Sindicato Popular de Vendedores Ambulantes
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The Sindicato Popular de Vendedores Ambulantes (Popular Union of Street Vendors) is a workers union representing street vendors (known as manteros) in Spain.[1][2] The vendors often face precarious economic conditions, lack of access to government services, racist discrimination, and violence from the hands of police.[3][4]
History[edit]
In 2015, the community of street vendors in Barcelona, mostly undocumented west-African immigrants, banded together to unionise, forming the Sindicato Popular de Vendedores Ambulantes.[5][6]
In 2017, the union launched its own fashion brand, named Top Manta. Its logo was based on both the shape of a blanket, as many manteros lay their wares on blankets, and the shape of a canoe, meant to symbolise the way many of the union's members arrived in Spain.[7]
The union participated in the Food Sovereignty and Small Scale Fisheries Encounter in Barcelona in June 2019.[8]
During the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, the union organised a network to distribute food and necessities to vulnerable families. The union transformed parts of its Top Manta clothing store into a workshop to make face masks and PPE.[9] However, the union faced attacks from police, with the Guàrdia Urbana de Barcelona threatening anti-racist mutual aid groups with fines up 60 000 €.[10] The pandemic also posed significant difficulties for street vendors, as they were ineligible for social benefits and unable to gain income from selling due to quarantine measures.[11]
In February 2021, the union received a £7500 grant from Black Lives Matter UK, among the first organisations to be granted.[12] In March 2021, Serigne Mbayé, the spokesperson of the union's Madrid branch, announced that he would be running in the 2021 Madrilenian regional election under the Unidas Podemos banner.[13][14]
References[edit]
- ^ Garcia, Alexia (2020-11-13). "Whose Streets?". The New Inquiry. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ DOX, RAD. "Street Vendors United: Spain's Manteros Union". ROAR Magazine. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ "'It's about racism' - Spain's street vendors caught up in immigration row". the Guardian. 2018-08-14. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ Minder, Raphael (2018-09-02). "Spain Took Them in as Migrants, but Scorns Them as Street Vendors". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ Congostrina, Alfonso L. (2015-10-10). "Los manteros crean un 'sindicato' para negociar con la administración". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ Jordan, Alex. "The Fight for Freedom on the Streets of Barcelona". Culture Trip. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ "Original pirate material: Barcelona's street sellers form own fashion label". the Guardian. 2017-07-07. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ "Migration and fisheries: exploring the intersections". Longreads. 2020-08-27. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ "Barcelona's Show of Solidarity in the Time of COVID-19". Human Rights Watch. 2020-04-02. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ "Aplican la Ley Mordaza a una red de apoyo mutuo que reparte comida a migrantes en Barcelona". www.elsaltodiario.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ "Spain's street vendors deliver food, medical supplies amid coronavirus crisis". The World from PRX. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ "Revealed: Who Will Get First Black Lives Matter UK Grants After £1m Fundraiser". HuffPost UK. 2021-02-17. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ "Pablo Iglesias ficha al portavoz del Sindicato de Manteros para su lista electoral en Madrid". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 2021-03-29. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ Frills, Madrid No. "Serigne Mbaye: from 'mantero' to activist to future member of parliament". Madrid No Frills. Retrieved 2021-06-03.