Constructing Workers of Migrant Background Constructing Workers of Migrant Background A study of class and nation myths in trade union practice Mai Lundemark Dissertation presented at Uppsala University to be publicly examined in IX Universitetshuset, Biskopsgatan 3, Uppsala, Friday, 7 May 2021 at 13:15 for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The examination will be conducted in English. Faculty examiner: Associate Professor Martin Bak Jørgensen (Aalborg University). Abstract Lundemark, M. 2021. Constructing Workers of Migrant Background. A study of class and nation myths in trade union practice. 283 pp. Uppsala: Department of Sociology, Uppsala University. ISBN 978-91-506-2869-2. How do trade unions represent workers of migrant background? How are factors that affect the quality of life of workers of migrant background, made sense of and responded to by trade unions trying to reverse declining trade union membership numbers? This thesis takes a qualitative approach and utilises discursive constructions as a semiotic entry point into the social practices of trade unions and their responses to workers of migrant background. Combining semiotic theory of Roland Barthes and Stuart Hall with critical discourse theory of Norman Fairclough, trade union work is conceptualised as a social practice that comprises both semiotic and non- semiotic elements. The study focuses on the discursive work of two unions in Copenhagen, Denmark that represent the bike mechanic and the cleaning trade, respectively. The selection of unions allows for an exploration of similarities and differences within the national setting. The analysis is based on individual and group interviews with 28 union officials and active members, supported and complemented by notes (387 pages) from 56 participant observations (147 observation hours) that were conducted in the two unions over several years. The analysis shows how workers of migrant background are constructed through discourses of class and nation. Analysing the interrelationship between semiotic and non-semiotic elements of union events and practices, a four-cell typology is developed that characterise union responses as either internalisation, externalisation, ignorance or misrepresentation. The type of response is defined according to whether the unions signify their constructions of migrant differences as relevant or irrelevant to union work, and whether they address these differences with uniform or differentiated union action. It is argued that the ways in which constructions of national, ethnic and racial differences are responded to through signification and action are crucial to whether unions work to reinforce or ameliorate social inequalities. Finally, the typology is suggested as a tool to nuance the discussion about the inclusive and/or exclusive character of trade union responses to workers of migrant background. Keywords: Trade unions, representation, migrant workers, class, nation, race, discourse analysis, myth, Denmark Mai Lundemark, Department of Sociology, Box 624, Uppsala University, SE-75126 Uppsala, Sweden. © Mai Lundemark 2021 ISBN 978-91-506-2869-2 urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-437850 (http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-437850) Acknowledgements Travelling can be done in many ways and across a variety of boundaries that may be geographical, temporal, status changing, administrative, political, moral etc. In a sense, we are therefore all migrants, although in different ways and with varying difficulty. With this thesis in print, my journey as a PhD- candidate is almost over. While it has felt lonely at times, it is also clear to me that so many have accompanied and helped me on the way. The cliché is true that writing a dissertation is a collective accomplishment, and I owe thanks to so many. First of all, I want to acknowledge my privilege of being able to embark on this journey at all, since there are many minds brighter than mine that do not get the chance because of social injustice. Since the PhD programme was not immediately obvious to me, I also want to give thanks to some of the peo- ple who made me imagine this journey, such as Maja Lundemark Andersen, Marianne Lundemark Andersen, Per Geckler, Anna Hedlund, Jens Trondman, and my undergraduate lecturers at the Sociological Department at Lund Uni- versity. I want to give a warmhearted and special thanks to Metal Hovedstaden and 3F København and to all of the trade union officials, activists, members and workers who took the time to share their knowledge, experience and thoughts with me. Without you, this study would not have been possible. I hope that my findings can be of use to you and/or your trade union in the struggle for social justice. Thanks also to Wilmer Andersson, Lars Christian- sen and the late Klaus Olsen for helping me test my interview guide. Individuals crucial to the navigation of my PhD-journey were my first supervisor, Hannah Bradby, and second supervisor, Susanne Urban, both from the Department of Sociology at Uppsala University. You have been a great help to me in triangulating my position along the way and in reaching my final destination. Thank you, Hannah, for your many careful readings of my drafts, for challenging me and for your guidance and support in many regards during these years. Susanne, thank you for your interest in the project, for always mixing your feedback with cheerful encouragement, and for sending me tips, ideas and readings along the way. I also want to thank Cultural Matters Group and its members for feed- back and inspiration, and Clementina Amankwaah for arranging and including me in the Critical Race Theory Reading Group at the Centre for Multidiscipli- nary Studies on Racism at Uppsala University. Thank you Sandra Torres and Tom Chabosseau for feedback at my midway seminar. To you Paula Mulinari from Malmö University and Josef Dahlgren from my own department, thank you for being my discussants of my final seminar – you both motivated and inspired me to improve the manuscript further. To Reza Azarian, thank you for your valuable feedback and suggestions as my double reader! Travelling is often expensive and I am therefore grateful to the funds have helped me afford it. With the aid of Sederholms Nordiska Stipendium, I was able to afford the numerous train trips between Uppsala and Copenhagen. With a stipend from the Anna Maria Lundin’s Foundation I was able to par- ticipate in the International Sociological Association’s conference in Toronto, Canada. With a grant from the South Africa Sweden University Forum and invitation from Professor Kate (formerly Peter) Alexander, I was able to visit the Centre of Social Change at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. During this visit and due to the kindness of Carin Runciman and the Casual Workers Advice Office, I got to experience how workers of internal migrant background organise in Johannesburg. Finally, a stipend from the Helge Ax:son Johnsons’ Foundation helped me finish my writing work. Most journeys are better with company and this is certainly the case here. I therefore want to thank my fellow doctoral colleagues, in particular Sarah Hamed for our conversations and your feedback, to Marie Sépulchre and Pernilla Ågård (now doctors though) for sharing big and small stuff and keeping up my spirit, to Nicole Ovesen (at the Centre of Gender Studies), Özge Altin, Yên Mai, for friendship and good times. I already miss your com- pany! Thanks to Dinara Podgornova, Aija Duntuva, Maria Langa, Tobias Ol- ofsson, Richard Gäddman Johansson and Christoffer Berg (whereof several are now doctors), with whom I started out the journey. For good spirits in the shared office space, thank you Josef Dahlgren and Sonia Köllner. To Ylva Nettelblad for repeated pancake company and admin assistance. To Ulrika Söderlind, also for your administrative assistance and for your concern for the doctoral students. To Tom Chabosseau and Abigail Villegas along with Özge, Tobias, Marie and Sonia for housing, cooking and dance! To Isis Lindfeldt for sharing your organisational experiences and to Max Persson for Malmö com- pany. Thank you Phil Creswell and Maria Langa for going through a last un- expected storm together, and to Ylva Wallinder (now doctor at Gothenburg University) for bearing witness to my journey from a distance. In addition to my doctoral colleagues, I also want to thank the numerous senior colleagues across departments, universities and countries for taking interest in my work and indulging in conversations with me over the years. While staying in Uppsala for a few years, I was also happy to get to know Andrea Dahlkild, Dagmar Müller and the collective in Fyllan. Even more important I kept drawing strength from my friends, mainly in Malmö, but also in the Stockholm area and in Denmark. So thank you Faten, Yarob and Adam Saleh for our shared ventures in life! To Anna Hedlund, Karolina Bergmark, Tuva Johansson, Anna Valman, Annie Hagman, Rebecca Steward, Alison Gerber, Sara Årestedt and Kristine Tiedt – our friendship prop me up! A special thanks goes to Hanne Nilsson for inputs on the book cover, but even more so for listening to me during our many runs and for always believing in me. To my mother, Rie Lundemark, thank you for your never-ending support and many travel provisions. To my dad, John Rommerdahl, thank you for hanging in there, I am grateful that you are still with us. To my sisters, Vibe Lundemark and Katrine Lundemark, thank you for all your support, your sis- terly loyalty and good spirits. To Renu, JB and Deeksha Rohilla, thank you for your support, understanding and patience from Mumbai. Most importantly, I cannot thank you enough, Himanshu, for meeting me that autumn day in Malmö. We have been travelling together ever since and I hope we will continue to do so until the end of all journeys. For every tearing step of ending my thesis work, you have offered a new brilliant meta- phor (amongst them: going off road and getting stuck is what makes a trip memorable).