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Circuits of Power in Alabama's Immigration Politics: Labor Justice and Corporate Social Responsibility

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Circuits of Power in Alabama's Immigration Politics: Labor Justice and Corporate Social Responsibility Circuits of Power in Alabama's Immigration Politics: Labor Justice and Corporate Social Responsibility Elizabeth C. S. Jamison Dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Alliance for Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought Barbara Ellen Smith, Chair Patricia M. Nickel Max O. Stephenson, Jr. Richard E. Wokutch October 28, 2015 Blacksburg, Virginia Keywords: Power, Immigration Policy, Corporate Social Responsibility, Critical Theory, Race, Labor Justice, State Politics Copyright E. C. S. Jamison (2015) Circuits of Power in Alabama's Immigration Politics: Labor Justice and Corporate Social Responsibility Elizabeth C. S. Jamison ABSTRACT At the time of its debate and passage in 2010-2011, Alabama’s immigration law evoked support and opposition from across the state and nation. Despite the outcry, the Alabama business community projected a pronounced public “silence.” This silence was particularly curious because of the law’s clear and intended goal of self-deportation of Latinos who are a significant labor source for Alabama agri-businesses and food processing industries. The key question for this dissertation is: Why did the poultry processing industry, which has high populations of Latino employees and a significant industrial presence in Alabama, stay publicly silent despite a predictable impact on their labor supply? This qualitative analysis used the lens of the circuits of power model to interrogate this question. The findings indicate that Alabama poultry processors found themselves susceptible to the same opportunities and challenges as any other social actor confronted with the racialized, politicized, and historically contingent challenges facing Latino labor in Alabama. In other words, these business actors were fully socially embedded actors within Alabama. I demonstrate that individual residents, relevant associations, Alabama’s politicians, and even the poultry processors themselves never fully realized the political vulnerability of their particular embeddedness until it was too late for poultry processing employers to publicly act to protect their Latino employees from this unjust state law. I collected and triangulated data from multiple sources, including semi-structured interviews, media reports, state and national statistics, official websites, and legal documents. Through discourse and content analysis of this data, I developed a case study that demonstrates how Alabama’s poultry processors were on a collision course with Alabama state politicians over immigration reform, but they never saw it coming. In so doing, I raise important questions about limits on the “real” power of economic actors for achieving self-interested business outcomes when those interests contest strongly-held social and cultural norms that are infused with a particular history of race, difference, and alterity in local spaces. I demonstrate that these limits raise questions for the democratic process and have consequences for economic actors with regard to corporate social responsibility claims as they pertain to labor justice. Dedication To Mark. For everything. iii Acknowledgements I first need to “acknowledge” that there is insufficient language to express my deep sense of indebtedness to those people who have supported, inspired, guided, provoked, and invested in this project and in me. The generosity of spirit I have encountered throughout this project has been meaningful in ways I could have never anticipated and by which I am deeply moved. To my committee, the Dream Team of dissertation advisors, I want to express my sincerest of thanks. Beginning with my Chair, Dr. Barbara Ellen Smith, I am eternally grateful for her boundless support, searing insights into issues of place, power, race, and social justice, willingness to read endless numbers of drafts, and for being a strong, compassionate mentor and friend. I can only hope to make the difference to someone else that she has made to me. Dr. Max Stephenson provided discerning guidance on the issues of policy and democracy raised by this research, as well as an important set of sharp editorial eyes that proved priceless after I had worn out Barbara Ellen’s and my own. Dr. Patricia Nickel added crucial insights and resources regarding critical theory, as well as valuable guidance about best practices for a new scholar and thinking about next steps. Dr. Rich Wokutch shored up my foundational knowledge regarding ethics and corporate social responsibility and generously helped me to locate management communities that might be interested in this interdisciplinary work. To my Alabama connections, I am much obliged for the generosity and hospitality extended to me by my interviewees. In particular, Ray Hilburn was instrumental in educating me about and connecting me to Alabama’s poultry network. Joyce Bishop was the key to unraveling “where to begin” and “who to begin with” for fieldwork in Albertville. To my Virginia Tech communities, I nod in solidarity. The ASPECTers were the bedrock of my VT experience both in and out of class with special thanks to Tamara Sutphin and Dr. Francois DeBrix for their administrative and professional wisdom. My Women’s and Gender Studies classmates and faculty provoked and inspired me to do and be better. The Community Voices Team provided a playground of wonderful people engaged in academic conversations directed toward impacting “real life” in real time. These communities collectively provided support, friendship, and motivation in ways they probably did not see, but who nevertheless were indispensible to my success. To my Roanoke people, thank you for putting up with the constant presence of my laptop, my rambling on topics you probably had no interest in, and for trying to remember what “ASPECT” stands for. Thanks for sticking with me as I became more opinionated and outspoken in new and unexpected ways that sometimes sounded barky and irritable. You brought the fun when I often couldn’t. I never expected to have friends like all of you as a grown up. Finally, I am grateful for my entire family, near and far, who always have woven a web of unconditional love. Locally, I thank my parents, Dan and Diane Shields, for modeling lives of passion for education, for community, for service, and for each other. There is no greater gift a child can receive. To Mark, Joe, and Kyra, who agreed to go on this mid-life adventure with me: Joe & Kyra, thank you for the daily sacrifices at the altar of “Mom’s classes” while keeping me firmly grounded in the reality of your teenage lives. To Mark, thanks for asking, “What are you waiting for?” You were right. For me, this Ph.D. was more than a prize to be earned, and I leave this stage of my life changed in ways big and small. To everyone along the way, I offer heartfelt thanks. iv Table of Contents Dedication iii Acknowledgements iv Table of Contents v Preface 1 Chapter 1. Introduction to Alabama’s Politics of Immigration 6 Research Questions 7 Contextual Background 10 Power Analysis: Theoretical Framework 16 Chapter Outline and Summary of Findings 26 Conclusion 38 Chapter 2. Putting Together the Alabama Puzzle: Research Design and Methodology 41 Engaging the Picture on the Puzzle Box: A Qualitative Approach 41 Looking for the Edge Pieces: Data Collection 43 The Middle of the Puzzle: Data Analysis 49 Conclusion: The Big Puzzle Picture 55 Chapter 3. Alabama “Identity” - Contemporary Implications of a Defiant Legacy 56 Creating a Specific, Existing Context: Alabama Identities and Histories 59 A “Civil” Alabama History: The Founding (and Confounding) of an Alabama Identity from Civil War to Civil Rights 61 “Belonging” in Alabama 68 Conclusion: After “Civil” History… 86 Chapter 4. Losing Track of $15.1 Billion: Alabama’s Love/Hate Relationship with the Poultry Industry 91 Context, Power Brokers, and Alabama’s Economy 95 The Clucking in Alabama’s Economic Engine 97 v Named, but Not Claimed: The Reputation and Visibility of Poultry Processing Across Alabama 116 Conclusion 139 Chapter 5. Albertville Poultry, People, and Politics 144 Power, Immigrants, and Albertville: Power Brokers, Discourse, and the Circuits of Power 148 Why Albertville? 152 Albertville: Employment, Poultry, and Community Perceptions 167 Conclusion 186 Chapter 6. Alabama Politics and Poultry: Backroom Networks, Front page Politicians, and the Inglorious Fate of H.B. 56 192 Alabama’s Political Networks: Power, Influence, and New Outcomes 195 Politics and Poultry: An Uncomfortable Twenty-First Century Courtship 199 Twenty-First Century Immigration Discourse in the United States & H.B. 56 204 The Alabama Immigration Law: Intent and Discontent 208 Conclusion 219 Chapter 7. Conclusion 222 Returning to the Circuits of Power 223 Implications for Corporate Social Responsibility Literature 228 Considering the Broader Questions and Implications 234 References 239 Appendix A: Circuits of Power Model (Chapter 1) 255 Appendix B. IRB Information and Use Permissions 256 Appendix C. Semi-Structured Interview Guides 262 Appendix D. Interview Participants and On-site Data Collection 266 Appendix E. Alabama's Specific, Existing Context (Chapter 3) 267 Appendix F. Poultry Processing within Alabama's Circuit of Power (Chapter 4) 268 Appendix G. Albertville Within Alabama's Circuits of Power (Chapter 5) 269 vi Appendix H. Albertville's Circuits of Power (Chapter 5) 270 Appendix I. Alabama's Circuits of Power (Chapter 6) 271 vii Preface The following preface is an edited version of the remarks delivered prior to my dissertation defense. In the words of my Chair, Dr. Barbara Ellen Smith, “It is the story of the story.” I provide it here for two reasons. First, it provides an explanation of how one person (me) found the world of interdisciplinarity when confronted by issues irremediable by the disciplinary solutions available to her. Second, in following a feminist research tradition, I feel an ethical imperative to more deeply contextualize this project by recognizing myself as just as socially embedded as the Alabama poultry processors I studied.
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