Seidman 1994

Seidman, G. 1994. Manufacturing militance workers' movements in Brazil and South Africa, 1970-1985. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Conclusion:

Some differences between the cases:

o   Business leaders

§  Brazil: by 1980s they had joined unions in opposition to dictatorship, assuming there would be some negotiated transition

§  South Africa: white business leaders remained opposed to unions, as they would have demanded ending of racial hierarchy laws (256-257)

o   Opposition movement in South Africa had deeper racial persecution to unite them

·         BUT striking similarities about the socioeconomic demands made by both movements….each seemed to want to change capitalism, not just gain citizenship in capitalism (257-258)

·         Explaining similar dynamics

o   Both countries were late industrializers, peripheral economies

o   Both ended up producing mostly for export, meaning wages did not increase over the years (this is, supposedly, in comparison to earlier industrializers where wages did increase as production increased…even Seidman says this is a weird comparison) (260-1)

o   Militant labor movements in both cases arose during times of conflict between industrialists and authoritarian governments (brought on by recessions) (261)

o   CRUCIAL PART: change in labor process that increased numbers of semi-skilled and skilled (black, in SA case) workers, and better technology, meant industrialists were less willing to repress (261-262)

o   WORKERS SAW FACTORY AND COMMUNITY GRIEVANCES AS CLOSELY LINKED (262)

§  Relatively skilled did not act like labor aristocracy, made larger, encompassing demands

o   Social Movement unionism (263):

§  emerged from rapid authoritarian industrialization

·         state policies designed to attract capital and control labor during growth periods

·         urban poor really lost out in these policies

§  when international capital dried up (during oil crisis), the elite bargain broke

§  semi-skilled took advantage of this elite crisis, so industrialists were demanding inclusion in policy processes and workers were demanding inclusion in the benefits of growth at the same time

§  built not on old identities, but on new created ones based on similar experiences (264)

o   Suggests that instead of looking at the unions themselves, we should look at the structural conditions that promote and shape potential for militance (273)

o   “At a very general level, dependent development may limit the willingness of states and dominant classes to respond to demands fromt eh popular sector for distributive policies: in their effort to attract foreign capital and technology, and to sell industrial products internationally, state and employers may be especially unwilling to share the benefits of economic growth, or to raise real wages.” (274)

§  But if this happens, workers can find that they can use their newly expanded capacity to create militant and politicized labor movements

Novick 2006

• Many places in teh world are loking for a new model
• societies can no longer tolerate the level of exlcusion created by old model (53)
• Latin America did neoliberalism the fastest and the furthers (55) and it created a big increase in poor across the region (from 75 mil to 200mil between 1980 and 2000) )56)
• The new model (62)
• sees work in a new way, as the "giver of citizenship", as the basis for social cohesion, not just a "market matter"
• an important part of this is the need to reorient the macroencomic situation AND politics, role of the state, simultaneously (63)
• Model of growth and the role of work: a political economy that favors work
• new relative price levels have priviileged domestic consumption and employment
• need to recognize SOCIAL debts from the past, repay them with dignity at work and quality work
• three levels of action
• get the businesses that are doing well intenrationally to hire more people (63-4)
• do a mini-ISI but favor companies that can win over domestic market AND compete internationally (64)
• use workers and technology together, don't let capital replace workers
• currently the Ministry of Work is trying to promote a growth style that psuhes employment and a more equal discbursement of salaries to make sure povety and exlclusion don't become the norm (69)
• two pilars: reform the institutions of work, and the politics aof income
• instruments of institutional strengthening
• hope to dismantle some of the regressive labor institutions of the 1990s (70)
• efforts to increase collective bargaining, create social dialogue
• increase inspections
• bette rmployment has allowed owkresr to take teh lucha to their employers
• Instruments of Income politics
• minimum wage and other things to improve the income of those with lower salaries, make it anti-cyclical (71)
• Conclusion
• the current growth is based on manufacturing and construction, because they create employment (74)
• but a strong compnent of value added and export-based businesses are neceessary, not just extravitive indutries
• 
  

Ynoub 2012

• subcontracting workers from a telehone company
• at first they are demanding better working conditions, salaries, etc, but then they seem to have a foundational moment where they become workers of a certain trade, not just subcontractors. They form their own union, join social movements, etc, but include milestones of institutionalizaiton in their self-histry
• this seems to suggest that workers can construct a profession in their own right
• earlier images of this group didn't show workers as protagonists, just "protests", later we see workers show themselves as protagonists
• workers begin to show pride in their work, and themselves as workers, not just antagonists who need the help of other social movements
• befor eth eimages seemed to reinforce their place in inequality, later the images deamnded more respect, soaw themselves as repectable people and resisting the power

Collado 2010

• Introduction
• unions were weakened in the 1990s, and they seemed even worse off since the social movements that grew in the 2000s did so thanks to the same deindustrialization that weakened the unions! (171)
• the study focuses a on the new significance/importance/change in union practices (172)
• El sindicalismo en Argentina
• the crisis of political representation in the 1990s was also one that hurt uniosn a great deal, since they were supposed to be a political representation group for workers (172-173)
• peronist and corporatist unions became hegemonic (173-174)
• early on unions lost their autonomy, thanks to interventions (174)
• the union movement in Argentina has demonstrated an impressive ability to mobilize even when the military was trying to crush them (175)
• La refundacion de las parcticas sindicales y su resignificacion
• CTA and MTA were new arrivals, efforts to get back to the combativeness of unions int eh 1960s (178)
• CTA states that is is necessary to have autonomy from the state, business owners, political parties, and to value union unity and ethics (178-179)
• with the founding of the CTA, the unions withi teh new confederation needed to do some internal restructuring to improve internal democracy, which faced some obstacles (179)
• this article looks a the ATE in Medoza
• the tension between old bureaucratic leaders and new democracy, and the disruptive potential of these changes
• La Provicnia de Mendoza en el context nacional\
• state workers have very diverse jobs (180)
• lots of restructuring of the state employment during the 1990s, most of it mkaing owrk harder
• there were lots of protests against this restructuring (181)
• but the ATE lost most of these fights, and saw a lot of disaffiliation of union members (182)
• after 2001-2, workers became the main protagonists of social movmenets, no the unemp[loyed (184)
• El sindicalismo en renovacion
• important challenges to the union: (184)
• old delegtimization they have to overcome
• newly atomized workers
• to fight delegitimization, the union refounded itself on democratic and autonomous principles
• started electiosn and things that explicitly trie dot reonnect to the base
• new group of leaders elected in this process (185)
• joined a multisectoral movement in 2008, which had unions, social movements, student groups, etc., which held marches against tightening of protest laws and against increase in prices of public services (186)
• the unions repertoire of action has come ot included piquetes, territorialization, and attempts to be visible, int eh streets (186)
• as part of its dynamic amplification of particiaption, unions have taken to being groups of political formation for their members 9187)
• delegates at the groudn level play an important part in this revitalization (188)
• barriers:
• the meritocratic competition between member 
• public helath owrkers are told their are "responsible" for the health of their patients, and that striking would be a bad thing for the patients (188-189)
• fear that their jobs are vulnerable (189)
•  this fear can lead to inaction, and dlegates face a lot of fear among their constituents
• COnclusions
• this union did a lot of great stuff, is really becoming dynamic
• but internal issues and lack of ties between workers still hinders the union

Palomino and Silvana 2009

Caracterization de las nuevas inscriciones y personiaerias gremiales aen la argentina (2003-208)

• Introduction
• literature points to a revitalization of the labor movement (149)
• after a decade of other social conflicts predominating, industrial conflict (against private sector )seems to be regaining its central importance for unions
• thsi article focuses on the new unions that have ben registered, what they look like, how they act (150)
• looks at:
• the extent to which unions are centralizing
• what industries are being newly organized
• difference between public and private in demanding union recognition
• OVERALL: suggests a possilbe change in teh role of the state in granting personaria gremial, and that the institutions are beomcing more fluid, not as politically-focused as the used to be
• are we seeing a new generation question the old unions, and demand changes in the old unions, or perhaps whole new unions?!
• list of rights of personiaria gremiale (151)
• Some numbers
• applications:
• entre 2005 and 2008, 348 new unions (151), of which 95.4% were local level unions (151)
• 34% were for state-employer places (teachers, etc)
• Service industry 4%
• breakdown of industry, numbr of unions, etc (153-155)
• personarias gremiales
• approved 133 applications (155)
• Historical perspective
• historical numbers 158-170
• conclusions
• since 1983 much of the growth has been state-level unions, esepcailly among minucipal workers (171)
• education workers are the most powerful, most often strikers ()172)
• 
  

Senen Gonzalez 2011

• Introduction
• after 2003, unions became a much stronger player
• government began being more involved in economy
•  collective contracts grew a great deal, from and average or 197 per year in the 1990s, to 406 in 2003, 568 in 2005, 930 in 2006, 1654 in 2009
• question of the article: are unions revitalizing themselves, or are they just reacting to the changing context? (42)
• comparing the years 1990-2001 and 2002-2008
• articles suggests that there aren't only more collective contracts, but that the content of these contractsis also better
• there is a transformation of of the interior structures of unions, too, thanks to the presence of delegados in the workplace
• Nuevas Reglas del juego: politicas publicas
• Nestor Kirchner importantly tried to boost internal consumption among Argentines, and of course the debt default and the end of the convertibility plan (43)
• the state is aiming to take an active role in promoting ethical employment and social inclusion of workers (44)
• suggests that the old (and new) state-labor colatiion is based on the negotiation of salaries (46)
• state promotes salary increases, while unions make demands within inflation targets of the government
• mostly with CGT, since CTA does not have personaria gremial
• creates pattern bargaining (47)
• Consejo de Salario Minimo, Vital, y Movil includes CGT, CTA and business leaders (47)
• 2004 labor law change tries to consolidate some of the post-2001 changes in labor, including giving a stronger right to strike (though the right to strik eof "essential services" is still limited)
• also, some limitation of manager discretion, esepcailly around firing without just cause and arbitrary layoffs (49)
• El actor sindical: tradiciones y nuevas percepciones
• CTA was acting more like a social movement union, while CGT is bureaucratic thanks to strong labor institutions (50)
• seems like the revitalization in collective bargaining is less about getting more members, and more about improving union (leaders) position in poliitcs (51)
• BUT that's not the whole story, adn there are some challengers to this story
• Los indicadores de la revitalizaction
• workplaces with delegados have a much higher unionization rate (53)
• Collective contracts
• in teh 1990s, most common demand was about flexibilit yo employment
• in 2000s, wage levels became the most common thing in bargaining, and included social dialogue to figure out correct level (55)
• fighting back against "individualization" of salary
• coverage went from 3 million to 5 million between 2003 and 2008 (no citation)
• labor conflict
• more of them, peaking in 2007/2008 (56-57)
• state is still the most important target, but private sector is growing as a target (and state is shrinking, slightly (58)
• Conclusion
• most of this revitalization is coming from opportunities in a new context (59)
• CGT is doing top-down revitalization 
• 
  

delfini, erbes, and roitter 2011

• study about participation of workers in a union, and what determines this participation
• one of the biggest debates is the mobhilization coapcity of unions (375)
• some suggests relation between leadership and rank and file isn't the whole story
• some say partiicpation in union elections is iportant
• some say identification with the union is important
• what determines union affiliation? (the literature, split into 4 types)
• structuralists: employment rate, legal framework, economic cycle
• individual factors: motivation and/or personal characteristics
• socio-laboral: business size/type, labor relations
• interventionist: the link between high leaders and local leaders, the amount that a union actually comes and is invovled in a workplace, helps explain unionization rate
• there is a general hypothesis is that, in the context of reduced participation within unions, there are lots of different factors that help determine the distinct forms of union particiaption (378)
• quick descripiton of labro relations system in Argentina, page 379
• four indicators that a union member is involved in the union:
• if they know their union, and identify themselves as a member
• participate in union activites
• help negotiate a contract
• know what's in a contract (383)
• three types of involvment:
• desvinculado, 43%-- don't do any of the 4
• partial participation, 38% -- very much luck the desvinculados, but get involved in negotiations and know the contract
• integrated participation, 19% -- do all of the 4
• checking other theories
• business size does not affect probablity of union participation style
• desvinculados:
• higher educated, older workers less likely to be desvinculados
• women more likely to be desvinculados
• if the workplace has a long day, or the presence of a delegado, less likely workers will be desvinculados
• integrados
• very much dependent on the presence of a delegado
• the existence of a delegado is important to see idfference between integrados and disvinculados
• but so do some demographic variables (age, gender, education level)