Organizing across divides: Union challenges to precarious work in Vancouver’s privatized health care sector

Jennifer Jihye Chun
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Jennifer Jihye Chun: Department of Sociology, University of Toronto Scarborough Toronto, Canada

Progress in Development Studies, 2016, vol. 16, issue 2, 173-188

Abstract: The outsourcing of housekeeping, laundry and food services in Vancouver’s health care sector has created a new tier of low-paid, precariously employed workers in the private sector, the majority of whom are immigrants and women of colour. Through an in-depth case study of the Hospital Employees Union (HEU), this article examines how movement-oriented union strategies, such as living wage campaigns (LWCs), enable unions to challenge the nexus between social and economic disadvantage. My findings show that alternative union models promote inclusive forms of class solidarity; however, unions must contend with internal conflicts that divide workers along racial–ethnic boundaries and employment status.

Keywords: Unions; precarious work; immigrants; labour organizing; living wage campaigns (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:prodev:v:16:y:2016:i:2:p:173-188

DOI: 10.1177/1464993415623132

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