Logistical Chokepoints, Precarious Work, and Social Reproduction

Anne Engelhardt is a researcher and lecturer in the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Göttingen.

• AcknowledgementAbbreviations1. Introduction1.1 A Story of Four Chokepoints1.2 Chokepoints Between “Magic Bullets“ and “Hyper-Surveillance“1.3 Selecting Brazilian and Portuguese Chokepoints1.4 Fieldwork and Research Questions1.5 Findings and Theoretical Approaches1.6 Structure2. Methodological Considerations2.1 Ontological Atomism, External Relations, and Formal Comparison2.1.1 Comparisons and Case Selection2.1.2 Quality Criteria and Data Evaluation2.2 Towards a Non-Dogmatic Marxist-Feminist Ontology2.3 Epistemological parameters of Marxist-Feminism2.4 Relational and Incorporated Comparison2.5 Quality Criteria of Marxist Feminist Research2.5.1 Reflexive and Democratic Thinking2.5.2 Disclosing Power Structures2.5.3 Reflexive and Activist Fieldwork2.6 Survey, Sample, and Evaluation of Material2.6.1 Qualitative Semi-Structured Interviews2.6.2 Reflexions on the Interview Sample2.6.3 Content Analysis, Coding and Retroduction2.7 Concluding Points on Methodology3. Logistics – “Go They Must“3.1 Logistics in Capitalism3.2 Critical Logistics3.3 The “Line“ between M-C-M’3.4 The Commodity and its Use-Value3.5 Transport as Commodity and Production Site3.5.1 Between Economy’s Appendix and (Renewed) Supply Chain Master3.5.2 Regionalism and Changing Trade- and Transport Patterns3.6 Turnover Time and Storage3.7 Fixed and Circulating Capital3.8 Workers’ Struggles on the Lines between M-C-M’3.9 Closing Remarks on Logistics4. A Spatially Embedded History of Chokepoints4.1 A History of Portuguese and Brazilian Ports4.1.1 The Portuguese Empire and the Port of Lisbon4.1.2 Colonialist Expansion: from Lisbon to Santos4.1.3 The Port of Lisbon in the European Periphery4.1.4 Final Remarks on the History of Brazilian and Portuguese Ports4.2 An Economic History of Brazilian and Portuguese Airports4.2.1 Neo/Colonial Traits of Aviation in Brazil4.2.2 The Airport Santos Dumont4.2.3 Portuguese Aviation: from Colonialism to Neoliberalism4.2.4 Humberto Delgado Airport from Colonial War to Mass Tourism4.2.5 Conclusion on Aviation4.3 Final remarks on the History of Portuguese and Brazilian Chokepoints5. The Social Reproduction Metabolism of Embodied Labour5.1 Connecting Marxist-Feminism to Industrial Relations5.2 The Body from the Lens of Social Reproduction Theory (SRT)5.2.1 Class Position5.2.2 Exploitation5.2.3 Temporality5.2.4 Spatiality5.3 Social Reproduction Metabolism5.4 Exploitation patterns5.4.1 Masculinist Exploitation Patterns5.4.2 Feminine Exploitation Patterns5.4.3 Racialised Exploitation Patterns5.4.4 Precarious Exploitation Patterns5.5 Social Reproduction Metabolism as a Tug-Of-War5.5.1 Temporal Conflicts of SRM5.5.2 Spatial Conflicts of SRM5.6 Concluding Remarks on Embodied Labour and SRM6. Embodied Segregation and Exploitation at Chokepoints6.1 Gendered Segregation in the Maritime and Port Sector6.1.1 Intergenerational Male Family Ties in the Maritime Industry6.1.2 Masculinist Exploitation Patterns at the Port6.1.3 Female Workers within Masculinist Exploitation Patterns6.2 Racialised Segregation in the Maritime and Port Sector6.2.1 Racialised Exploitation Patterns in the Maritime and Port Sector6.2.2 The Racialised History of Portuguese and Brazilian Maritime and Port Labour6.2.3 Cultural Othering and Racialised Gender Biases6.2.4 Reclaim Lashing: A Cross-Cutting International Campaign in a Racialised Sector6.3 Conclusion: Divisions and Convergences in Port Labour6.4 Gendered Segregation in Aviation6.4.1 The Making of the Aerial Workforce6.4.2 Feminine Exploitation Patterns in Aviation6.4.3 “In Nobody’s World“: Invisible Feminised Airport Labour6.4.4 Organising Obstacles for Embodied Feminised Labour6.4.5 Aviation Labour and the ILO6.5 Racialised Exploitation Patterns in Aviation: ”White space“ Up in the Air6.5.1 FOC in Aviation6.5.2 Racialised Cargo Handling6.5.3 The Exclusive Struggle at the “White Space“ in Brazil6.5.4 Portugal’s Aeronauts Started a Wave: European Strikes at Ryanair6.6 Concluding Remarks on Segregation in Aviation6.7 Conclusion: Embodied Segregation and Exploitation at Chokepoints7. Precarious Embodied Exploitation7.1 Health and Safety Conflicts at Chokepoints from a Historical Perspective7.1.1 Health and Safety in the Maritime and Port Sector7.1.2 Health and Safety in the Aviation and Airport Industry7.2 Tasks in Today’s Port and Aviation Industry7.3 The Tug of War in the Metabolic Rift at Chokepoints7.3.1 Temporal Conflicts at the Ports in Lisbon and Santos7.3.2 Temporal Conflicts at the Airports Humberto Delgado and Santos Dumont7.3.3 Spatial Conflicts at the Ports in Lisbon and Santos7.3.4 Spatial Conflicts at the Airports Santos Dumont and Humberto Delgado7.4 Concluding Remarks on Precarious Exploitation8. The State and SRM at Chokepoints8.1 Materialist State Theory8.2 The Capitalist State and Authoritarian Neoliberalism8.3 Authoritarian Practices in a Democratic Context8.4 The Unruly Nature of Chokepoints8.5 Authoritarian Scale Shifts and Up/Downscaling8.6 Trade Unions, State, and Class Struggles8.7 Concluding Remarks on the State9. Chokepoints in Authoritarian (and) Neoliberal States9.1 Remnants and Novelties of Authoritarian Practices9.2 The Estado Novo in Brazil and Portugal9.2.1 Initial Dockworkers’ and Aviation Workers’ Unionism in Brazil9.2.2 The Estado Novo in Portugal9.2.3 Corporatist Dockworkers’ Union Structures and Unorganised Aviation Labour in Lisbon9.3 The 1960s and Mid-1970s: Authoritarian and Illiberal Practices in Brazil and Portugal9.3.1 Oppression of Unionised Santos’ Dockworkers9.3.2 Aviation Workers and the Battle for Aerobrás9.3.3 Regaining Strength: Brazilian Aviation Workers in the 1970s and 1980s9.3.4 Disruptive Struggles in Pre- and Post-Revolutionary Portugal9.3.5 The Battle at Lisbon Airport: Harbingers of the Revolution9.3.6 The Transition of Portugal Towards Democratic Parliamentarism9.4 Authoritarian and Neoliberal Practices in the Brazilian Port and Airport Sector9.4.1 Santos’ Transformation from a Port City to a City with a Port9.4.2 The Neoliberal Transformation of Port Labour in Santos9.4.3 A Conflict on Temporal Autonomy in Santos9.4.4 Neoliberal Practices Challenging Aviation Labour in Brazil9.4.5 The Fatal Consequences of the Hub-Spoke System9.4.6 The New Neoliberal Wave in Brazil9.4.7 The Labour Reform of 2017 in Temporal and Spatial Conflicts9.4.8 The General Strike in April 2017 and the Division of Workers9.5 Authoritarian and Neoliberal Practices in the Portuguese Port and Airport Sector9.5.1 Neoliberal Practices in the Port of Lisbon in the 1990s9.5.2 Upscaling: from Liverpool to Lisbon: The Founding of the IDC9.5.3 The Port of Lisbon Struggle on a European Scale Against “Self-Handling“9.5.4 The Lisbon Port Struggle on a National Scale9.5.5 Fighting Precarious Exploitation Patterns in the Port of Lisbon9.5.6 International Solidarity – Upscaling of Struggles9.5.7 Aviation Workers in Portugal against Subcontracting9.5.8 Open Skies in the European Union and the Impact on TAP9.5.9 The Struggle for Keeping TAP Public9.6 Conclusion on State, Struggles, and Chokepoints10. Conclusion10.1 Part One: Logistics10.2 Part Two: The Body and Social Reproduction Metabolism10.3 Part Three: The State and Authoritarian Practices10.4 Methodological Reflections on Limitations10.5 A Future of Four Chokepoints11. References12. AppendixIndex