Beyond trade unions' strategy? The social construction of precarious workers organizing in the city of Buenos Aires. (14th March 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Atzeni, Maurizio
• Is Part Of: Labor history. Volume 57:Number 2(2016)
• Page Start: 193
• Page End: 214
• Publication Date: 2016-03-14
• Subjects: precarious workers' organizing -- Argentina -- trade union strategies -- workers' self-activity -- work organization and space; Labor -- United States -- History -- Periodicals; Labor movement -- United States -- Periodicals; Labor unions -- United States -- History -- Periodicals; Travail -- États-Unis -- Histoire -- Périodiques; Mouvement ouvrier -- États-Unis -- Périodiques; Syndicats -- États-Unis -- Histoire -- Périodiques; 331.0973
• DOI: 10.1080/0023656X.2016.1086537
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0023-656X

Abstract

Abstract : The paper presents preliminary findings of qualitative research, case study based, on the organization and collective mobilization of two groups of precarious workers in the city of Buenos Aires. Contrary to research that looks at trade unions' institutional strategies for organizing precarious workers and at workers' responses to these, the article starts with a bottom-up approach centred on workers' self-activity. This helps to show empirically how a complex net of structural and contextual factors, which includes the spatial organization of the labour process, the institutional and legal framework and the socio-political context, creates material circumstances that generate processes of workers' association. This approach is rooted in long-standing theoretical debates about the structuring of workers' collective interests and action and helps to ground debates on the perspectives of precarious workers' organization within the context of currently and locally existing capitalist relations rather than in more abstracted trade unions' strategies and responses.