Marcel Paret (2016) Precarious Class Formations in the United States and SouthAfrica, International Labor and Working Class History 89(Spring):
84-106.
Abstract: Recent
scholarship highlights the global expansion of precarious layers of the working
class. This article examines the growth and collective struggles of such
precarious layers in two very different places: California, United States and
Gauteng, South Africa. The comparison challenges and extends existing research
in two ways. First, it shows that the spread of insecurity is far from uniform,
taking different forms in different places. Lack of citizenship is more crucial
for workers in California, whereas underemployment is more crucial for workers
in Gauteng. Second, it shows that insecure segments of the working class are
capable of developing collective agency. This agency may be rooted in
identities that extend beyond precarious employment, and will reflect the particular
forms of insecurity that are prevalent in the given context. Such diversity is
illustrated by examining May Day protests in California and community protests
around service delivery in Gauteng.
