Commentary: In New Orleans, Workers Are Still Battered by the Flood

Abstract

In New Orleans, as corporate profiteers scramble to benefit from the aftermath of the flood, the history of Black‐Brown relations has been compressed into a volatile six months. As contractors welcome Latino immigrants, displaced Black New Orleanians find they neither have jobs nor homes to return to. Unions and grassroots groups, using different methods, are trying to build unity as they fight for a voice for workers in the city's rebuilding.

Taking advantage of disaster: misrepresentation of housing shortage for political gain

“…No justice" (Quigley, 2005). Then, labor market propaganda is further perpetuated by Slaughter (2006), a labor activist, "Contrary to what many out-of-town construction workers hoped when they took a chance on the rebuilding of New Orleans, it is not a seller's market for labor power". Before continuing a tirade against "privatization" of housing, Slaughter (2006, p. 451) continues with another heart-wrenching example:…”