"The Worker Center Movement": Reimagining Organizing and Policy for Chicago's Migrant Workers

Migrants represent a growing proportion of workers in the United States. Because they lack legal status, migrant workers are uniquely vulnerable to exploitation. The needs of migrant workers are different from their native-born counterparts and existing labor infrastructure is not well equipped to support them. In the past two decades, non-profit worker centers have sprung up across the country to support migrant workers directly. In this paper, I assess the role of worker centers by examining a notably successful action by El Milagro Tortilla Factory workers, which occurred with the support of the Arise Chicago Worker Center. Over three months, I conducted four interviews with Arise Chicago organizers and five interviews with employees of the El Milagro Tortilla Factory, many of whom are undocumented. My findings illustrate the barriers to organizing migrant workers, how worker centers break down these barriers, and the impact of organizing on empowering migrant workers as rights-holding community members, despite lacking legal status in the U.S. Based on these findings, I provide policy recommendations for the City of Chicago to include worker center organizers in decision-making and protect migrant workers like those at El Milagro. Only by understanding the needs of migrant workers and how they engage with worker centers can the labor movement adapt and protect workers in the new labor landscape.