Rick Fantasia's _Cultures of Solidarity_ is a book-length work you may be familiar with that contrasts the traditions of labor actions of the US with Europe; the book opens with Reagan's busting PATCO in the early 80s. Fantasia notes how quite often things like that can be gotten away with in the US that would hardly stand a chance in Europe and that there's simply (or not so simply) a greater tradition of solidarity there ingrained into the cultural fabric. Lloyd Ulman of UCB's Institute of Industrial Relations bluntly states there is a "lack of traditions of solidarity" in the US.
I think I agree with the analysis that places the recent MASSIVE (let's not underestimate them) immigration protests more in the hands of organizing along ethnic and community lines than along labor lines, though the latter played a part for sure. The 4,000-strong (latest number) actions here in Dallas, TX, that included an attempted occupation of Dallas City Hall by (mostly) Hispanic teens are really nothing I've seen here before. In 2001 we barely got 150 for a solidarity rally for Quebec City folks at Dallas City Hall.
Also, these immigration protests are mainly a phenomenon of the US southwest, and that are doesn't get a lot of attention on the list, except for maybe the Minutemen (me, a Texan, am the one who started all 3 threads Doug alluded to in responding to Nathan Newman's criticism that the list was more enamored with the French strikes than the US immigration actions).
Taking the "cultures of solidarity" approach, it's also possible the huge ethnic component of the immigration rallies is because folks from Latino backgrounds also have a greater communal/collective consciousness, and can really, in an inspiring way, get their shit together and make stuff like this happen. It's not a collection of inert, atomized individuals like so much of Anglo America.
-B.
Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:
"Nathan says that US workers can't do the same as French workers, because many strikes that would be legal in France would be illegal here. That is true, but US unions have come to seldom use even legal strikes and legal job actions, as stats that cover work stoppages over the post-war period (cf. <http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/pipermail/ lbo-talk/Week-of-Mon-20050509/009880.html>) shows. Also, unions can still legally organize street protests that aren't strikes and job actions. Immigrant workers in LA, Chicago, etc., as well as French workers, demonstrate the power of the streets."