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Solidarity in Deed: Poor People's Organizations, Unions, and the Politics of Antipoverty Work in O ntario
Author(s) -
Coulter Kendra
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
anthropology of work review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.151
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 1548-1417
pISSN - 0883-024X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1548-1417.2012.01083.x
Subject(s) - solidarity , ideology , deed , politics , sociology , political science , poverty , work (physics) , political economy , public administration , law , mechanical engineering , engineering
This article explores the possibilities and challenges of building working‐class solidarity by offering an anthropological perspective on the relationships between poor workers’ organizations and formal trade unions in O ntario, C anada. I examine two community‐based, poor people's organizations, ACORN C anada and the O ntario C oalition A gainst P overty, in order to document their recent struggles and examine the nature of their linkages with labor unions. The intersections of poor workers’ organizations and unions illustrate key ways solidarity can be and is being put into practice, but also suggest the need for broadening and deepening how solidarity is understood and pursued given the material conditions of poverty and poor people, and the current cultural and ideological terrain.