Immanuel Ness’s Immigrants, Unions, and the New U.S. Labor Market, sheds light on the relationship between immigrants in New York City and their involvement–or lack thereof–in formal unions. Ness elaborates on the backstory of the slowly declining influence of unions in NYC, honing in on NYC’s shift from a largely manufacturing economy to a service economy.
New York City, prior to the recent wave of immigrants, gleaned capital from the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing jobs were beneficial to immigrants in myriad ways; first and foremost, the manufacturing jobs created a condensed “social geography of work.” Ness defines “social geography of work” as the social networks that immigrants establish as a direct result of where they gather to work. Manufacturing occupations created specialized districts (such as the Meatpacking District) where immigrants could exchange thoughts, sympathize with each other regarding difficult labor conditions, and often, group together to form unions. Manufacturing jobs allowed immigrants to find strength in solidarity.
Ness mentions two major causes of the shift from the manufacturing industry to the service industry–the outsourcing of jobs, and the onset of new technologies that have replaced previously manual tasks, such as been the case with the previously booming printing industry. Jobs within the printing industry, for example, provided a decent income and were, most importantly, regulated by unions so that unfair labor practices were minimized. Occupations within the service industry tend to be more scattered throughout the city, derailing the immigrants prime weapon against unfair labor practices–their strength in concentrated numbers. Thus, with the emergence of a service economy, it became much more difficult for immigrants to assimilate.
Ness briefly mentions the black car limousine industry as an example of the service economy in NYC. The black car industry encompasses, in many ways, all the difficulties immigrants face in the age of the service economy. Black car drivers are essentially self-employed; they purchase the cars they drive with their own money, and pay for maintenance out of pocket, as well. Each driver functions autonomously; there often is no gathering place for drivers to be social with each other and vent frustrations regarding work–it is too easy for each driver to be encapsulated in his/her own bubble. The vast capital raised via the service industry comes at the expense of many immigrants, black car drivers representing just one example.
