The Promise of Service Worker Unionism
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
ISHA NEWSLETTER International Social History Association
Vol. 7 | No. 1 | December 2018 ISHA NEWSLETTER International Social History Association CONTENTS 1. Labor and historical periodization of capitalism by Alessandro Stanziani >>> 2. Labor Feminists and Domestic Workers by Eileen Boris >>> 3. The Latin American Problem in the Liberal Mind: Adolph Berle and the Limits of Anti-Communism as Social Policy by Leon Fink >>> 4. Cooperation across disciplines: The Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS) by Jeannine Bischoff >>> 5. Co-existence and interaction between free and unfree labour: The workers’ perspective, Turin, 21–22 September 2018 by Giulia Bonazza >>> Labor and historical periodization of capitalism by Alessandro Stanziani* Unlike Polanyi, I will not speak of a “great transformation” to show a break in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries that swept away the old pre-capitalist world through enclo- sures and the poor law and replaced it with a self-regulating economy which, in turn, is said to have been replaced by a new form of interventionism in the twentieth century. This chro- nology is false not only because the privatization of lands,1 the proletarization of the peasant- ry (see here after) and the mechanization fully developed only after the mid-nineteenth cen- tury, but also because the nineteenth-century market was anything but self-regulated.2 On the contrary, there is no reason to oppose the liberal nineteenth century to the eighteenth and twentieth centuries described as interventionist, each in its own way. What differentiated these periods was not liberalism versus regulation, but different forms of regulation, with different aims, goals, and tools. Eighteenth and nineteenth century liberal interventions sup- ported increasing social and economic inequalities, while since the late nineteenth century state intervention sought to reduce inequalities, although only between labor and capital in- side each country and increased inequalities between the main land and its colonies. -
Walkouts Teach U.S. Labor a New Grammar for Struggle
Walkouts teach U.S. labor a new grammar for struggle This article will appear in the Summer 2018 issue of New Politics. Like the Arab Spring, the U.S. “education Spring,” was an explosive wave of protests. State-wide teacher walkouts seemed to arise out of nowhere, organized in Facebook groups, with demands for increased school funding and political voice for teachers. Though the walkouts confounded national media outlets, which had little idea how to explain or report on the movements, for parent and teacher activists who have been organizing against reforms in public education in the past four decades, the protests were both unexpected and understandable. What was surprising was their breadth of support (state-wide), their organizing strategy (Facebook), and their breathtakingly rapid spread. For most of the far-Right, the West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arizona, and North Carolina walkouts showed greedy public employees exploiting their job security to get pay and benefits better than hard-working taxpayers have. However, teachers won wide popular support, even from Republicans, forcing the media-savvier elements of the Right to alter their tone. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) posted a blog with a sympathetic tone pushing the same stance. “While teachers are justly frustrated by take-home pay, their total compensation is typically a lot higher than many teachers realize. That’s because teacher retirement and health-care systems are much more expensive than those of the taxpayers who pay for them — whether those taxpayers work in the private or public sector.” Shedding crocodile teachers for teachers who are underpaid and retirees without adequate pensions, AEI rejects the idea more school funding would help. -
Unfree Labor, Capitalism and Contemporary Forms of Slavery
Unfree Labor, Capitalism and Contemporary Forms of Slavery Siobhán McGrath Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science, New School University Economic Development & Global Governance and Independent Study: William Milberg Spring 2005 1. Introduction It is widely accepted that capitalism is characterized by “free” wage labor. But what is “free wage labor”? According to Marx a “free” laborer is “free in the double sense, that as a free man he can dispose of his labour power as his own commodity, and that on the other hand he has no other commodity for sale” – thus obliging the laborer to sell this labor power to an employer, who possesses the means of production. Yet, instances of “unfree labor” – where the worker cannot even “dispose of his labor power as his own commodity1” – abound under capitalism. The question posed by this paper is why. What factors can account for the existence of unfree labor? What role does it play in an economy? Why does it exist in certain forms? In terms of the broadest answers to the question of why unfree labor exists under capitalism, there appear to be various potential hypotheses. ¾ Unfree labor may be theorized as a “pre-capitalist” form of labor that has lingered on, a “vestige” of a formerly dominant mode of production. Similarly, it may be viewed as a “non-capitalist” form of labor that can come into existence under capitalism, but can never become the central form of labor. ¾ An alternate explanation of the relationship between unfree labor and capitalism is that it is part of a process of primary accumulation. -
Organising Workers' in Italy and Greece
Organising workers’ counter-power in Italy and Greece Lorenzo Zamponi and Markos Vogiatzoglou Trade unions in Southern European’s austerity-ridden countries have been considerably weakened by the last six years of crisis. Labour’s loss of power in countries such as Greece and Italy is significant. First of all, the tri-partite systems of collective bargaining (state, employers, unions) that characterised the 1990s and early 2000s in both countries collapsed. Neither state nor employers have shown any concrete willingness to re-establish some sort of collective bargaining mechanisms. Governments in austerity-ridden countries do not seem to need unions anymore.1 Secondly, despite their vocal opposition, trade unions have failed to block austerity measures, as well as other detrimental changes in labour legislation. The period 2008-2014 has been characterised by limited worker mobilisation in Italy and by the failure of the numerous protests and general strikes in Greece to deliver any concrete achievements. Worse, union members express deep mistrust of their own leader- ship, as does the broader population.2 This bleak landscape does not give the whole picture of labour movement activity in those countries, however. In both cases, interesting labour-related projects are being developed to restore a workers’ counter-power, both by unionists and social movement activists who are exploring actions outside of the traditional trade union repertoire. They draw from concepts such as ‘social movement unionism’,3 social 1 State of Power 2015 Organising workers’ counter-power in Italy and Greece Lorenzo Zamponi and Markos Vogiatzoglou unionism4 or ‘radical political unionism’,5 which will be detailed below. -
Bibliography
Bibliography Abbott, S., 1973. Employee Participation. Old Queen Street Papers. Conservative Central Office. Aglietta, Michel, 1998. Capitalism at the Turn of the Century: Regulation Theory and the Challenge of Social Change. New Left Review I/232. Altman, M., 2002. Economic Theory and the Challenge of Innovative Work Practices. Economic and Industrial Democracy. 23, 271. Bain, G.S., 1983. Industrial Relations in Britain. Blackwell, Oxford, UK. Bassett, P., 1986. Strike Free: New Industrial Relations in Britain. Palgrave Macmillan, London. BIM, 1975. Employee Participation: A Management View. London, British Institute of Management. Cadbury, A., 1978. Prospects for Codetermination in the United Kingdom. Chief Executive Magazine. 20–21. Cairncross, S.A., 1992. The British Economy since 1945: Economic Policy and Performance, 1945–1990. Blackwell, Oxford, UK and Cambridge, Mass., USA. CBI, 1966. Evidence to the Royal Commission on Trades Unions and Employers’ Associations. Confederation of British Industry, London. CBI, 1968. Productivity Bargaining. Confederation of British Industry, London. CBI, 1979. Pay: The Choice Ahead. Confederation of British Industry, London. CBI, 1980. Trade Unions in a Changing World: The Challenge for Management. Confederation of British Industry, London. DOI: 10.1057/9781137413819.0009 Bibliography CBI, 1986. Vision 2010. Confederation of British Industry, London. CPS, 1975. Why Britain Needs a Social Market Economy. London, Centre for Policy Studies. Chiplin, B., Coyne, J. and Sirc, L., 1975. Can Workers Manage? Institute of Economic Affairs. City Company Law Committee, 1975. Employee Participation. Coates, K. and Topham, T., 1974. The New Unionism. Penguin, Harmondsworth. Conservative Party, 1965. Putting Britain Right Ahead: A Statement of Conservative Aims. Conservative and Unionist Central Office, London. -
Revitalization Strategy of Labor Movements
<Abstract> Revitalization Strategy of Labor Movements Korea Labour & Society Institute 1. The stagnation of trade union movement is an international phenomenon. The acceleration of globalization and technological innovation, the expanding predominance of service industries in the economies of advanced industrialised countries and the concomitant shifts in the composition of employment, and the deepening of neoliberal policy climate in the context of economic slow-down, which have prevailed since the 1980s, have all contributed to the stagnation of trade union movement in most countries across the world. This phenomenon has been captured through such indicators as the decline in union density, the weakening of political and social influence, and decentralisation of collective bargaining have been, among others. The trade union movements in different countries have, however, since 1990s, developed and undertaken a variety of "revitalisation"strategies to wake out of the stagnation. The specific shape of the revitalisation strategy were informed by the specific nature of the challenge the unions faced, the characteristics of the industrial relations system in which the unions were constituted, and the historical identity individual trade union movement espoused. However, organising efforts, internal innovation, social partnership, strengthening of political campaign activities, and extension of solidarity with civil society and community networks have featured as common components in most of the varied strategies. The evidence of these common initiatives points to the existence of some common challenge that courses through the country-specific situations the trade union movements in different countries have found themselves in. This study examines the strategic responses of the trade unions in the selected countries have undertaken in the face of the challenges faced by the international labour movement. -
NDWA Domestic Worker Sample Contract
Domestic Worker Employment Agreement The Employer and Domestic Worker should negotiate the terms of the agreement to best suit both parties. This agreement is entered into between ___________________ (“Employer”) and __________________(“Domestic Worker”) on ________________(date). 1. Beginning date of employment: 2. Employment length:! □ Until either party terminates the agreement. □ For a fixed term: ______________# of □ Month(s) □ Year(s) □ Other:____________ 3. Position Title: 4. Supervisor Name: Contact Information: 5. Location of Employment (address): 6. Employer’s Address: 7. Work Responsibilities (check all that apply and, if applicable, describe nature): □ Housekeeping □ House cleaning! □ Home management! □ Childcare and nanny services Description of child(ren) (number of children, name, age, gender, etc.): ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Description of duties related to care of child(ren): ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ □ Adult care, including sick, convalescing, and elderly individuals Description of adult(s) (number of adult(s), name, age, gender, etc.): ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Description of duties related to care of adult(s): -
A Brief Introduction to the Saga of the Labor Movement for Emerging Militants
A Brief Introduction to the Saga of the Labor Movement for Emerging Militants This piece is the text of a talk given to the Democratic Socialists of America Lower Manhattan Branch’s Political Education Working Group on December 4, 2019, serving as introduction to “Bernie and Labor” part of its series “Why Bernie?” The picture on the right represents the Haymarket Riot, Chicago, May 4, 1886, when police attacked a labor demonstration demanding the eight-hour day and protesting the May 1 disruption of an earlier protest march. The massacre was one of many attacks by police against labor initiatives. I have ten minutes to present the briefest of introductions on some few salient points pertaining to a history of workers’ struggles in the U.S. Good luck to that! Offering a systemic view of the nearly 200 years of domestic labor struggles, triumphs, tragedies and legacies in just one sixth of an hour is akin to tackling the briefest histories of the Roman Conquests, resurrection in the fractured Holy Roman Empire and its homicidal if not its farcical reiteration in the Nazi Thousand Year Reich that mercifully lasted just 12 years. But like a centurion, I shall soldier on. What follows are some basic if necessarily sketchy assumptions. First, we need to understand that most if not all of labor’s key breakthroughs, including the huge industrial union upsurges that followed immediately after World War I and then repeated so magnificently in the 1930s, were not primarily the product of either progressive politicians such as FDR and his brain trust or even talented, foresighted labor leaders like John L. -
Legal Protection for In-Home Care Workers in the United States
University of Connecticut OpenCommons@UConn Faculty Articles and Papers School of Law 2016 Serving in the Master’s House: Legal Protection for In-Home Care Workers in the United States Michael Fischl University of Connecticut School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://opencommons.uconn.edu/law_papers Part of the Labor and Employment Law Commons Recommended Citation Fischl, Michael, "Serving in the Master’s House: Legal Protection for In-Home Care Workers in the United States" (2016). Faculty Articles and Papers. 491. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/law_papers/491 Reprinted from Employment Relations and Transformation of the Enterprise in the Global Economy (Edoardo Ales, Francesco Basenghi, William Bromwich, & Iacopo Senatori, eds.) (Giappichelli, Turin) (2016), with permission graciously provided by the publisher. Serving in the Master’s House: Legal Protection for In-Home Care Workers in the United States Richard Michael Fischl∗ SUMMARY: 1. Introduction. – 2. Labor stories. – 3. The emerging law of in-home care work: Three initiatives. – 4. Evaluating the initiatives. – 5. References. – Appendices. 1. Introduction This essay will focus on the developing forms of legal protection available in the United States to those whose principal place of work is another person’s home and 1 who are paid to do what is broadly referred to as “care work.” The particular services vary widely – from housecleaning, to child care, to companionship and routine health care management for the elderly and the infirm – but the labor market demographics do not: This is low-wage/no-benefit work performed almost exclusively by women and primarily by women of color and of extra-national origin (Blackett, 2011; Boris, Klein, 2015; Markkanen, Quinn, Sama, 2015). -
Transformations of Trade Unionism
A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Knotter, Ad Book — Published Version Transformations of trade unionism: Comparative and transnational perspectives on workers organizing in Europe and the United States, eighteenth to twenty-first centuries Work Around the Globe: Historical Comparisons and Connections Provided in Cooperation with: Amsterdam University Press (AUP) Suggested Citation: Knotter, Ad (2018) : Transformations of trade unionism: Comparative and transnational perspectives on workers organizing in Europe and the United States, eighteenth to twenty-first centuries, Work Around the Globe: Historical Comparisons and Connections, ISBN 978-90-485-4448-6, Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam, http://dx.doi.org/10.5117/9789463724715 This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/193995 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. -
The Echoes of Slavery: Recognizing the Racist Origins of the Agricultural and Domestic Worker Exclusion from the National Labor Relations Act
Loyola University Chicago, School of Law LAW eCommons Faculty Publications & Other Works 2011 The choE es of Slavery: Recognizing the Racist Origins of the Agricultural and Domestic Worker Exclusion from the National Labor Relations Act. Juan F. Perea Loyola University Chicago, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://lawecommons.luc.edu/facpubs Part of the Labor and Employment Law Commons Recommended Citation Perea, Juan F., The choeE s of Slavery: Recognizing the Racist Origins of the Agricultural and Domestic Worker Exclusion from the National Labor Relations Act, 72 OHIO ST. L.J. l 95 (2011). This Article is brought to you for free and open access by LAW eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications & Other Works by an authorized administrator of LAW eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Echoes of Slavery: Recognizing the Racist Origins of the Agricultural and Domestic Worker Exclusion from the National Labor Relations Act JUAN F. PEREA* TABLE OF CONTENTS I. THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONTEXT OF THE NEW DEAL ............ 100 A. Blacks and Southern Agriculture........................................... 100 B. The Politics of the New Deal.................................................. 102 II. THE EXCLUSION OF BLACKS FROM THE NEW DEAL ...................... 104 A. The NationalIndustrial Recovery Act (1933) ........................ 104 B. AgriculturalAdjustment Administration (1933) .................... 107 C. The Social Security Act (1935) ............................................... 109 D. The FairLabor StandardsAct (1938).................................... 114 III. THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT AND ITS EXCLUSION OF AGRICULTURAL AND DOMESTIC EMPLOYEES .............................. 118 A. The Legislative History of Section 152(3) .............................. 118 B. InterpretingSection 152(3) of the NLRA as Racially D iscriminatory ....................................................................... -
Alternative International Labour Communication by Computer After Two Decades1
Interface: a journal for and about social movements Labour communications Volume 2 (2): 241 - 269 (November 2010) Waterman, Alternative labour communication Alternative International Labour Communication by Computer After Two Decades1 Peter Waterman Will offline social movement organisations be willing to cede control as ordinary people increasingly leverage social networking tools to channel their own activities? The destruction of hierarchies online means that top-down organisations will face increasing pressure from members to permit more rank- and-file debate and input. This is a healthy process and a long time in coming. If traditional organisations are to embrace the dynamism of the social networking sphere and move beyond simply posting op-eds on Huffington Post [a US website - PW] written by union presidents or NGO executive directors, they will have to cede significant control. Organisations that resist this trend will become increasingly irrelevant, online and offline. (Brecher, Costello2 and Smith, 2009) Rather than having more representatives or improving representation, rather even than having a form of direct democracy where ‘the people’ get to vote for many more purposes than merely electing leaders, the alterglobalisation movement suggests a form of democracy that rejects all formal and fixed representation… Through decentralisation and connectivity, decisions that affect an entire network of people can, in principle, be discussed at every node of that network and then decided through communication between nodes. This communication is carried out by people who act as very temporary ‘representatives’…who have no decision- making power, but transmit the necessary information to make a collective decision – even a global one – in all the affected local contexts.