Abstract

ROUXEL, Pierre. ʺSometimes you donʹt have to go to conflictʺ : institutionalisation and resilience of grassroot unionism in Argentina. The case of a union group in the chemical sector. Trab. soc. [online]. 2021, vol.22, n.37, pp.191-206.  Epub July 01, 2021. ISSN 1514-6871.

Based on the case of a multinational company factory in the chemical sector, this article analyzes the institutionalization of an experience of union renewal since the 2000's. Discussing a classic approach of grassroots unionism as an instance of direct democracy and unmediated relations with workers, we analyze how the involvement as a union activist, as far as it is a time-consuming activity that lasts for years, is closely linked to the accumulation of specialized and distinctive knowledge and skills and to the integration into channels and spaces of institutionalized representation. Although this process has an impact on the relations that the delegates maintain with the rest of the workers, it also provides the representatives new tools to assert their claims. In this sense, the article contributes to the debate on the institutionalization "from below" of Argentine trade unionism, considering this process not only as a factor of domestication and weakening but also as a means of accumulating renewed resources for union action.

Keywords : Institutionalization; grassroot unionism; union representation; collective-action répertoire; Argentina.

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