The Struggle to Decommodify the Service Sector: The Canadian Auto Workers and the Casino Industry

• In Event: 3281 - Section on Labor and Labor Movements Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 06. Voice and Union Struggle

Abstract

Decommodifying wage entitlements, both ideologically and materially, is the main mechanism through which unions combat inequality. Casino jobs provide a counterexample to the connection between low-skill service and hospitality work and highly commodified labor through higher unionization rates. Existing research on casino workers, however, suggests that casino workers embrace a commodified vision of their labor. This article examines whether and how the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) were able to decommodify wage entitlements at Casino Windsor, located in Windsor, Ontario – Canada’s former automotive capital and the first city to host a resort casino outside of Atlantic City and Las Vegas. Through 91 interviews and an analysis of the local newspaper from 1994-2014, I find that the CAW brought a decommodified 'industrial mind' into the casino industry. Casino workers initially did adopt a decommodified vision of wage entitlements; yet, casino workers now (2014-2015) embrace a 'service mind' where wages are justified by a market-oriented understanding of their worth. I trace out the political and institutional forces which led to the CAW’s unsuccessful attempt to decommodify labor in the casino industry and its implications for broader decommodification in the service and hospitality sector.

Author

• Alissa Mazar, McGill University