L.A. Labor & the New Immigrants

Abstract

[Excerpt] Did the Ideal strikers win their union? No. Like many companies, Ideal Dyeing used the owner-skewed provisions of the National Labor Relations Act to delay a settlement, hire replacements and maintain production. But the Ideal strike stands as a victory nonetheless. Launched only five months after the signing of IRCA, it proved that undocumented workers were ready to defend themselves. They had not been cowed. Their boldness challenged unions throughout greater Los Angeles to reach out to immigrant workers despite the harsh new employer sanctions that unions had helped create.