470 - Section on Labor and Labor Movements Paper Session. Striking for Justice in Fast Food, Retail, and Home Care: Implications for the Broader Labor Movement

Session Submission Type: Paper Session

Abstract

In the last decade we have seen a wave of strikes demanding union recognition, a living wage (in the US $15 an hour) and improved working conditions) in industries and occupations that many previously considered unorganizable in industries such as fast food, retail, home care, and personal and business services. This session includes papers from a transnational perspective which focus on three of those industries: fast food, retail, and homecare in the US, Chile, and India. In combination the papers give us important insights into the employment structures, employer and union strategies, workforce and occupational characteristics, and the long range potential of the current organizing model.

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

• Kate Bronfenbrenner, Cornell University

Individual Presentations

• Constructing Meaning from Monotony: Competency and Consent in a Fast Food Firm - Brian Serafini, University of Washington

• Symbolic and Material Representations in Home-based Work: A Qualitative Case Study from Ahmedabad, India - Natascia Rose Boeri, City University of New York-Graduate Center

• The Biggest Private Sector Union Success You've Hardly Heard About - Jane McAlevey, City University of New York-Graduate Center

• Wal-Mart Workers in Chile: A Case of Union Democracy, Militancy and Strategic Capacity - Carolina Bank Munoz, City University of New York-Brooklyn College and Graduate Center