
Conflicting Commitments
The Politics of Enforcing Immigrant Worker Rights in San Jose and Houston
Shannon Gleeson(Author)
ILR Press
Published on 15. October 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-0-8014-7814-7 (ISBN)
Description
In Conflicting Commitments, Shannon Gleeson goes beyond the debate over federal immigration policy to examine the complicated terrain of immigrant worker rights. Federal law requires that basic labor standards apply to all workers, yet this principle clashes with increasingly restrictive immigration laws and creates a confusing bureaucratic terrain for local policymakers and labor advocates. Gleeson examines this issue in two of the largest immigrant gateways in the country: San Jose, California, and Houston, Texas.
Conflicting Commitments reveals two cities with very different approaches to addressing the exploitation of immigrant workers -both involving the strategic coordination of a range of bureaucratic brokers, but in strikingly different ways. Drawing on the real life accounts of ordinary workers, federal, state, and local government officials, community organizers, and consular staff, Gleeson argues that local political contexts matter for protecting undocumented workers in particular. Providing a rich description of the bureaucratic minefields of labor law, and the explosive politics of immigrant rights, Conflicting Commitments shows how the lessons learned from San Jose and Houston can inform models for upholding labor and human rights in the United States.
Conflicting Commitments reveals two cities with very different approaches to addressing the exploitation of immigrant workers -both involving the strategic coordination of a range of bureaucratic brokers, but in strikingly different ways. Drawing on the real life accounts of ordinary workers, federal, state, and local government officials, community organizers, and consular staff, Gleeson argues that local political contexts matter for protecting undocumented workers in particular. Providing a rich description of the bureaucratic minefields of labor law, and the explosive politics of immigrant rights, Conflicting Commitments shows how the lessons learned from San Jose and Houston can inform models for upholding labor and human rights in the United States.
Reviews / Votes
Gleeson captivates her readers with an in-depth, intricate, and diligent ethnographic approach to the question of labor rights enforcement for undocumented immigrants in the United States... She reaffirms the hands-on approach to investigating the discrepancy between rights in theory and rights in practice by being present at official meetings, being a scrupulous reader of county council minutes, and partaking in workers' rights rallies, asembleas, and charlas organized by civil society actors... Gleeson advances an important argument in explaining the divergent policies, practices, and outcomes of migrant rights enforcement in San Jose and Houston.- Agnieszka Kubal, University of Oxford (American Journal of Sociology) This book provides a detailed analysis of the practical dimensions of workers' labor rights in San Jose, California, and Houston, Texas.... Gleeson... offers proposals for 'making rights real' for undocumented workers and creating procedures for enforceable claims. As the study shows, the task is administratively complex and politically problematic. Summing Up: Recommended.
(Choice)
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Cornell University Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
2 tables, 4 charts - 2 Tables, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8014-7814-7 (9780801478147)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Shannon Gleeson
Conflicting Commitments
The Politics of Enforcing Immigrant Worker Rights in San Jose and Houston
E-Book
10/2012
ILR Press
€23.49
Available for download
Person
Shannon Gleeson is Associate Professor in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University.
Content
Introduction: Immigrant Labor in the United States1. Work in Postindustrial America2. Implementing the Legal Rights of Undocumented Workers3. Place Matters: How Local Governments Enforce Immigrant Worker Rights4. Beyond Government: How Civil Society Serves, Organizes, and Advocates for Immigrant Workers5. Advocating across Borders: Consular Strategies for Protecting Mexican Immigrant WorkersConclusion: Making Rights Real for Immigrant WorkersNotes
References
Index
References
Index