Latin American cleaners fight for survival: lessons for migrant activism

This article documents the significant successes and major setbacks of a campaign led by Latin American cleaners for union recognition and better pay and conditions at the University of London. It shows how they overcame fear, resignation, intimidation, racism, poverty and cultural and linguistic al...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Race & class 2011-07, Vol.53 (1), p.65-82
Main Authors: Hearn, Julie, Bergos, Monica
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activism
Colleges & universities
Deportation
Empowerment
Government regulation
Hispanic people
Immigrants
Labor movement
Labor Movements
Labor unions
Labour migration
Labour movement
Latin America
Laws, regulations and rules
Linguistics
Low income
Migrant labor
Migrant labour
Migrant workers
Migrants
Minimum wages
Political issue
Protest Movements
Racism
Resignation
Service industry
Standard of living
Trade unions
Unions
United Kingdom
Working Class
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Summary:This article documents the significant successes and major setbacks of a campaign led by Latin American cleaners for union recognition and better pay and conditions at the University of London. It shows how they overcame fear, resignation, intimidation, racism, poverty and cultural and linguistic alienation to find their political agency. However, their collective empowerment was met by dismissals and deportations. The article argues that there are a number of important lessons for the trade union movement to learn; namely, the need to have specific legal and campaigning strategies in place to defend its migrant activists as well as calling for the regularisation of ‘irregular’ workers. In sum, the struggle for immigrant rights is at the cutting edge of the global working-class fightback.1
ISSN:0306-3968
1741-3125
DOI:10.1177/0306396811406782