Wives in solidarity? Reproducing striking labour in a situation of desindustrialisation (1975-1980)

By Rose Feinte, Fanny Gallot
English

Based on several case studies, this article looks back at the notable role played by strikers’ wives in sustaining strike action during deindustrialisation (1975-1980) in France. It uses the concept of “reproductive strike labour” to refer to the whole range of invisible tasks – managing the family budget, emotional work, logistical and collective organisation – that sustain the strike. A cross-analysis of the Dubigeon shipyards in Nantes (1977), the Parisien Libéré (1975-1977) and the Alsthom factory in Belfort (1979), supported by a bibliography of other situations, shows how these women, whether they are employees or housewifes, often confined to domestic roles, nevertheless managed to organise and strengthen worker solidarity, despite employer and state repression and, more generally, the difficulty of having their contribution recognised, even by trade union organisations.

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