The Cyberunions Podcast: Episode Sixteen

Solidaridad sin Fronteras

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0:49 Stephen’s Updates

• Still using Vanillux GNU/Linux
• Having some audio issues with alsamixer and pulseaudio
• Also trying to find good FOSS software that tracks and bills a computer for a cyber cafe – any suggesttons?

2:30 Walton’s Updates

• Dealing with immigration issues
• Took the Life in the UK test -test your knowledge on this unofficial test site.
• Visa fees are expensive - approaching £2,000 for Walton
• Consecutive governments have dramatically increased fees amid anti-immigrant rhetoric. Conservatives doubled fees in April 2011
• You need a visa to go anywhere on a South African passport. Travelling on a passport from a developing country is tough.
• We have a guest today – Lindsey works for an immigrant advocacy organisation in Boston

8:00 It’s Labor Day in the US

• Why September? Because conservative element sin the US labor movement wanted a day distinct from the more radical May Day.
• May Day comes from the Haymarket massacre when workers were attacked while fighting for an eight hour day
• Guardian article about Joe Hill and Labor Day

10:30 Our guest Lindsey speaks about immigration

• Lindsey works at an immigrant advocacy organisation in the Boston area called Centro Presente
• The UK relies on immigrants – especially doctors, nurses and home carers
• Lindsey works with undocumented workers – sans papiers – because No one is Illegal
• Immigration policy is often nakedly racist

18:00 Neoliberalism is responsible for immigration

• Policies driven by rich countries decimate economies in poorer countries
• Poor people need to move in order to survive
• Neoliberal capital also needs a cheap and vulnerable labour supply – so immgrants suit them
• Walton’s experience
• Many poor countries receive large numbers of immigrants too – for instance, 3 million Zimbabweans live in South Africa – a quarter of the population
• Human migration is natural, neoliberalism adds both push and pull factors

26:00 What is to be done?

• Understand the global factors that lead to migration
• Unions need to do more to reach out to migrants
• We need solidarity networks
• Social Movement Unionism is an industrial relations model that links union and community struggle

29:00 We agree to dedicate a future show to Social Movement Unionism

Some interesting case studies we didn’t get time to talk about

• The Lindsey refinery wildcats – media reported them as anti-foreigner strikes, but workers said they were happy to work with foreigners as long as they were covered by the union agreement
• The Chinese cocklepickers in Morecambe Bay who drowned
• The New American Sweatshop – carwash operators employ immgrants and violate employment rights