Migrant Labor in Global Chains

Alva Villalever, Ximena (ed.)

This book focuses on the bonds between the transnational mobility of people and the production and circulation of global goods. Specifically, it looks at the role that migrant labor plays in the manufacture of daily use commodities and the production of services, from food and clothing to toys, electronics and care work. Through the analysis of different labor niches in the Americas, the book shows how migrant groups are indispensable actors of certain global chains, as they provide the workforce for their (re)production. In spite of this, these migrants often find themselves in precarious conditions and in contexts of vulnerability.
Particularly, we focus on four distinctive labor niches in which we identify a significant weight on migrant participation: garment industry, popular trade, agroindustry and transnational care chains. Every chapter is rich in ethnographic material and examines different forms of inequality, political struggles, vulnerabilities and resistances that take place in the nexus between migrant labor and global chains. At the same time, the book shows the links that migrants weave, through their work, not only within the Americas, but with Asia, Africa and Europe.