On the Line: Slaughterhouse Lives and the Making of the New South

On the Line: Slaughterhouse Lives and the Making of the New South
ISBN-10
0520282957
ISBN-13
9780520282957
Series
On the Line
Category
Political Science
Pages
270
Language
English
Published
2015-12-08
Publisher
Univ of California Press
Author
Vanesa Ribas

Description

ÒHow does one put into words the rage that workers feel when supervisors threaten to replace them with workers who will not go to the bathroom in the course of a fourteen-hour day of hard labor, even if it means wetting themselves on the line?ÓÑFrom the Preface In this gutsy, eye-opening examination of the lives of workers in the New South, Vanesa Ribas, working alongside mostly Latino/a and native-born African American laborers for sixteen months, takes us inside the contemporary American slaughterhouse. Ribas, a native Spanish speaker, occupies an insider/outsider status there, enabling her to capture vividly the oppressive exploitation experienced by her fellow workers. She showcases the particular vulnerabilities faced by immigrant workersÑa constant looming threat of deportation, reluctance to seek medical attention, and family separationÑas she also illuminates how workers find connection and moments of pleasure during their grueling shifts.Ê Bringing to the fore the words, ideas, and struggles of the workers themselves, On The Line underlines how deep racial tensions permeate the factory, as an overwhelmingly minority workforce is subject to white dominance. Compulsively readable, this extraordinary ethnography makes a powerful case for greater labor protection, especially for our nationÕs most vulnerable workers.

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