IV ISA Forum of Sociology (February 23-28, 2021)

JS-47

‘Beyond the Factory Gates’: The Broader Context for Workers’ Rights and Representation

Abstract Submissions Closed

RC30 Sociology of Work (host committee)
RC48 Social Movements, Collective Actions and Social Change

Language: English

Session Type: Oral

The democratic representation and participation of workers cannot be divorced from the broader social context within which workplaces are situated.  Professional and industrial relations are also anchored in grassroots social movements, citizen and political networks, as well as coalitions gathering a variety of actors: trade unions, associations, informal groups, political parties, lobbies and interest groups, etc. Thus, new forms of representation – formal or informal, legal or not - such as migrant and undocumented workers associations, or “community organizing” dynamics in relation to labor need to be investigated. Common issues with RC48 should be studied by sociologists of work, to address the ways in which social movements and collective action impact on employer behaviour, and concerns with corporate image, including via the control of standards along supply chains (e.g. : Clean Clothes Campaign), and equally to consider the ways in which social action is rooted in labor dynamics.