The Politics of Informal Domestic and Construction Worker Organizing: Mexican Cases in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

The growing recognition that informal workers can organize successfully has generated debate over the determinants of effectiveness in such organizing. We contribute to this discussion by examining the cases of domestic and construction worker organizations in Mexico, using a power resources framework. Profiling these movements, the key obstacles they face, and their achievements, we undertake a threefold comparison. Within Mexico, we compare organizing both across the two sectors and over time. Additionally, we cross-nationally compare Mexican organizing in these sectors with U.S. comparators. We explain the disparate outcomes through changes in institutional opportunities and access to societal power (allies).