Conflicting Commitments

by Gleeson, Shannon

• ISBN13: 9780801478147
• ISBN10: 0801478146
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-10-30
• Publisher: Ilr Pr

Summary

In Conflicting Commitments, Shannon Gleeson goes beyond the debate over federal immigration policy to examine the complicated terrain of immigrant worker rights. Federal law requires that basic labor standards apply to all workers, yet this principle clashes with increasingly restrictive immigration laws and creates a confusing bureaucratic terrain for local policymakers and labor advocates. Gleeson examines this issue in two of the largest immigrant gateways in the country: San Jose, California, and Houston, Texas. Conflicting Commitments reveals two cities with very different approaches to addressing the exploitation of immigrant workers-both involving the strategic coordination of a range of bureaucratic brokers, but in strikingly different ways. Drawing on the real life accounts of ordinary workers, federal, state, and local government officials, community organizers, and consular staff, Gleeson argues that local political contexts matter for protecting undocumented workers in particular. Providing a rich description of the bureaucratic minefields of labor law, and the explosive politics of immigrant rights, Gleeson shows how the lessons learned from San Jose and Houston can inform models for upholding labor and human rights in the United States.

Author Biography

Shannon Gleeson is Assistant Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
List of Abbreviations	p. xiii
Introduction: Immigrant Labor in the United States	p. 1
Work in Postindustrial America	p. 30
Implementing the Legal Rights of Undocumented Workers	p. 64
Place Matters: How Local Governments Enforce Immigrant Worker Rights	p. 89
Beyond Government: How Civil Society Serves, Organizes, and Advocates for Immigrant Workers	p. 118
Advocating across Borders: Consular Strategies for Protecting Mexican Immigrant Workers	p. 163
Conclusion: Making Rights Real for Immigrant Workers	p. 195
Notes	p. 207
References	p. 227
Index	p. 263
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