| In the early 1990s, several local courts in the United States agreed to hear the legal claims of foreign workers who were injured while working for U.S.-based multinationals. In the typical case, one or more foreign workers asked a local court in the United States to apply U.S. law to an employment dispute that arose outside the United States. Although the workers have little or no connection to the United States, some U.S. courts have allowed the cases to proceed and, in some instances, have declared an “absolute right” of foreign workers to sue in the United States.; By recognizing the right of foreign workers to sue their multinational employers in the United States, these cases present an important political opportunity for activists seeking to organize around a transnational conception of workers' rights. In order for activists to exploit this opportunity, however, they must first recognize the litigation as presenting such an opportunity and then choose to act on that opportunity, despite the risks that such actions may involve. Will U.S. activists perceive these new cases as presenting an opportunity for organizing on behalf of transnational legal rights for workers? And, if so, under what conditions?; Drawing upon an extensive analysis of three cases, the dissertation argues that American activists do indeed perceive these lawsuits as providing an opportunity to organize around issues of transnational workers' rights. To understand the conditions under which American workers' rights activists are most likely to do so, I argue that stories about how globalization is affecting the local economy are particularly important as are the strategies of lawyers who represent the foreign workers. More important than either of these two factors, however, is the media coverage of the lawsuit. By privileging certain narratives, the media convey important messages about the political significance of the litigation and the impact that the lawsuit will have on the interests of workers. This information, in turn, shapes how activists perceive the political opportunities that the litigation presents. |
