Mulling over a popular slogan

It’s so exciting that the Socialist Forum now has a blog! (I wish I could take credit, but unfortunately I can’t. At least I'll be able to take credit for the first post, though! :)) At a time of increasing militarization of the border region, it seems more important than ever to build the socialist presence in the Rio Grande Valley and to present to the public the “big picture” of capitalism and imperialism that lurks behind the current crackdown on immigrant workers.

Well, it is the wee hours of the morning, and I am trying to think of something “bloggish” to say. Mostly I write stodgy academic papers and e-mails urging people to do something (e.g. show up for some event). But I should write something bloggish here…thoughtful, but not stodgy, and timely without being a mere call to action…The pressure is on!

The only thing that comes to mind is a certain slogan of the immigrant rights movement that I’ve been mulling over lately: “Undocumented immigrants only take the jobs that nobody else wants.” I have heard dozens of well-meaning activists say this, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I’ve said it a few times myself. Although there is some truth to that slogan, it also strikes me as problematic, and it has been gnawing at me lately. And I can’t think of a better place than a Valley socialist blog to mull this over (and hopefully get some illuminating comments from others).

I read an interesting piece on Counterpunch recently, written by an old slaughterhouse worker and union member, who made an interesting point. Commenting on the history of the slaughterhouse industry and the recent raid of the slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa, he said that we should stop claiming that undocumented immigrants are only taking jobs that no one else wants, since it simply isn’t true. He pointed to the long history of working class people of all different backgrounds working in slaughterhouses, and he gave a lovely history of unionization efforts in the slaughterhouses. (Patrick Irelan, “Raiding the Packing House,” http://www.counterpunch.org/irelan06072008.html).

Reflecting upon this further, I considered that there are workers of all kinds in the United States working all kinds of rotten, horrific jobs. There are all kinds of desperate workers in the U.S. who will work in sweatshops, slaughterhouses, mines, farms, canneries, and so on. (Oh, and we should also include the lousy job of being a soldier in the U.S. military, which is also one of the worst jobs imaginable and another one of those jobs into which immigrants and potential immigrants--seeking citizenship--are recruited.) Of course, no one really “wants” such horrible jobs, but plenty of people will *settle for* them, if they can’t find anything else. And with inflation increasing and the economy in shambles, the number of non-immigrants willing to settle for such jobs is likely to rise. So it seems a bit too blithe to say that undocumented immigrants are “taking” jobs that "nobody else wants."

Nevertheless, the popular slogan--“undocumented immigrants only take the jobs that nobody else wants”--points to some important truths. And that’s why so many activists like the slogan so much.

First of all, the slogan points to the important truth that undocumented immigrants are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, and that hence they often end up with the very worst jobs imaginable, and in hugely disproportionate numbers. This is a very important point, highlighting the sad and deplorable plight of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. It may be that the very worst and horrible workplaces in the U.S. tend to employ almost entirely immigrants. But, all the same, that doesn’t mean that *only* immigrants are working such horrible jobs in the U.S., even if immigrants are the majority of those working in the very worst-of-the-worst working conditions.

Secondly, and more interestingly, the popular slogan points to the important truth that we must put a stop to the attitude of competition and animosity that some native U.S. workers have towards immigrant workers. The division in the U.S. working class is a serious issue, and xenophobia keeps the working class divided. The slogan tries to unite the working class, but it goes about it the *wrong way,* by saying that immigrant workers work one kind of job, while U.S. citizens work a different kind of job, and that hence there really is no conflict.

It is important--crucial!--to put a stop to anti-immigrant sentiment and unite the working class. That is the only way that we can stop the fascist repression of immigrants, the war in Iraq, the plummeting economy, etc., etc. But the only way to do this is by getting workers to see how their fates are interconnected. And that requires getting past an “us” and “them” way of thinking. In the end, the popular slogan succumbs to the very “us” and “them” way of thinking that it seeks to oppose. Instead of responding to the reactionary cry of “They’re taking our jobs!” by saying “They’re *not* taking our jobs!” we should instead reply: “There is no ‘they’; it’s just ‘us.’ Todos somos inmigrantes! Venceremos!”

Well, I hope that wasn't too terribly long, and I hope it was sufficiently bloggish. I look forward to comments.