Intersectional Organization: 2006 Immigrant Rights Protests and Changes in Identity Politics in Labor Movements

Abstract

This paper investigates the importance of unions in the organization of the 2006 immigrant rights protests and draws attention to intersectional organization within labor movements. This paper finds that protest volume and size were greatest in cities with substantial organizational and human resources and high union density. This can be perceived as intersectional organization because unions moved away from focusing solely on worker identities and they addressed Hispanic and immigrant workers’ rights and their identities. This paper argues that labor movements can greatly benefit from intersectional organization in an era of the service economy characterized by high levels of employment, immigration, and income-inequality.