Mobilizing Worker Rights: The Challenges of Claims-Driven Processes for Re-Regulating the Labor Market

Abstract

Low-wage workers continue to face high levels of exploitation in the workplace. The regulatory frameworks that exist to protect workers and provide avenues for redress for violations of workers’ rights rely on individual or collective claims-making by workers. Worker centers have developed creative mobilization strategies to support worker claims and build worker power in the low-wage labor market. This paper leverages qualitative case study data to better understand the process of worker claims-making and the psychosocial toll it can take on workers. Based on these case studies, this paper argues that worker centers and other alt-labor groups need to take into account the costs and challenges for workers endemic to the claims-making process under current regulatory regimes.