Milkman’s motion towards migrant labor organization is symbolic of a new dawn for labor writ large. In her piece Immigrant Workers and the Future of American Labor, Milkman points to the reticence of governmental institutions like the NLRA towards migrant labor advocacy (see, for example, Hoffman Plastic Compounds , Inc. v. NLRB)(Milkman 305). One might argue that this, as illustrated in Aziz Choudry and Mondli … Continue reading New Dawn for Labor
Last week, Natasha Iskander and Paula Chakravartty came to speak about migration and labor and how immigration policies are deeply constructed by race. Racial and xenophobic rhetoric have created the binaries of “good” versus “bad”, “skilled” versus “unskilled”, and “value” versus “criminality”. Migrants are constantly criminalized due to the notion that they are stealing citizens’ jobs and are polarized into the category of either “skilled” … Continue reading Are There Non-Oppressive Binaries? The Skilled vs Unskilled, Deserving vs Undeserving, and Good vs Bad Immigrant
As presented in class by our speakers, Natasha Iskander and Paula Chakravartty, skilled immigrants are often treated as disembodied minds, while unskilled immigrants are treated as dehumanized bodies; the two are separated and delineated in detention centers and in the legal process. Both experience the immigration process as well as the US labor market in different ways. Yet both have a common experience: they are often paid … Continue reading Wage Theft: Skilled vs. Unskilled Immigrants
In the 2016 election, we’ve seen how powerful fear mongering can truly be. Of the many marginalized groups that have been politicized and criminalized in the most recent presidential election, immigrants and undocumented individuals seem to have been the most victimized. The rhetoric that has been used in regards to immigrants and undocumented persons living in the U.S. has been nothing short of accusatory and … Continue reading Economic Value & the “Model Minority”
Migrant workers often have negative connotations to a lot of Americans. They are viewed as wage takers and a threat to job opportunities. Especially under the Trump administration, which he always emphasizes on immigrants taking Americans’ jobs, individuals often put all the blame on migrant workers. Seldom consider what these migrant workers have to encounter in their daily lives: inescapable oppression and unjust treatment. Though … Continue reading Systematic Discrimination on Migrant Workers: A Global Phenomenon
Migration, Refugees & the Politics of Sanctuary 