Nuestro Trabajo Es Vida: Struggles at the Intersection of Productive and Reproductive Labor Among Migrant Latinas in the Pacific Northwest

media release: Please join UW Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies Program. The events are free and open to the public.

Room 206 Ingraham Hall - 1155 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53706. Register for Zoom option.

*PLEASE NOTE: This lecture will begin at 11:45 and conclude by 12:45.

This presentation will discuss and analyze the multifaceted struggles spearheaded primarily by migrant Latinas working in the food processing sector in the Pacific Northwest during the COVID-19 pandemic. It seeks to unravel the intricate ways in which these workers intertwine their demands over labor conditions with the broader conditions of life-making. This is achieved by mobilizing resistance and employing organizing tactics that are not only rooted in traditional labor organizing but also extend to encompass broader community building strategies. Based on in-depth interviews, focus groups, and participant observation, I mobilize Social Reproduction Theory to gain insight about how these workers struggles point to the ongoing connections between productive and reproductive labor, as well as show new paths under which vulnerable migrant workers are organizing against poverty and precarity.

About the presenter: Lola Loustaunau has a BA in Political Science from the University of Buenos Aires, MS and PhD in Sociology from University of Oregon. As a researcher, teacher and activist, Dr. Loustaunau has led multiple research projects focusing on job quality, public policy, and collective organizing. Her work has been published in Labor Studies Journal, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, and Sociological Perspectives. She has also been a Vice President at Large at the American Federation of Teachers-Oregon, Vice President of Political Education at the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation, among other leadership positions in the labor movement. Her current research focuses on the impacts of COVID-19 on migrant workers in food processing, and their experiences of resistance and collective action.