Proposal Title
Experimental solidarity: Rethinking the “Global workerhood”
Abstract
In this paper, I argue that transnational collaboration between workers in the Global North and the South to address workplace discrimination is a continuation of the previous experiment regime (Murphy 2017). Nevertheless, the experiment does not inherently involve neocolonial and neoliberal practices. The experiment can be done in many ways, and it may entail possibilities for developing decolonial and radical projects. Participation in an experiment does not automatically erase someone’s agency; rather it can be an “individual act of care, coping, collectivity, or aspiration….” (Murphy 2017, 81). Regardless of the oppressive or radical genre of the experiment, according to Murphy, experiment always involves destructions and losses as it legitimizes continuous destruction and reconstruction of social relations (Murphy, 82). Following Murphy’s theorization, I analyze two experimental transnational solidarity building initiatives between workers in the production and the consumption nodes of the apparel supply chain. First, I explore the transnational collaboration between the Model Alliance, a New York-based non-profit organization promoting sustainable practices in the fashion and modeling industries, and Bangladesh Centre for Workers Solidarity (BCWS), a Bangladeshi labor NGO promoting labor rights for garment workers. Next, I examine the participation of Kalpona Akter, the Executive Director of BCWS, in Wal-Mart’s annual shareholder meetings and protest campaigns. Along the way, I investigate the way transnational collaboration between workers in the Global North and the South dismantles and reproduces power asymmetries in different nodes of the supply chain and whether it can offer models for radical coalitional practices.
Start Date
27-3-2019 2:00 PM
End Date
27-3-2019 2:50 PM
Room Number
U-Hall 3-092
Presentation Type
Paper
Disciplines
Gender and Sexuality | International and Area Studies | Women's Studies | Work, Economy and Organizations
Experimental solidarity: Rethinking the “Global workerhood”
In this paper, I argue that transnational collaboration between workers in the Global North and the South to address workplace discrimination is a continuation of the previous experiment regime (Murphy 2017). Nevertheless, the experiment does not inherently involve neocolonial and neoliberal practices. The experiment can be done in many ways, and it may entail possibilities for developing decolonial and radical projects. Participation in an experiment does not automatically erase someone’s agency; rather it can be an “individual act of care, coping, collectivity, or aspiration….” (Murphy 2017, 81). Regardless of the oppressive or radical genre of the experiment, according to Murphy, experiment always involves destructions and losses as it legitimizes continuous destruction and reconstruction of social relations (Murphy, 82). Following Murphy’s theorization, I analyze two experimental transnational solidarity building initiatives between workers in the production and the consumption nodes of the apparel supply chain. First, I explore the transnational collaboration between the Model Alliance, a New York-based non-profit organization promoting sustainable practices in the fashion and modeling industries, and Bangladesh Centre for Workers Solidarity (BCWS), a Bangladeshi labor NGO promoting labor rights for garment workers. Next, I examine the participation of Kalpona Akter, the Executive Director of BCWS, in Wal-Mart’s annual shareholder meetings and protest campaigns. Along the way, I investigate the way transnational collaboration between workers in the Global North and the South dismantles and reproduces power asymmetries in different nodes of the supply chain and whether it can offer models for radical coalitional practices.
