Worker Centers and the Struggle for Full Citizenship

• In Event: 566 - Section on Latino/a Sociology Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 06. Labor Markets and Work

Abstract

Neoliberal economic restructuring has resulted not only in cuts to social welfare commitments, but also a significant increase in low-wage, non-standard jobs which are overwhelmingly filled by people of color, women, and immigrants. This has added to the decreased socioeconomic security for these already marginalized groups. In addition, and the temporary, subcontracted, triangularly managed systems set up by many of these non-standard jobs has exacerbated existing and created new forms of exclusion from rights associated with “full citizenship.” There are a variety of civil society institutions working to address such exclusion, and increasingly labor organizations are joining these efforts. While labor organizations, and certainly unions, concentrate primarily on workplace rights, there are non-profit community based labor organizations known as “worker centers” whose scope extends beyond labor issues. I argue that worker centers are key civil society institutions that focus on gaining broader inclusion in economic, political, and social rights associated with full citizenship for these marginalized groups.

Author

• Jessica Dianne Cook, University of Illinois-Chicago