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SUNY Series in Public Policy
The Politics of Identity: Solidarity Building among America's Working Poor
Conventional wisdom believes that solidarity among the working poor is rare in the United States and identity politics shoulders a large portion of the blame. The Politics of Identity offers a fresh take on solidarity building and identity among America's working poor by placing workers' voices center stage through the use of fieldwork and in-depth interviews. The book provides the first empirical assessment of long-standing theoretical debates over the effect of identity politics for developing additional solidarities that is politically relevant, theoretically rich, and highly readable.
- GenresLabor
266 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
January 11, 2009
Erin O’Brien’s fascinating research into existing (and potentially wider national) solidarity among the working poor in America questions the conventional assessment that whatever “worker solidarity” exists among low wage workers is basically confined and defined by race, ethnicity, and gender. In other words, is it really true that only identity politics bind (and polarize) workers at the bottom tier of the labor force? If so, how can one move beyond these political limitations to organize workers to fight for better pay, benefits, and constancy of employment, and give them a real democratic political voice?
At a time when the economy is in crisis, unions are in disarray and the gap between rich and poor is gaping ever wider, this books offers an urgent discussion into the heart and soul of our system: how it treats its hardest working, least rewarded workers. Many people work two jobs, rise at three o’clock in the morning, and still cannot manage to make ends meet. Worse is the chronic stress of obsessing over bills, caring for their children, praying they don’t get sick because they are uninsured, and dealing with the humiliation often meted out to them by bosses - and the public - as they perform in service jobs at hotels, restaurants, and stores.
O’Brien, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts, creates personalized worker portraits taken from in-depth interviews and fieldwork. On the job experiences are shared, sympathies with other workers who are discriminated against are discussed, and many optimistically and heroically confess that they still believe, above all, in the American Dream - if not for themselves, for their children.
Some workers discuss why they reject worker solidarity (cynicism, fear of punishment). Some are just beaten down and resigned to an unfair social order. There are also language barriers and the fact that flex time workers have absolutely no time to organize politically to work toward change—if they even have a free moment to speak at length with each other. Mostly, and horribly, there is a lack of cultural and political leadership.
The author lays out some ideas for policy change and activism, though admits the tough challenge. Public policy seems to be the key, as well as a moral imperative to build sustainable political action. Most of all, workers themselves need to organize their efforts by utilizing associational politics to serve as a bridge for cross-national solidarity.
Review by Cheryl Reeves
At a time when the economy is in crisis, unions are in disarray and the gap between rich and poor is gaping ever wider, this books offers an urgent discussion into the heart and soul of our system: how it treats its hardest working, least rewarded workers. Many people work two jobs, rise at three o’clock in the morning, and still cannot manage to make ends meet. Worse is the chronic stress of obsessing over bills, caring for their children, praying they don’t get sick because they are uninsured, and dealing with the humiliation often meted out to them by bosses - and the public - as they perform in service jobs at hotels, restaurants, and stores.
O’Brien, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts, creates personalized worker portraits taken from in-depth interviews and fieldwork. On the job experiences are shared, sympathies with other workers who are discriminated against are discussed, and many optimistically and heroically confess that they still believe, above all, in the American Dream - if not for themselves, for their children.
Some workers discuss why they reject worker solidarity (cynicism, fear of punishment). Some are just beaten down and resigned to an unfair social order. There are also language barriers and the fact that flex time workers have absolutely no time to organize politically to work toward change—if they even have a free moment to speak at length with each other. Mostly, and horribly, there is a lack of cultural and political leadership.
The author lays out some ideas for policy change and activism, though admits the tough challenge. Public policy seems to be the key, as well as a moral imperative to build sustainable political action. Most of all, workers themselves need to organize their efforts by utilizing associational politics to serve as a bridge for cross-national solidarity.
Review by Cheryl Reeves
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review