573 - Section on Labor and Labor Movements Paper Session. Labor Formations in the Global South

Session Submission Type: Paper Session

Abstract

The Global South has long provided vibrant examples of labor movement activity, including examples of “social movement unionism” which have provided inspiration to scholars and labor activists in the Global North. Whether the South remains a vibrant terrain for labor activism, however, is an open question. This panel explores contemporary labor dynamics in the Global South, from South Africa to Colombia to China. Bringing new theoretical insights to bear on important questions of the current, the papers examine the current challenges facing workers and worker movements, as well as the possibilities for countering the widespread deepening of insecurity that has been sweeping across the globe.

Sub Unit

• Section on Labor and Labor Movements / Open Topic on Section on Labor and Labor Movements (4 sessions)

Session Organizer

• Shannon Marie Gleeson, Cornell University

Presider

• Sarah Christine Swider, Wayne State University

Individual Presentations

• Challenges and Opportunities for Manufacturing and Labor in China: Evidence from the Automobile Industry - Lu Zhang, Temple University

• Denaturalizing the Market: Primitive Accumulation, Class Reformation, and the Rise of Colombia’s Anti-Neoliberal Countermovement - Phillip A. Hough, Florida Atlantic University

• The Informal Employment of Floating Workers in Beijing and Its Transition to Formal Employment - Menghan Zhao, University of Pennsylvania

• The Political Economy of Social Protection: Labour and the Emergence of a Southern Welfare State - Ben Scully, University of the Witwatersrand