Sindicato Popular de Vendedores Ambulantes explained

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

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]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Garcia. Alexia. 2020-11-13. Whose Streets?. 2021-06-03. The New Inquiry. en-US.
  2. Web site: DOX. RAD. Street Vendors United: Spain’s Manteros Union. 2021-06-03. ROAR Magazine. en-US.
  3. Web site: 2018-08-14. 'It's about racism' - Spain's street vendors caught up in immigration row. 2021-06-03. the Guardian. en.
  4. News: Minder. Raphael. 2018-09-02. Spain Took Them in as Migrants, but Scorns Them as Street Vendors. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-06-03. 0362-4331.
  5. News: Congostrina. Alfonso L.. 2015-10-10. Los manteros crean un ‘sindicato’ para negociar con la administración. es. El País. 2021-06-03. 1134-6582.
  6. Web site: Jordan. Alex. The Fight for Freedom on the Streets of Barcelona. 2021-06-03. Culture Trip.
  7. Web site: 2017-07-07. Original pirate material: Barcelona's street sellers form own fashion label. 2021-06-03. the Guardian. en.
  8. Web site: 2020-08-27. Migration and fisheries: exploring the intersections. 2021-06-03. Longreads. en-US.
  9. Web site: 2020-04-02. Barcelona's Show of Solidarity in the Time of COVID-19. 2021-06-03. Human Rights Watch. en.
  10. Web site: Aplican la Ley Mordaza a una red de apoyo mutuo que reparte comida a migrantes en Barcelona. 2021-06-03. www.elsaltodiario.com. es.
  11. Web site: Spain's street vendors deliver food, medical supplies amid coronavirus crisis. 2021-06-03. The World from PRX. en.
  12. Web site: 2021-02-17. Revealed: Who Will Get First Black Lives Matter UK Grants After £1m Fundraiser. 2021-06-03. HuffPost UK. en.
  13. Web site: 2021-03-29. Pablo Iglesias ficha al portavoz del Sindicato de Manteros para su lista electoral en Madrid. 2021-06-03. ELMUNDO. es.
  14. Web site: Frills. Madrid No. Serigne Mbaye: from ‘mantero’ to activist to future member of parliament. 2021-06-03. Madrid No Frills. en-GB.