Irene Bloemraad and Cybelle Fox. I am grateful for the critical yet encouraging feedback I received from them and other participants in the workshop. Several grants funded my field research. At Berkeley, I thank the Department of Scandinavian Studies, the Institute for European Studies, the Center for German and European Studies, the Graduate Division and the Department of Political Science for support. I benefited greatly from scholarships for research provided by the National Academies, the Freie Universität Berlin and the Council of European Studies. I shall never forget the first time I went to an auto plant in Germany. The size, scale and organization overwhelmed me. Somehow, amidst the numbered gates and extensive railway lines, I managed to find my way. While on sojourn in Europe, many people shared their time and stories, opened their homes to me and helped me in innumerable ways. This list is necessarily incomplete as there simply is not enough space to name all the people who have helped me and some wish to remain anonymous. In Denmark, Jean Petersen, Anthony Sylvester, Ib Maltesen, Peter iv Rimfort and Azad Cakmak were indispensable. In Germany, I wish to thank Volker Rossocha, Safter Çinar, Markus Plagmann, Gabrielle Gün Tak, Hildegard Schwering, Ferda Soenmez, Arnim Thomass and the staff of the Charité Hospital for their key roles. In the UK, Ian Greer, Wilf Sullivan, Narmada Thiranagama, Hiten Vidaya, Margaret Okoroafo, Andy Newman, Carole Valelly, and the staff of Great Western Hospital proved essential. Academic institutes invited me into their intellectual community during my stays abroad. Soren Kaj Andersen, Mikkel Mailand and Jesper Due led FAOS at Copenhagen and were generous hosts from whom I learned a great deal. I experienced the lively parts of Copenhagen with Nana Wesley Hansen and Christian Lynhe Ibsen. Ruud Koopmans leads a first-rate team at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (Social Science Research Center in Berlin) and I was glad for the chance to share ideas at the Kantine with Merlin Schaeffer, Jutta Höhne, Céline Teney, Ines Michalowski and Christina Barwick. A number of people outside of my committee aided me in my work. Suzan Nunes, Charlotte Merriwether and Gwen Fox were outstanding administrators and generous sprits. They made the department. I thank Gloria Chun for her exceptional support as Graduate Diversity Director. She did so much to foster the conditions I needed to thrive as a writer. I am indebted to Steve Vogel for his support of my growth as a teacher. A guest lecture in his course proved decisive for the articulation of my argument. An excellent committee supported me in this undertaking. Taeku Lee was the first person I met from the Berkeley political science department. His candor on the absence of African American faculty in the department sold me. Since then, I’ve benefited from his timely advice at numerous points in my intellectual and professional development.