Contested Notion of Sisterhood As a Class Politics

The main subject of my study is women’s collective action at the workplace. In general, it can be said that the study will problematize the well known question: How and in which ways objective conditions of the workplace and labour process turn into matters for collective experience of the workers? To put it differently, how an objective assemblage- an innate character of capitalist labour process- turns into associations among workers contrary to existing workplace organizations and capital’s interests. For this purpose, following the work of Rick Fantasia (1988), I will use the concept “cultures of solidarity” as a medium between objective determinations of labour process and collective action of workers.  In addition the notion “cultures of solidarity” may enable us to discuss multiple/contesting forms solidarities concomitant to formation of commonality among workers. In this respect, through in-depth interviews with women workers participated/participating in strikes at two factories-Fiskobirlik and Serapool- in Turkey, I will question the well-known notion of feminist theory and politics, sisterhood, as a moment, matter and formation of class politics among women workers. In brief, I will discuss contesting associations and cultures of solidarity among workers: corporate solidarity, class solidarity and sisterhood as a matter and an effect of collective action.