ABSTRACT
First in this chapter, I will review the highlights of Egyptian workers’ history pre- and post-1952 leading up to the last decade of Mubarak’s rule. Second, there will be a presentation of who is the Egyptian worker is; and third, there will be a brief overview of the garment and textile industry, particularly the role of cotton in Egyptian history, and the infamous El-Mahalla Misr Spinning and Weaving Company factory. This factory is a key figure in Egyptian workers’ history, and it encompasses one of the major workers’ struggles in contemporary Egypt. The reason for the special focus on the garment and textile workers is that this particular group of workers is one of the subjects of this research enquiry (see the case study in Chapter 4 for details), and they have exhibited leadership early on within Egypt’s labor movement. I will focus on workers’ history as the development or evolution of a social movement, including the successes, failures, and challenges they faced. One cannot research their recent past (2006–2012) without going back to their history.
