From: "dr.woooo" <dr.woooo-AT-nomasters.org>
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2004 18:03:58 +1000
Subject: AUT: [noiioz] migrant labour organising site



http://www.thistuesday.org/

What we want
Submitted by admin on Sun, 02/22/2004 - 13:32. 
The neoliberal global economy confronts us with a more flexible and 
transnational capitalism. “Lean production” and privatization rely on cheap 
manual labor, outsourcing and "maquiladora" work. “Precariousness” 
characterizes a political context which traps workers in a downward spiral of 
declining wages, job insecurity, decreasing democratic rights and exploitation 
based on race and gender discrimination. Migrant and contingent workers, once 
unwitting participants in this globalized transformation of labor, are 
responding to the unique conditions they face. 

They are also defining new spaces of resistance. Migration represents more 
than the mere economic growth potential and ensuing collateral damage of 
global capitalism. Migration is also a social movement of appropriation, and 
the political power of exodus and refusal subverts the sovereignty of both the 
nation state as well as the globalized regimes of hyper-exploitation. Migrant 
movements are a “globalization from below” which, viewed as a whole, 
constitute a globalized grassroots resistance against exploitative economies 
and their modes of exclusion, division and selection.

Over the last 20 years, the organization of migrant labor power has burst 
forth in a myriad of creative and cutting edge expressions. Within labor 
unions, the success of the US-based Justice for Janitors campaign overcame the 
pervasive and un-strategic trend in labor that refuses to recognize or 
organize migrant and contingent labor. Outside of unions, the many autonomous 
workers centers, and new independent grass-root unions like SUD in France or 
the self organized initiatives of migrant, precarious workers and solidarity 
groups in Seoul and Berlin. On-going research projects taking place in Hong 
Kong, Bologna and Madrid are of note. The integration of pro-union, pro-
migrant, community and anti-racist approaches represent new challenges and 
opportunities to building worker power!

Taking into consideration the different conditions in the various countries 
and continents on one hand, and appreciating the variety of experiences and 
approaches of initiatives on the other hand, we are nevertheless convinced 
that a transnational organizing process will build our power.

Our web-presentation should inspire and improve a mutual information exchange 
and public debates spreading similar initiatives and strategies.

The Presentation

The platform will collect and collate information about the various projects 
all over the world. The contact groups or persons will be asked to provide a 
brief summary of their projects in one or two pages and, if available, more 
links to additional pertinent material.

The Discussion

We will propose leading questions and threads of debates (see below), which we 
hope will enable a useful and longer term discussion where deeper analysis and 
participation can emerge.

The Technical Expectations for the Platform

We would like to develop an open user friendly site, not a huge archive 
difficult to navigate. We want something creative and interactive, where 
participants can find easily what they are looking for. We will geographically 
map out our industrial sectors and fields, and we will sort out information by 
categories and catchwords. We are considering to periodically featuring key 
campaigns and/or organizations as well as enabling possible solidarity work. 
The site should be able to load text and pictures as well as videos easily.

The Editorial team or “Who Are We”

Currently we are a few people from the Italy, Germany, Mexico and the U.S. 
involved in similar projects and debates, who are in contact with more groups 
or organizations working within a similar approach interested in the potential 
power of transnational discussion, networking and organizing. The "team" will 
be initially responsible to set up the platform, to ask other groups for 
feedback on the project, presentations and material (hoping to arrange 
translation when possible), and to initiate chats and debates hence involving 
more participants. The team is open for more interested folks, so let us know, 
if You would like to collaborate.

The Use of the English language As a first step and after considering our 
existing capacity we will start our platform in English until a multilingual 
approach can be worked out.

-- 
sig/
* - / \ | ^ ^^^^ 
http://www.weareeverywhere.org
http://www.uhc-collective.org.uk/toolbox.htm
http://www.eco-action.org/dod
http://www.noborder.org
http://www.makeworlds.org
http://www.ainfos.ca
http://slash.autonomedia.org
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/3909/index/links.html
http://www.reclaimthestreets.net



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