Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-767nl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-10T18:53:23.337Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Industrial Structure, the State, and Ideology

Shaping Labor Transnationalism in the Brazilian Auto Industry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 January 2016

Mark Anner
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article explores labor transnationalism in the Brazilian auto sector. It argues that industrial structure, state institutions and practices, and labor ideologies affect the form and frequency of labor transnationalism. In Brazil in the 1980s, labor transnationalism was mostly limited to information exchange and occasional economic support, and political pressure in the form of letters of solidarity from foreign unionists. By the 1990s, when Brazil opened itself to world trade in the auto sector by dramatically lowering tariffs and domestic content requirements, labor began to pursue new strategies. Yet while facing similar challenges in the same industry and at times within the same corporation, unions of opposing political tendencies pursued different strategies. Conservative unions responded to economic globalization by deepening their ties with the government and the business sector, while left-oriented unions increasingly made use of new forms of transnational actions. By the early 2000s, in Ford and Volkswagen, solutions to labor conflicts were achieved after Brazilian auto unionists traveled to the headquarters of the auto firms in Detroit and Wolfsburg and negotiated directly with corporate headquarters.

Type
Articles
Information
Social Science History , Volume 27 , Issue 4: Special Issue: Labor Internationalism , Winter 2003 , pp. 603 - 634
Copyright
Copyright © Social Science History Association 2003 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

“Alliances forged in the factory binding carmakers to parts firms” (1996) Financial Post, 9 November.Google Scholar
Anner, Mark (2000a) “Local and transnational campaigns to end sweatshop practices,” in Gordon, Michael and Turner, Lowell (eds.) Transnational Cooperation among Trade Unions. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press: 238–55.Google Scholar
Anner, Mark (2000b) “The dynamics and unanticipated outcomes of the anti-sweatshop movement.” Paper presented at theLatin American Studies Association 22d International Congress, Miami, FL, 16-18 March. Google Scholar
Antunes, Ricardo C. (1999 [1980]) O Queé Sindicalismo. São Paulo: Editora Brasiliense.Google Scholar
Arbix, Glauco (1996) Uma Aposta No Futuro: Os Primeiros Anos da Câmara Setorial da Indústria Automobilística. São Paulo: Scritta.Google Scholar
Arbix, Glauco (2001) “Desenvolvimento regional e guerra fiscal entre estados e municípios no Brasil,” in Guimarães, Nadya Araujo and Martin, Scott (eds.) Competitividade e Desenvolvimento: Atores e Instituições Locais. São Paulo: Editora SENAC: 267–85.Google Scholar
Ashwin, Sarah (2000) “International labour solidarity after the Cold War,” in Cohen, Robin and Rai, Shirin (eds.)Global Social Movements. London: Athlone:101–16.Google Scholar
Barbosa, Mario dos Santos (2001) “A experiência sindical internacional dos trabalhadores na Volkswagen.” Unpublished paper.Google Scholar
Bresciani, Luís Paulo (1995) “Resistência e influência: Tecnologia, trabalho e ação sindical no Brasil,” in de Castro, Nadya Araújo (ed.) A Máquina e o Equilibrista: Inovações na Indústria Automobilística Brasileira. São Paulo: Paz e Terra: 361–86.Google Scholar
Bresciani, Luís Paulo (1997) “Os desejos e o limite: Reestruturação industrial e Ação Sindical no Complexo Automotivo Brasileiro,” in de Paula Leite, Marcia (ed.) O Trabalho em Movimento: Reestruturação Produtiva e Sindicatos no Brasil. São Paulo: Papirus Editora:31–111.Google Scholar
Bresciani, Luís Paulo (2002) Author interview with researcher and advisor for DIEESE/SMABC (1988-98). São Paulo, 12 April.Google Scholar
Comin, Alexandre (1998) De Volta Para o Futuro: Política e Reestructuração Industrial do Complexo Automobilístico Nos Anos 90. São Paulo: Annablume Editora.Google Scholar
Cook, María Lorena (1997) “Regional integration and transnational politics: Popular sector strategies in the NAFTA era,” in Chalmers, Douglas A. et al. (eds.) The New Politics of Inequality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation and Representation. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Cook, María Lorena (2002) “Labor reform and dual transitions in Brazil and the Southern Cone.” Latin American Politics and Society 44 (1): 1–34.Google Scholar
Da Conceição, Jefferson José (2001) “As fábricas do ABC no olho do furacão: A indústria de autopeças e a reestruturação da cadeia de produção automotiva nos anos 90.” Master's thesis, Centro Universitário Municipal de São Caetano do Sul.Google Scholar
Departamento Intersindical de Estatística e Estudos Sócio-Econômicos (DIEESE) (1997) Brazilian Automotive Industry Main Information. São Paulo: DIEESE.Google Scholar
Departamento Intersindical de Estatística e Estudos Sócio-Econômicos (DIEESE) (2001) A Situação do Trabalho no Brasil. São Paulo: DIEESE.Google Scholar
Dos Santos, Airton Gustavo (2001) Author interview with representative of DIEESE, section of the Metalworkers' Union of São Paulo, Força Sindical. São Paulo, 13 December.Google Scholar
Evans, Peter (2000) “Fighting marginalization with transnational networks: Counter-hegemonic globalization.” Contemporary Sociology 29 (January):230–41.10.2307/2654947Google Scholar
French, John (1994) The Brazilian Workers' ABC: Class Conflict and Alliances in Modern São Paulo. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.Google Scholar
Frundt, Henry J. (1998) Trade Conditions and Labor Rights: U.S. Initiatives, Dominican and Central American Responses. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.Google Scholar
Fung, Archon, O'Rourke, Dara, and Sabel, Charles (2001) “Realizing labor standards: How transparency, competition, and sanctions could improve working conditions worldwide.” Boston Review, February/March. Accessed through the Boston Review New Democracy Forum Web site (15 March), available at www.bostonreview.net/BR26.1/fung.html.Google Scholar
Gentile, Antonina (2002) “Docker resistance in the 1990s: Transnational and domestic alliances under conditions of globalisation.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, 29 August-1 September. Google Scholar
Gereffi, Gary (1994) “The organization of buyer-driven global commodity chains: How U.S. retailers shape overseas production networks,” in Gereffi, and Korzeniewicz, Miguel (eds.)Commodity Chains and Global Capitalism. Westport, CT: Praeger:95–122.Google Scholar
Gonzalez, Cláudio (2002) “Os bons ‘negócios’ da Força Sindical.” Debate Sindical 15 (41): 17–18.Google Scholar
Gordon, Michael E., and Turner, Lowell (2000) “Going global,” in Gordon, and Turner, (eds.) Transnational Cooperation among Labor Unions. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press:3–25.10.7591/9781501721694Google Scholar
Hancké, Bob (2000) “European works councils and industrial restructuring in the European motor industry.” European Journal of Industrial Relations 6 (1): 35–59.10.1177/095968010061003Google Scholar
Herod, Andrew (2001a) Labor Geographies: Workers and the Landscapes of Capitalism. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Herod, Andrew (2001b) “Labor internationalism and the contradictions of globalization; or, Why the local is sometimes still important in a global economy.” Antipode 33 (3): 407–27.10.1111/1467-8330.00191Google Scholar
Hodkinson, Stuart (2001) “Problems@Labour: Towards a Net-internationalism?” Paper presented to theInternational Labour (and other) Networking panel, Global Studies Association Conference, Manchester, England, 3-5 July. Google Scholar
Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) (2002) Sindicatos: Indicadores Sociais 2001 (primeiros resultados). Rio de Janeiro: IBGE.Google Scholar
Jakobsen, Kjeld (2001) “Rethinking the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and its Inter-American Regional Organization.” Antipode 33 (3): 363–83.Google Scholar
Katzenstein, Peter J. (1985) Small States in World Markets: Industrial Policy in Europe. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Katzenstein, Peter J. (2002) “September 11 in comparative perspective: The counter-terrorism campaigns of Germany and Japan.” Paper presented at the 2002 annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, 29 August-1 September. Google Scholar
Keck, Margaret E., and Sikkink, Kathryn (1998) Activists beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Lambert, Robert (1998) “Globalization: Can unions resist?” South African Labour Bulletin 22 (6): 72–77.Google Scholar
Marques da Silva, Rafael (2002) Author interview with representative of Factory Commission, Ford, São Bernardo plant. São Bernardo, 29 January.Google Scholar
METAL: 30° Congresso Mundial da FITIM (2002) “Enfrentando os Desafios Mundiais.” Special ed. Santiago, Chile. March.Google Scholar
Miller, Doug, Tully, Barbara, and Fitzgerald, Ian (2000) “The politics of language and European works councils: Towards a research agenda.” European Journal of Industrial Relations 6 (3): 307–23.Google Scholar
Murillo, Victoria M. (2001) “Labor unions, democracy, and economic liberalization in Latin America.” Paper presented at the 2001 meeting of the Latin American Studies Association, Washington, DC, 6-8 September. Google Scholar
Nogueira, Arnaldo José França Mazzei (1997) A Modernização Conservadora do Sindicalismo Brasileiro: A Experiência do Sindicato dos Metalúrgicos de São Paulo. São Paulo: EDUC/FAPESP.Google Scholar
O'Brien, Robert (2000) “Workers and world order: The tentative transformation of the international union movement.” Review of International Studies 26:533–55.Google Scholar
O'Brien, Robert, Goetz, Anne Marie, Scholte, Jan Aart, and Williams, Marc (2000) Contesting Global Governance: Multilateral Economic Institutions and Global Social Movements. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Ohmae, Kenichi (1995) The End of the Nation State: The Rise of Regional Economies. New York: HarperCollins.Google Scholar
Pasture, Patrick, and Verberckmoes, Johan (1998) “Working-class internationalism and the appeal of national identity: Historical dilemmas and current debates in western Europe,” in Pasture, and Verberckmoes, (eds.) Working-Class Internationalism and the Appeal of National Identity: Historical Debates and Current Perspectives on Western Europe. Oxford, U.K.: Berg: 1–41.Google Scholar
Phillips, Carol (2002) Author interview with the director of CAW's International Department. São Paulo, 29 January.Google Scholar
Pinto, Ramiro de Jesus (2002) Author interview with the president of the Metalworkers' Union of São Paulo and vice president of Força Sindical. São Paulo, 21 March.Google Scholar
Portella, Maria Silvia (2000) “Movimento sindical no Mercosul: Trajetória e perspectivas de Ação,” in Lorenzetti, Jorge and Luís Faccio, Odilon (eds.) O Sindicalismo na Europa, Mercosul e Nafta. São Paulo: LTR Editora: 103–35.Google Scholar
Sabel, Charles F. (1982) Work and Politics: The Division of Labor in Industry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Salerno, Mario Sergio (2001) “A indústria automobilística no Brasil.” Paper prepared forInternational Metalworkers' Federation and International Labour Organization project. Google Scholar
Sanches, Valter (2001) Author interview with Factory Commission representative for Mercedes-Benz/Daimler Chrysler, São Bernardo plant. São Bernardo, 11 December.Google Scholar
Schmitter, Philippe C. (1974) “Still the century of corporatism?” Review of Politics 6 (1) 85–131.Google Scholar
Schwartz, Herman M. (1994) States versus Markets: History, Geography, and the Development of the International Political Economy. New York: St. Martin's.Google Scholar
Seidman, Gay W. (2001) “Response to Peter Evans's Essay.” Critical Sociology 1 (1): 7–9.Google Scholar
Shapiro, Helen (1994) Engines of Growth: The State and Transnational Auto Companies in Brazil. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Smith, Jackie (1997) “Characteristics of the modern transnational social movement sector,” in Smith, , Chatfield, Charles, and Pagnucco, Ron (eds.) Transnational Social Movements and Global Politics: Solidarity beyond the State. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press: 42–58.Google Scholar
Smith, Jackie, Pagnucco, Ron, and Chatfield, Charles (1997) “Social movements and world politics: A theoretical framework,” in Smith, , Chatfield, , and Pagnucco, (eds.)Trans-national Social Movements and Global Politics: Solidarity beyond the State. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press:59–79.Google Scholar
Tarrow, Sidney (1998) Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics. 2d ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Tarrow, Sidney (2001) “Transnational politics: Contention and institutions in international politics.” Annual Review of Political Science 4:1–20.Google Scholar
Tilly, Charles (1995) “Globalization threatens labor's rights.” International Labor and Working-Class History 47:1–23.Google Scholar
Véras, Roberto (2000) “Metalworkers unionism: The ‘Strike Festival’ and the possibility of a national collective contract.” Unpublished paper.Google Scholar
Voss, Kim, and Sherman, Rachel (2000) “Breaking the iron law of oligarchy: Union revitalization in the American labor movement.” American Journal of Sociology 106 (2): 303–49.Google Scholar
Waterman, Peter (2001) “Trade union internationalism in the age of Seattle.” Antipode 33 (3): 312–36.Google Scholar
Waterman, Peter (2002) “After the 2nd World Social Forum in Porto Alegre: What's left internationally and what is to be done about it?” Unpublished paper.Google Scholar
Yussuff, Hassan (2001) Author interview with executive vice president of the CLC and ex-leader of the CAW. Washington, DC, 25 April.Google Scholar
Zapata, Francisco (1993) Autonomía y subordinación en el sindicalismo latinoamericano. Mexico City: Fondo de Cultura Ecoómica.Google Scholar