Immigrant Organizing and the New Labor Movement in Los Angeles

Abstract

This article traces the transformation of Los Angeles, which was considered a showcase of anti-unionism a century ago, into a key site of labor movement revitalization and a model of successful immigrant organizing. It traces the history of unionization in L.A. over time, and analyzes data from the 1990s on the characteristics of L.A.'s union members. Although immigrants are still less likely to be union members than native-born workers, this is because of their sectoral location, not because they are “unorganizable.” On the contrary, in some respects foreign-born workers tend to be more receptive to unionization efforts than their native-born counterparts, despite the vulnerability non-citizens and undocumented immigrants often experience. Here the dynamics of recent immigrant organizing successes in L.A. are analyzed, highlighting the importance of Latino immigrants' propensity for militancy, on the one side, and the key role of the new activist leadership of a number of key unions, on the other. While the recent successes are impressive in quality, they have not had much impact on union density in L.A., which remains low. Yet they indicate the potential for a larger-scale transformation.