Valeria Piro
Biographic Data
| ID | 312781 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Valeria Piro |
| GIVEN NAMES | Valeria |
| FAMILY NAME | Piro |
| SIGNATURE | PIRO V |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Padua |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7079-8925 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 10 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 12 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Beyond the Factory Gates
Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among Bangladeshi migrant workers employed at the Fincantieri shipyards in Italy, the paper examines their housing arrangements, namely the common practice of sharing flats with other Bangladeshi workers or supervisors and, in some cases, their families. In particular, the paper explores the functions these living arrangements serve, how they contribute to managing labour turnover and the role of co-ethnic networ…
The indeterminacy of time and tasks
This article aims to bridge the debate on the overlap of spaces and times of production and reproduction, as developed in studies on dormitory-labour regimes, with the well-established literature on domestic and agricultural work, which has extensively analyzed the live-in arrangement. Drawing on the authors’ long-term qualitative and ethnographic research among migrant workers in the Italian domestic sector (Veneto) and agricultural sector (Sici…
Resilience, Reworking, Resistance
There is a broad debate concerning migrant workers’ forms of agency and organising. This debate, however, is highly polarised between studies looking at migrants’ participation in established and grassroots unions, and others examining informal, subtle and covert forms of everyday resistance. The latter are commonly framed as individual acts, often exercised by migrant workers through mobility, and are therefore sometimes seen as potentially unde…
Migrant workers’ representation and the appeal of independent grassroots unionism
In the Global North, globalisation has been coinciding with the interconnected growth in precarious work and migrant workers. Often finding inadequate representation in mainstream unions, many of these workers have become involved in independent and grassroots unionism. Grounded in an interdisciplinary conceptual framework that draws on both social movements and labour studies, this article explores one understudied aspect of these emerging forms…
Dissenting and innovating
This article investigates precarious workers' organising by considering the case of freelancers, a category between the self-employed - usually represented by employer organisations - and employees - whose interests are traditionally defended by trade unions. Drawing on a 6-month ethnography conducted in the Netherlands within two freelancer associations, our study shows their capacity to exercise collective forms of 'critical agency' - on the on…
Collective mobility power
In the last decade, several sectors of the Italian labour market have witnessed a rise in conflictual union activities carried out mostly by subcontracted migrant workers. Taking two grassroots unions in the North Italian meat processing sector as case studies (SICobas and ADLCobas), this paper investigates why and how migrant workers organise themselves through rank-and-file unions. In particular, the paper aims at understanding whether and how …
An emerging 'camp labour regime
Using Italy as a case study, this paper extends the debate on refugees’ differential inclusion in the European labour market by considering their spaces for living and social reproduction. Departing from the notion of ‘labour regime’ and the definition of a Dormitory Labour Regime, the paper argues that we are assisting in the emergence of a Camp Labour Regime – a situation in which the form of accommodation (i.e. refugee reception facilities) pl…
Subcontracted racial capitalism
The aim of this paper is to extend discussion on subcontracted labour by focussing on the labour process and on the role of race and racialization within it. The existing literature has so far analysed the factors that have encouraged employer decisions to outsource labour, together with its effects on labour conditions and on industrial relations. Missing, however, has been any detailed analysis of the role of race and racialization processes, p…
Migrant Farmworkers in 'Plastic Factories’
Migrant Farmworkers in 'Plastic Factories
Processi di territorializzazione e flussi migratori. Pensare le migrazioni in prospettiva territoriale
The aim of the article is to discuss the interconnections existing between urban and migration studies. It argues that, at the beginning of the XX century, namely in the pioneering works of the Chicago School, the two debates developed jointly. The essay illustrates the added value of using a spatial lens to understand migrations. Moreover, it shows the advantages of considering migratory processes to read the current transformations undertaken b…
Ghetti e campi. La produzione istituzionale di marginalità abitativa nelle campagne siciliane
Starting from an ethnographic research carried out in Campobello di Mazara (Trapani), the article focuses on the living conditions of the laborers employed as olive pickers. The contribution investigates the institutional strategies aimed at the management of the seasonal workforce, shedding light on the effects they have on the productive system and on workers’ everyday life. By trying to transfer workers from ghettos to camps, the effect has be…
Processi di territorializzazione e flussi migratori. Pensare le migrazioni in prospettiva territoriale
The aim of the article is to discuss the interconnections existing between urban and migration studies. It argues that, at the beginning of the XX century, namely in the pioneering works of the Chicago School, the two debates developed jointly. The essay illustrates the added value of using a spatial lens to understand migrations. Moreover, it shows the advantages of considering migratory processes to read the current transformations undertaken b…
Ghetti e campi. La produzione istituzionale di marginalità abitativa nelle campagne siciliane
Starting from an ethnographic research carried out in Campobello di Mazara (Trapani), the article focuses on the living conditions of the laborers employed as olive pickers. The contribution investigates the institutional strategies aimed at the management of the seasonal workforce, shedding light on the effects they have on the productive system and on workers’ everyday life. By trying to transfer workers from ghettos to camps, the effect has be…
Processi di territorializzazione e flussi migratori. Pensare le migrazioni in prospettiva territoriale
The aim of the article is to discuss the interconnections existing between urban and migration studies. It argues that, at the beginning of the XX century, namely in the pioneering works of the Chicago School, the two debates developed jointly. The essay illustrates the added value of using a spatial lens to understand migrations. Moreover, it shows the advantages of considering migratory processes to read the current transformations undertaken b…
Ghetti e campi. La produzione istituzionale di marginalità abitativa nelle campagne siciliane
Starting from an ethnographic research carried out in Campobello di Mazara (Trapani), the article focuses on the living conditions of the laborers employed as olive pickers. The contribution investigates the institutional strategies aimed at the management of the seasonal workforce, shedding light on the effects they have on the productive system and on workers’ everyday life. By trying to transfer workers from ghettos to camps, the effect has be…
Subcontracted racial capitalism
The aim of this paper is to extend discussion on subcontracted labour by focussing on the labour process and on the role of race and racialization within it. The existing literature has so far analysed the factors that have encouraged employer decisions to outsource labour, together with its effects on labour conditions and on industrial relations. Missing, however, has been any detailed analysis of the role of race and racialization processes, p…
Migrant Farmworkers in 'Plastic Factories’
Migrant Farmworkers in 'Plastic Factories
Collective mobility power
In the last decade, several sectors of the Italian labour market have witnessed a rise in conflictual union activities carried out mostly by subcontracted migrant workers. Taking two grassroots unions in the North Italian meat processing sector as case studies (SICobas and ADLCobas), this paper investigates why and how migrant workers organise themselves through rank-and-file unions. In particular, the paper aims at understanding whether and how …
An emerging 'camp labour regime
Using Italy as a case study, this paper extends the debate on refugees’ differential inclusion in the European labour market by considering their spaces for living and social reproduction. Departing from the notion of ‘labour regime’ and the definition of a Dormitory Labour Regime, the paper argues that we are assisting in the emergence of a Camp Labour Regime – a situation in which the form of accommodation (i.e. refugee reception facilities) pl…
Migrant workers’ representation and the appeal of independent grassroots unionism
In the Global North, globalisation has been coinciding with the interconnected growth in precarious work and migrant workers. Often finding inadequate representation in mainstream unions, many of these workers have become involved in independent and grassroots unionism. Grounded in an interdisciplinary conceptual framework that draws on both social movements and labour studies, this article explores one understudied aspect of these emerging forms…
Dissenting and innovating
This article investigates precarious workers' organising by considering the case of freelancers, a category between the self-employed - usually represented by employer organisations - and employees - whose interests are traditionally defended by trade unions. Drawing on a 6-month ethnography conducted in the Netherlands within two freelancer associations, our study shows their capacity to exercise collective forms of 'critical agency' - on the on…
Beyond the Factory Gates
Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among Bangladeshi migrant workers employed at the Fincantieri shipyards in Italy, the paper examines their housing arrangements, namely the common practice of sharing flats with other Bangladeshi workers or supervisors and, in some cases, their families. In particular, the paper explores the functions these living arrangements serve, how they contribute to managing labour turnover and the role of co-ethnic networ…
The indeterminacy of time and tasks
This article aims to bridge the debate on the overlap of spaces and times of production and reproduction, as developed in studies on dormitory-labour regimes, with the well-established literature on domestic and agricultural work, which has extensively analyzed the live-in arrangement. Drawing on the authors’ long-term qualitative and ethnographic research among migrant workers in the Italian domestic sector (Veneto) and agricultural sector (Sici…
Resilience, Reworking, Resistance
There is a broad debate concerning migrant workers’ forms of agency and organising. This debate, however, is highly polarised between studies looking at migrants’ participation in established and grassroots unions, and others examining informal, subtle and covert forms of everyday resistance. The latter are commonly framed as individual acts, often exercised by migrant workers through mobility, and are therefore sometimes seen as potentially unde…
Political science (7 works) · Economics (5 works) · Labor Movements and Unions (5 works) · Business (4 works) · Law (4 works) · Politics (4 works) · Sociology (4 works) · Digital Economy and Work Transformation (3 works) · Economic growth (3 works) · Employment and Welfare Studies (3 works)