Event Title
Immigration and Transnational Political Movements: Transforming the Politics of International Labor Solidarity
Location
Lindy C. Boggs Conference Center, Room 256
Session
Session Two: Post-1980 Central American Solidarity
Start Date
16-10-2010 9:15 AM
End Date
16-10-2010 11:30 AM
Description
During the summer of 2003, a group of Latino labor activists from the United States participated in an AFL-CIO sponsored delegation to El Salvador to meet with Salvadoran labor activists and government officials. Negotiations over the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) formed the political backdrop for the delegation, with Salvadoran labor unions opposed to it while the AFL-CIO and its delegation participants supported modifying the agreement, but not opposing it outright. The delegation grew out of the Central America solidarity movements of the 1980s, but it reflected more recent changes in the U.S. labor movement. By highlighting the contributions of Latino and immigrant labor rights activists in the U.S., and their continuing connections to their home countries, the delegation seemed to augur a new chapter in relations between U.S. labor unions and Latin American labor movements. However, events during the delegation highlighted the enduring tendency of U.S. labor unions to impose their political agendas on Latin American labor movements. In this paper I reflect upon my experiences as a participant in this delegation and discuss the implications it has for understanding and transforming international labor solidarity and the labor movement in the U.S.
Immigration and Transnational Political Movements: Transforming the Politics of International Labor Solidarity
Lindy C. Boggs Conference Center, Room 256
During the summer of 2003, a group of Latino labor activists from the United States participated in an AFL-CIO sponsored delegation to El Salvador to meet with Salvadoran labor activists and government officials. Negotiations over the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) formed the political backdrop for the delegation, with Salvadoran labor unions opposed to it while the AFL-CIO and its delegation participants supported modifying the agreement, but not opposing it outright. The delegation grew out of the Central America solidarity movements of the 1980s, but it reflected more recent changes in the U.S. labor movement. By highlighting the contributions of Latino and immigrant labor rights activists in the U.S., and their continuing connections to their home countries, the delegation seemed to augur a new chapter in relations between U.S. labor unions and Latin American labor movements. However, events during the delegation highlighted the enduring tendency of U.S. labor unions to impose their political agendas on Latin American labor movements. In this paper I reflect upon my experiences as a participant in this delegation and discuss the implications it has for understanding and transforming international labor solidarity and the labor movement in the U.S.