Labor reforms and trade union mobilization in the nineties in Argentina. The case of the car industry trade union

Abstract

This article deals with the relationships between neoliberal reforms and labor mobilization in the nineties in Argentina. To what extent have trade unions and worker approved off neoliberalism and economic reforms? How have these changes affected their organizational capacities? Our hypothesis is that in spite of the costs for the workers, the trade unions maintained their organization, not just through negotiations for financial resources but also because of their mobilization in large factories. These negotiations occurred after opposing the effects of these policies on labor in the first part of the decade, though not the entire policy itself. Here we present a case study based on the automotive sector focusing on large factories. Additionally we try to make a critical contribution to the specialized literature on labor relations in Argentina in the era of neoliberalism