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Choke Points

Choke Points

Jake Alimahomed-Wilson | Immanuel Ness

(2018)

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Book Details

Abstract

Global capitalism is a precarious system. Relying on the steady flow of goods across the world, trans-national companies such as Wal-Mart and Amazon depend on the work of millions in docks, warehouses and logistics centres to keep their goods moving.

This is the global supply chain, and, if the chain is broken, capitalism grinds to a halt. This book looks at case studies across the world to uncover a network of resistance by these workers who, despite their importance, often face vast exploitation and economic violence.

Experiencing first hand wildcat strikes, organised blockades and boycotts, the authors explore a diverse range of case studies, from South China dockworkers to the transformation of the port of Piraeus in Greece, and from the Southern California logistics sector, to dock and logistical workers in Chile and unions in Turkey.
'Takes us straight into these crucial nodes of labor struggle. Choke points in global supply chains are revealed as spaces of hazard and calculation, violence and negotiation, victory and loss, passion and organisation'
Brett Neilson, Research Professor, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University
'This phenomenal collection is a must-read for anyone interested in the dire state of the contemporary global economy. It offers an unprecedented analysis of supply chain capitalism through case studies from around the world that are beautifully written and carefully researched'
Deborah Cowen, University of Toronto

Table of Contents

Section Title Page Action Price
Cover Cover
Contents v
Introduction: Forging Workers' Resistance Across the Global Supply Chain - Jake Alimahomed-Wilson and Immanuel Ness 1
Part I: Building Labor Power and Solidarity Across the World's Choke Points 17
1. Labor and Social Movements' Strategic Usage of the Global Commodity Chain Structure - Elizabeth A. Sowers, Paul S. Ciccantell, and David A. Smith 19
2. Across the Chain: Labor and Conflicts in the European Maritime Logistics Sector - Andrea Bottalico 35
3. Durban Dockers, Labor Internationalism, and Pan-Africanism - Peter Cole 50
Part II: Disruptions: Logistics Workers Resisting Exploitation 65
4. Worker Militancy and Strikes in China's Docks - Bai Ruixue and Au Loong Yu 67
5. \"Work Hard, Make History\": Oppression and Resistance in Inland Southern California's Warehouse and Distribution Industry - Ellen Reese and Jason Struna 81
6. \"Stop Treating Us Like Dogs!\" Workers Organizing Resistance at Amazon in Poland - Amazon Workers and supporters 96
7. Decolonizing Logistics: Palestinian Truckers on the Occupied Supply Chain - Jake Alimahomed-Wilson and Spencer Louis Potiker 110
Part III: Neoliberalism and the Global Transformation of Ports 127
8. Decoding the Transition in the Ports of Mumbai - Johnson Abhishek Minz 129
9. Back to Piraeus: Precarity for All! - Dimitris Parsanoglou and Carolin Philipp 145
10. Contested Logistics? Neoliberal Modernization and Resistance in the Port City of Valparaiso - Jorge Budrovich Saez and Hernan Cuevas Valenzuela 162
11. Logistics Workers' Struggles in Turkey: Neoliberalism and Counterstrategies - Çağatay Edgücan Şahin and Pekin Bengisu Tepe 179
Part IV: New Organizing Strategies for the Global Supply Chain 197
12. \"The Drivers Who Move This Country Can Also Stop It\": The Struggle of Tanker Drivers in Indonesia - Abu Mufakhir, Alfian Al'ayubby Pelu and Fahmi Panimbang 199
13. Lessons Learned from Eight Years of Experimental Organizing in Southern California's Logistics Sector - Sheheryar Kaoosji 214
14. Struggles and Grassroots Organizing in an Extended European Choke Point - Carlotta Benvegnu and Niccolo Cuppini 230
15. Beyond the Waterfront: Maintaining and Expanding Worker Power in the Maritime Supply Chain - Peter Olney 243
Contributor Biographies 259
Index 265