Chicago Immigrant Workers Are Organizing at Low-Wage Plants

Fresh from organizing and first- contract battles in largely-immigrant shops, rank-and-file United Electrical Workers (UE) leaders from Chicago will be attending this year’s Labor Notes Conference eager to learn new skills and share experiences.

Immigrant workers have led a series of UE organizing struggles at low-wage manufacturing plants over the past two years, proving that factory workers are indeed willing to organize--even in the face of an anti-union climate and anti-worker trade laws.

Out of these victories emerged Acción Chicago, a joint project between the UE and the United Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (UNIRR). Acción Chicago focuses on education, organization, and leadership development for immigrant factory workers.

SWEATSHOP CONDITIONS

SUPPORT LABOR NOTES

BECOME A MONTHLY DONOR

Give $10 a month or more and get our "Fight the Boss, Build the Union" T-shirt.

Despite the hype about the Rust Belt being an economic dead zone (and the real ravages of plant closings and concessions), there is still a vital manufacturing sector in the Midwest. Chicago has the second largest concentration of factory workers in the country, but according to recent studies more than a third work in sweatshop conditions.

Many of these workers are looking for ways to fight for better workplaces. Acción Chicago has held a series of bilingual labor rights workshops and worked to identify potential leaders at unorganized plants.

We can’t wait for the opportunity to discuss, share, and learn with our brothers and sisters at Labor Notes.