Trade Union Solidarity in Crisis: The Generative Tensions of Worker Solidarities in Argentina

Abstract

The article identifies how tensions between different levels of worker solidarity helped shape the possibilities of collective action in automobile and related sector trade unions in Argentina. It advances the framework proposed by Morgan and Pulignano in two ways. First, it highlights the interrelation of both the complementarities and the tensions between different solidarity practices. Second, it extends the understanding of how these solidarity practices connect the workplace and community. The contribution is based on thematic analysis of interviews with trade union leaders, representatives and activists that shed light on solidarities produced, as well as tensions and complementarities between them. This is contextualised by the impact of crisis in the automobile sector after 2015, showing how increased worker vulnerabilities affected emergent solidarities. Overall, the article demonstrates the significance of these dynamics for understanding the continued resilience and limitations of trade unions in Argentina and beyond.

Strategic Position and Trade Union Power: An Analysis of Trade Union Strategies in the Automotive, Chemical and Edible Oil Sectors in Argentina, 2003-2015)

“…As noted in earlier research, the strategies established by shopfloor committees opposed to the auto union leadership were more combative, and the action repertoires demanded more participation in decision-making, both on wage issues and working conditions (D'Urso, 2018). These approaches were usually dismantled through coercive mechanisms, strengthening the control exercised by the official union representatives and plant supervisors inside the factories (Santella, 2016;Fishwick and D'Urso, 2022).…”