French Immigrants to Get Papers Thanks to Strike

In: Europe| Labor| economics| immigrants

25 Nov 2009

According to today’s Le Monde, about 1000 workers, sans papiers (without papers), may be legalized thanks to a strike organized by the CGT (General Confederation of Labor). The strike began about a month and a half ago and was carried out by over 5000 workers. From the article:

Quelque 5 400 travailleurs immigrés sans titre de séjour étaient en grève mercredi pour réclamer des papiers, selon le syndicat CGT, qui coordonne le mouvement débuté à la mi-octobre, principalement en région parisienne. Pour la plupart africains, ils sont employés dans la restauration, le bâtiment, le nettoyage ou la sécurité. Ces travailleurs sans papiers, dont beaucoup disposent de contrats de travail et paient des cotisations, seraient jusqu’à 400 000 en France, selon la CGT.

Some 5 400 immigrant workers without residence permits were on strike Wednesday to demand papers, according to the CGT, which coordinates the movement started in mid-October, mostly in the Paris region. Most of [these workers] are Africans, they are employed in catering, construction, cleaning or security. These undocumented workers, many of whom have employment contracts and pay social security taxes could number close to 400 000 in France, according to the CGT.

sanspapiers I haven’t looked at what’s left of our labor law (you know that stuff we used to use before the Supreme Court surgically removed it’s teeth) in a long time, but I doubt if we could get away with a strike like this. While 1000 is a fraction of the 400,000 workers in France, it’s a nice little win that many of us in the states would certainly welcome. I think the French undocumented workers, les sans-papiers, have it right. It’s not enough to protest or even march (we had millions during the marchas, remember?). Governments and the corporations that run them only respond to financial incentives or the threat of financial peril. Workers in America, documented and undocumented, need to remember that they are a force in the market that must be reckoned with–heck the labor movement started right here in Chicago. Thanks to the sans-papiers and the CGT for reminding us of the true meaning of solidarity.