Made in the USA: Latinas/os? Garment work and ethnic conflict in Los Angeles' sweat shops

In the 1990s Latino identity is increasingly constructed as a 'universal', 'classless' and genderless pan-ethnicity. In this article I problematize th is construct through an ethnographic study of Latina workers in the Los Ang eles garment industry whose jobs are not only gender and ethnic specific bu t also immigrant specific. These women are located at the bottom of a compl ex organizational structure of an industry that promotes Third World condit ions in the US in addition to promoting inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic confl ict among workers. The voiced testimonies of these Latina garment workers p rovide a vivid record of contractor abuse, the unrelenting demands and diff iculties of garment work, and the exploitative conditions and ethnic rivalr ies that make it difficult for Latinas to forge an effective culture of res istance. I argue that the survival of Latina garment workers rests on their ability to negotiate collaborative relations based on their unique struggl es and experiences within the garment industry as women, immigrants, racial ized workers and specific types of Latina Americanas. Finally, I highlight the importance of recording the insights of those women who not only experi ence the contemporary conditions of global capitalism, but also endeavour t o speak rather than silence these conditions.