The Manufacturing of Job Displacement

Laura Lopez-Sanders is the Stephen Robert Assistant Professor of Sociology at Brown University.

"A deeply researched and insightful book, Lopez-Sanders' unparalleled access allowed her to carefully document and analyze a process that researchers rarely observe in real-time. This must-read book helps us move beyond tired debates about the costs of immigration for native-born workers and toward an assessment of the costs of racialized organizations and racial capitalism for low-wage workers."-- "Cybelle Fox, author of Three Worlds of Relief: Race, Immigration, and the American Welfare State from the Progressive Era to the New Deal" "In this astonishing book, Lopez-Sanders describes how a factory systematically displaced their mostly African American long-time workers with new Latino immigrants, many of them undocumented. This deliberate policy uses temporary agencies to exploit the vulnerabilities of immigrant workers, and allows the company to save money and avoid workers who might challenge supervisors. Beautifully written, this book is a sophisticated and brilliant contribution to our understandings of labor dynamics in an age of immigration and corporate greed."-- "Mary C. Waters, co-author of Inheriting the City: The Children of Immigrants Come of Age" "The Manufacturing of Job Displacement is the book we've been waiting for. Long-simmering debates about the effect of immigrants on workers have been informed by views of the phenomenon from 35,000 feet. Lopez-Sanders gives the ground-floor view we need. In rich ethnographic detail, she shows how the dynamics of race, immigrant legal status, and power swirl together in the orchestration of a workplace enclave. A must-read for anyone who wants to understand the lived experience of immigration and labor in all its complexity."-- "Tomas R. Jimenez, author of States of Belonging: Immigration Policies, Attitudes, and Inclusion" "The Manufacturing of Job Displacement is ethnography at its best. Carefully detailed observations of racial displacement and meticulous analysis combine to produce this theoretically and conceptually groundbreaking volume. It is an immensely valuable contribution to understanding multiple displacements today. Highly, highly recommended!"-- "Cecilia Menjivar, author of Fragmented Ties: Salvadoran Immigrant Networks in America"